Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"

 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned.

Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

- Luke 8:26-39

On Saturday, we read Jesus' continuing teaching to His disciples as He expanded on the parable of the Sower:  "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."  Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And he said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  This demon-possessed man is perhaps the most afflicted person we meet in the Gospels.  His story appears in other Gospels, too.  (In Matthew, there are two demon-possessed men, perhaps indicating that this is the particular story of one of them, who wanted to return with Jesus and the disciples, a detail not recorded in Matthew's account).  We can see in this man so many things that give us a picture of the afflictions of our world.  His life is extremely destructive, he has been demon-possessed  for a long time.  He is by now so pulled away from any sort of  'civilized' life that he wears no clothes, and he is relegated to living among the tombs -- not among the living, but the dead.  There's a real image of suffering and affliction in that the man is kept bound with chains and shackles, but he's so wild that he breaks them and is driven even further into the wilderness, away from community, from human society.  He says his name is Legion, as there are so many demons who create chaos and torment in his life.  The demons know it is not time yet for the Judgment; they know who Jesus is and they fear Him.  They beg not to be sent to the abyss; that is the place of total abolition.

Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned.  There are those who say that the presence of the swine indicates that this is Gentile territory, here across the Sea of Galilee, on the other side of the sea from the shore the disciples call home.  But many traditional commentaries see it differently, that these are Jews who are in fact doing what is unlawful for them.  Their focus, as we can see, is not on the incredible good news of this man's healing, but rather on the loss of their property and income.  All that Jesus' work inspires in them is fear.   The total destruction of the herd via the chaos and malice of the demons shows that although the man was severely afflicted, he was still a human being protected by God's care, as he did not perish under their influence.  Although all creation is beloved by God, it does teach us of the value of human beings, and that the salvation of a person is worth every sacrifice.

Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.  This man is restored and prepared to be a follower of Christ.  He does as Christ commands, becoming a kind of evangelist, even a type of apostle, for his city.  He is a representation of the work of the Kingdom in the world (see Luke 10:9).

The story of this demon-possessed man in the country of the Gadarenes (sometimes called Gergesenes) is one that serves as a kind of parable illustrating the terrible affliction of our world by the forces that are in some way "against God."  Although these demons cannot operate except with permission of God (they can't enter the swine at will, for example, as they beg Jesus for permission to do so), they clearly work in opposition to Christ and His restoring power.  It's an archetypal kind of difference between their influence on this poor afflicted man and Jesus' work of restoration.  Jesus is Logos, true order and reason personified, and these demons make this man's life break down into deeper and deeper chaos.  We may not find daily reports of demon-possession in our modern world, but we might be able to recognize the increasing isolation, chaos, and destructive breakdown of this man's life in our 'civilized' society.  We may know people with a whole host of afflictions they have had to deal with in their lives, burdens difficult to bear, and addictions leading one down a road of destruction.  One thing we can note about this man:  what's happened to him is not his fault.  There is nowhere here in which this man is told by Christ that his sins are forgiven; this isn't about his sin, and yet he suffers terribly from affliction.  It's a very important thing to understand that Jesus separates suffering from personal sinfulness.  It's not that there are no people in the Gospels who suffer because of their own sins, nor that suffering is never connected with sin - one's own or someone else's.  We often find Jesus teaching one He heals to "sin no more."  But this man stands as a stark example that we may be afflicted by things we're not responsible for.  We may suffer through the sins of others.  Christ, however, is Savior for all those who suffer.  He takes away the cause of the affliction here.  In another sense, we can look at the Cross as Christ's taking on Himself all the things that afflict human beings, and directing us to give them up to Him.  His suffering is connected with ours, particularly in the great healing act of Christ's deliberate sacrifice for us.  Whatever afflicts us, we may give it up to Him.  Whatever sin we have experienced even at the hands of others who commit what is evil, we may give that to Him as well so that we might heal and no longer suffer so directly its effects.  If we look around our own cities and towns, our own places where we live, we may find on the outskirts people who seem to resemble the condition of this man, whose lives have broken down, who are possibly not in their right minds, who don't fully participate in the community of society.  It's not such a faraway or unheard-of thing.  We may pray for all the things that afflict human beings, and find a way to ask for His help.  If we find ourselves as victims of hurt or abuse that is not our fault, we may pray for Christ to lift the burden and help us to heal, even to forgive so we no longer carry it so closely and deeply.  The Gospels teach us about our lives and our world; we may not know the source or cause of affliction nor why there are those who choose to do harm, but we can know He was here for us, that His work continues to heal and to restore, and that we have help to assist our healing.  We also look at those who are too hard-hearted to form community, and know that this story teaches us to find those who will support our restoration in life, our deepest health on all levels, through prayer and any other form of support and help to heal.