Luke 8: 31-33

And they begged Him repeatedly not to order them to go into the abyss. A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and He gave them permission. (NIV) Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. (ESV)

The Spooky Naked Guy Chronicles: Part Five

Previously: Jesus allowed the demons inhabiting Spooky Naked Guy to speak. He wanted them to tell Him their name. Jesus wants us to name our sin, speak its name to Him. Let your sin negotiate with Jesus, not with you! Though it can defeat us, sin cannot defeat God.

Our story continues…

Honestly, if I’d witnessed that whole scene, I’d have probably freaked out.

Not about the pig part, but the whole legion of demons being evicted from the guy part. In today’s computer animation world, can’t you see some movie studio making that whole scene loud and shocking and packed full of incredible special effects leaving the audience gasping for breath!

That said, I don’t know what it was actually like. The Bible doesn’t say. Without much fanfare, the situation seems to go from demons being inside of Spooky Naked Guy to demons bugging out of Spooky Naked Guy to demons going hog wild inside some newly spooked-up naked pigs.

Though probably no one watching even noticed the actual big, demonic switcharoo, there were some mind-blowing, spiritually special effects causing some waves.

Lean in and look around with me at this miraculous scene unfolding on the beach….

You noticed the demons pitifully begging Jesus, right? They seemed terrified of being sent into the abyss. Whatever the abyss actually is, the fact that demons don’t even want to be there is a huge statement to God’s power…

They had just been ordered out of Spooky Naked Guy by Jesus, and then begged Him to not force them to go into the abyss.

As they were pleading, I suppose they possibly hijacked Spooky Naked Guy’s eyeballs to spot some pigs hanging out nearby. They demonically pleaded for Jesus’ permission to enter into the pigs, instead of the abyss, to which He gave the big thumbs up.

It’s not the whole demons avoiding the abyss and making “spooky naked pigs” thing that grabbed my attention, though that situation is pretty amazing and cool.

What has my heart pumping and missionary feet ready for action is something really cool that I don’t want you to miss!

It’s big and it’s huge and I want you to see it for the huge that it is!

Are you ready? I hope so.

Here it is…

I think maybe Jesus wanted the demons to stay on earth.

I think Jesus has a big reason for allowing this unfolding “beach outreach” to be captured publicly, and I smell some smoke from the campfire as he’s lighting in this scene about one of the possible purposes of His fallen angels on earth…

“Whoa…hold on a minute Coach… that’s not biblical… of course Jesus wanted to destroy the demons, they’re demons by God and they must be destroyed!”

Nope. Not according to Jesus’ words and actions.

I know this may seem pretty scandalous, but think about it… these demons not only recognized and were allowed to speak with Jesus, they were even allowed to negotiate their exit of Spooky Naked Guy and negotiate the next step of their existence, which was to leave SNG and go Hog Wild.

But, more than that… and stay with me here as my kickin’-some-demon-tail side kicks in…

We know for a fact Jesus did not order the demons into the abyss, and that He did allow them to enter pigs. That is in the Bible and is undeniable. That said, there must be a Godly, God-inspired, God-purposed reasoning for that. He could have said adios and chunked them into the abyss.

But he didn’t.

The demons, upon Jesus’ God-of-all-things permission and approval, then inhabited the pigs. Jesus Christ deliberately chose to allow the demons’ request! After that, the demons bolted SNG and drowned the pigs..

But, think about this… do demons drown? I don’t think so.

Pigs yes… spooky, non-organic things no.

The Bible is pretty clear the hogs bought the farm, but no where in the Bible does Jesus teach us that we can whack a demon simply by drowning one! Demons don’t drown. They’re spooks, they don’t have lungs. Drowning is for those of us who need air.

What demons can and will do is destroy.

And they obviously did destroy the 2000 pigs and they obviously did try to destroy Spooky Naked Guy and they obviously came and went from Spooky Naked Guy whenever they wanted, and, they obviously can recognize and speak to the God of the universe…

… but they just don’t seem to be too darned afraid of water or hanging out inside of pigs.

That all said, if Jesus wanted to send the demons into the abyss, he could have!

But he didn’t.

He let ‘em be demons and destroy some pigs knowing full well the demons would survive. Pigs drown, demons get to continue on their not so merry way. Got it?

So, the question hanging in the air here is why?

Why does Jesus want an extra legion of demons doing demon stuff here on earth? Why didn’t He just slam dunk ‘em to abyssland?

Why didn’t these fallen angels get God-sized handcuffs and get thrown into the “abyss jail?”

Maybe because it’s not time.

Maybe because what you and I see as what should happen isn’t actually what should happen. Maybe because Jesus has a plan and He didn’t see the need to consult with us and ask us to form a committee to help Him decide His course of action concerning the demons.

Maybe the demons have a reason for existing….

And as they have a reason and are allowed by God to negotiate their existence, I see absolutely no reason why I should be afraid of them!

I see no reason why the church should be stuck playing defense against a opponent that is terrified of God and must submit to His authority!

I’m pretty bored with lobbing and chipping, and I’m pretty darn ready to line up my forehand to go inside-out and pound my opponent’s weak demonic backhand….

As a Christian missionary, I see the damage caused by demonic work. I see it everywhere. Not just in tennis, but literally everywhere.

I know there are plenty of people who aren’t too keen on talking or thinking about demons and stuff, but unless your just plain not too bright or unless you’re just totally spiritually blind, you gotta know demons are working harder than ants to flat out destroy.

And Jesus flat out tells me and you in His word, the Bible, that Spooky Naked Guy was inhabited by a literally freaking legion of demons! So, they are real. Spiritual war is real, Satan is real, and demons are real.

And you and I need to know how to deal with them. Because, and this might sound odd, demons are needed in God’s unfolding story.

He put ‘em here, right!? They serve a purpose.

A place without sin and demons and stuff is called Heaven, and earth in 2008 isn’t Heaven!

Demonic activity forces us to rely on God. It builds us, grows our faith, directly forces us to fill with faith as our “footwork” improves….

And, bigger than that, how would God’s glory have been revealed through His Son if not for demonic activity working to destroy Him?

I’m not trying to trivialize Satan’s power. My dad committed suicide after a life of alcoholism, and my family was bashed into the ground. And I’ve personally witnessed horrible atrocities worldwide. But, I am saying through God we have the power to take control and shine for Him.

I am saying Satan doesn’t have total power.  Sure, he’s the local country club 4.0 league champion… but bro he is no Roger Federer or Andre Agassi and never will or can be!  When you put him in perspective he’s only impressive to those who hang around him and compete on his level…

And we have no business or reason playing defense as the church, since we literally have the biggest serve and biggest game in the universe!

Demons… they just want to destroy. Since they couldn’t destroy Spooky Naked Guy, they destroyed pigs. That’s the tattoo of demonic activity, it destroys.

Yet, by God’s people rising up out of the destruction, by God’s people having the faith to shine for Him in a demonic, fallen world, by you and me standing strong against all odds despite our ridiculously unqualified ability… God can fill us with His grace and His love and His Holy Spirit and His wisdom as He moves our mouths and He moves our feet…

… just as the demons could inhabit and influence Spooky Naked Guy and the hogs to create destruction and Hell on earth…

… God can work within us and through us and in spite of us to build His kingdom and to share His glory.

Got it? Good.

Right now in our story Spooky Naked Guy’s life has radically changed. He’s not even back to being Normal Guy. Something new has been born, created by God and radiating in His story.

On the sandy beach something special is happening… and I look forward to sitting around the fire with you in Camp Jesus spending some time together as Spooky Naked Guy Draws A Crowd.

Scott Paschal

International Christian Tennis Association