But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you"

 

 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.  And He permitted 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 that Jesus taught (following 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.  Jesus comes across a man who is entirely disordered:  he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but the tombs.  This is the work of the demons who oppress him; he lives among the dead and entirely outside of community.  He has been seized, and kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles.  These are human attempts at "order," but his bonds were broken,  and he was driven by the demon into the wilderness.   He is tormented by a Legion of demons.  The malice of the demons is important for us to notice; it is contradictory to the kingdom of God and Christ's gospel.  The demons recognize Christ, and fear Him, for He has power to command them.  They beg that He will not command them to go out into the abyss, the place of non-existence.

 

 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted 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.  My study Bible has a very lengthy note on the story of the swine.  It says that while some teach the presence of the swine indicates a Gentile population, we know that Christ forbade His disciples to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5) -- and He also was reluctant to seek out Gentiles (Matthew 15:24).  It's more likely that these are Jews who are raising swine for the Gentile market in this place of mixed population, and so are engaged in what for them is an sinful occupation.  According to my study Bible, the destruction of the herd of swine reveals several things.  First, animals are a venerable part of creation, but human beings are of far greater value.  Additionally, Christ removes a source of since, as swine herding was an abomination to the Jews (Deuteronomy 14:8).  Moreover, demons have no power over creation, but they are subject to the will of God.  They could only enter the swine at the command of Christ (and begged Him not to command them to go into the abyss).  Human beings are protected under the providence of God; for otherwise this demon-possessed man would have come to the same end as the swine.  For these hardhearted people who don't care about the healing of the man, the economic loss would remain as a sign for them who fled that region. 

It's important to look at the signs of what doesn't conform here to the kingdom of God which Jesus represents and seeks to bring into the world.  There is, first of all, the demonic influence of the afflicted demon-possessed man.  We don't know his name, but we know the name the demons give themselves:  "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  His life is entirely disordered, and the human efforts to give him boundaries and control don't work at all.  He's driven further and further away from human community by the demons, to the point where he lives now among the dead, in the tombs.  He doesn't even have clothes.  This is a human life that has been destroyed, and he is left entirely isolated and tormented.  We can see the true malice and destructive insanity of the demons when they enter the herd of swine, and the swine race to their deaths down a cliff into the lake (which is the Sea of Galilee).  A "steep place" like this often serves as a sign of sin, of danger, and we can see here the analogy.  Then there is another kind of evil influence in this picture, and that is of the people who are fearful of Christ and stonehearted regarding the healing of the formerly demon-possessed man.  They only care for the material value of the swine which they've lost.  It means nothing to them that Christ has cast out the demons.  Clearly they were contented the way that things were before, and the healing Christ has done has disturbed the order they lived with.  We see something similar happen within social systems where a person tries to get healing for what ails them, be it an addiction or some other problem.  There will be those who are happy with the way that things were under the old system, be it for monetary gain or some other type of currency that's valuable to them.  Healing, which can be akin to banishing or correcting some form of evil, can be disruptive.  When a person no longer settles for a dysfunctional way of being, no longer is content for not following the path that God may set forth for them of developing a skill, a talent, an intelligence, this can disrupt a system of relationships in which those who surround them are content with the way things were.  They benefit in some sense.  It's a kind of selfishness that doesn't see the bigger picture, can't be happy for the healing, and doesn't want to make an effort to do something better and cherish the higher values that may be introduced by the search for healing.  Christ offers a way out of chaos and destruction, but the material selfishness, closed-mindedness, and deliberate ignorance of these townspeople make it clear that the healed man cannot live among them, and they also demand that Jesus leave them as well.  When the healed man wants to come with Jesus and the disciples, Christ gives him a different solution for his life:  "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." Jesus teaches him to return to the place that is home; that is, the place where there are those who will be glad to hear and to see "the great things God has done" for him, including a restoration of his right mind.  It suggests a kind of revolutionary importance of finding support for a life set on a right path, where the great things God has done for us, the healing we have experienced especially with help from our faith, can be shored up, set into a structure of community, find a home, and can be celebrated rather than feared or discouraged.  There is a lesson here for our own spiritual gains in our lives, the fruit of the spiritual life Christ brings us.  If there are those who don't like the change, it is important to find one's "house" where a positive change and institution of good order in life can be seen as the good thing it truly is, and one can testify to the great things Jesus has done for us.  We need those who will be happy for our good news.