Luke 8: 29

For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

The Spooky Naked Guy Chronicles: Part Three

Previously: Spooky Naked Guy is met by Jesus on the beach. The demons controlling his life are able to recognize the Son of God and beg for mercy. We learn Jesus will come find us no matter how bad our circumstances. He will confront the sin controlling our thoughts. Our sin will fight back, beg for mercy, and try to stay in control.

The Story Continues…

I can just hear the demon begging for mercy, begging Jesus not to torture it! (vs. 28)

What exactly is torture for a demon? Viewed through a demon’s perspective, maybe torture is simply being confronted by Christ and enduring His commands.

Jesus commanded the demon to leave the man it had invaded. Jesus had come a long way to set Spooky Naked Guy free… free from the chains of man, and free from demonic oppression and possession.

The time had come. Jesus would not be denied.

Normal Guy’s life had been stolen by demonic goons driven by hate and hell bound to destroy him. Now, when confronted by the Son of God, the same hate-filled creatures are crying in self-pity!

They got caught. The party ended. And, instead of accepting responsibility for their actions, they blame the One confronting them accusing Him of coming at the wrong time and of tormenting them! I wonder if Jesus laughed. I would have!

Can’t you just hear their rationalizations. They seem to have an inability to see themselves for what they are! To them, Jesus is the tormentor.

Over the years, people had captured Spooky Naked Guy. They chained his hands and feet securing him from harming others and himself. Guards were ordered to watch over him.

Apparently, they had caught him when the demons had left his body. Yet, the demons always arrived back to their unsuspecting host and gave him supernatural strength to break the chains holding him so they could continue their existence….

Though “free”, he was led to solitary places… hiding among the tombs, cutting himself with rocks… avoiding those who could help him.

That hits close to home for this ol’ tennis coach.

God has blessed me to have friends who are from other religions. I have witnessed this exact struggle in their lives.

I’ve watched unhealthy supernatural forces lead them to faithless, solitary places among spiritually dead people. Like Spooky Naked Guy, they are blinded to their situation and are often given opportunities to make sure they stay “dead.”

As a tennis coach, I’ve endured the pain of witnessing this situation with players, too.

I would really like to make a point clear. Come up to the net for a minute and let’s talk…

The verse above says… “Many times it had seized him…”

To me, that means, at times, the man was able to have a breath of air, to somewhat be himself where he wasn’t under direct demonic influences. I’ve seen my “dead” friends come up for air, too. They see Christ. The joy and recognition on their face is amazing! Then, swiftly, Satan uses his demonic goons to bully their hope away and send them to their “solitary places.”

As for Spooky Naked Guy, in those times of being free from demonic possession, I wonder what he thought?

He probably noticed he was homeless, living in a cemetery, had cuts all over… maybe he thought he belonged there or maybe he missed his mom. Who knows. He probably noticed the people were terrified of him. And that he had a lack of coping skills when it came to normal interaction with others. Maybe, he even wanted clothes and welcomed being chained and fed and watched over and bathed and taught and talked to.

I don’t know.

But, Jesus obviously had a plan for him.

Maybe in the times of being free from demons, he simply wanted love and to be truly free. Yet, whenever that hope of freedom came near, the demons took over….

Isn’t that just like us? Our false idol worship holds us from God. Sometimes in our sin, we can’t see hope… and others see us as a bad person… so the demonic oppression keeps a stronghold in our life story… and we believe its lies… and it works to destroy us.

There often comes a point in time each of us will have something happen.

Either the demonic oppression destroying our lives will be confronted by someone God brings, or we will be the one used by God to confront someone in need.

Whatever the situation, by observing Spooky Naked Guy, we can clearly see demonic work work when allowed to influence a life.

Satan’s influence had so become a part of this man that observers couldn’t see a child of God buried deep inside. When they saw him, they only saw a crazed maniac who haunted the cemetery. Satan had a goal to destroy the man.

What did Jesus do? He rowed 7.5 miles to find him! He met Spooky Naked Guy in his home town. He planned a specific time and day to go to the beach. Never was Spooky Naked Guy forgotten. Neither are you.

Jesus, today, seeks you and me and others who need His guidance and wisdom and forgiveness and discipline. It is really a thrill to see God change someone’s life. In my Christian tennis academy I have seen this miracle over and over.

None of us has the power to overcome Satan alone. We can’t count on society to do it for us, either.

Study your Bible… memorize chapters and verses. Surround yourself with Godly examples who love Jesus. Develop a powerful, consistent prayer life. Serve in a Bible based church. Journey into the world and share your knowledge of Jesus and the miracles He has done in your life to those you meet.

Jesus can and will work a miracle in our lives… I’m living proof of the power of God to reach the worthless…
… and as we will see in Part Four, so is Spooky Naked Guy when he witnesses the power of God…

Scott Paschal

International Christian Tennis Association