Luke 8: 34-35

When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demon had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ESV

The Spooky Naked Guy Chronicles: Part Six

Previously: The Stranger from the Boat allows negotiations with Legion for the demons departure from Spooky Naked Guy.  Legion then bolts from SNG and inhabits 2000 pigs and sends the pigs to their death in a lake.  We learn sin will always strive to negotiate a longer existence, yet God is always in control.  And we get a glimpse how demons are actually used in this world for His plan to unfold in the stories of our lives.

Our story continues…

They witnessed the entire event. It unfolded within their sight.

Without question what was witnessed was fact, they saw it; witnessed it firsthand, and they felt driven to tell others, right then without a moments delay.

I can almost see them studying the situation, cautiously and curiously watching the Stranger from the Boat and Spooky Naked Guy engaged in a battle of words and wills. They’re seeing, and possibly hearing, such strange things, witnessing an uncommon scene brought by uncommon people.

On or near the beach, observing, within this miraculous moment in time, there were probably just a few of them. Simple people simply living to care for their herds of animals… living a seemingly ordinary day with no idea extraordinary events had been placed in their paths. I can just see them, a handful at most, stopping and watching, not sure, as the situation was going down, if they should stay or run away.

There he was, the Stranger from the Boat, terrifying Spooky Naked Guy, who, ironically, was the one who had frightened them for so long.

How?  How was this possible!?

How can their ultimate terrifier be terrified? The strongest chains had refused to contain his power… and now here he is groveling in the beach sand at the feet of a stranger… his destiny completing.

Who is this Stranger from the Boat who so calmly commands and terrifies monsters!?

The observers hearts began beating faster and faster as they struggled to grasp a glimpse of sense within the encounter….

As the scene unfolds, these Herdsmen are forming thoughts and opinions. Maybe, in addition to fear, some even feel gratitude growing inside towards the stranger. Or possibly, they feel a twinge of sympathy for the monster who dysfunctionally taught them who to fear.

Maybe both occurred. I don’t know, the Bible doesn’t say.

Whatever, when the legion of demons, who terrorized through Spooky Naked Guy, begged to enter the pigs and actually did after gaining approval of the Stranger from the Boat…

… and then the terrified pigs sprinted to the lake and drowned…

WOW… the Herdsmen freaked out during that whole explosion of weird stuff, and, I would imagine, as a collective group since they had no way to comprehend what had just happened, they did what comes naturally to us all when we get scared… we run to our comfort zones.

So, they ran back home and told others what they had encountered.

Let me add something here… Herdsmen don’t just run scared. Herdsmen are among the toughest men anywhere on earth. They spend their lives living off the land while protecting their animals from predators. They work in the summer heat, the winter cold, driving rain… they fight bear, mountain lion… and these particular Herdsmen cared for hundreds and hundreds of hogs… day in, day out.

And when they encountered the power of Christ, when they witnessed His ability to slaughter the disobedient will of their living Monster, when they visibly witnessed their hundreds of pigs being overtaken by an unknown force, and when that force drove their herd to its death in the lake… they fled.

They fled to the city and to the country. And they told people in the city and in the country, basically everyone they met, what had happened!

And these people knew they were hearing it from the Herdsmen, hearing it from the toughest of the tough. Their Herdsmen were running, fleeing from the scene, telling everyone they could what had occurred.

After hearing, people then went to witness what had happened. Curiosity got the best of them. Who cares the Herdsmen were basically running around in fear like schoolgirls playing tag, the city and country folk wanted to see what all the excitement was about.

I often wonder what the Herdsmen were saying?

What kind of panic were they in as they told people what they saw? And, did they hear the entire conversation between Legion and Jesus? Did they just hear bits and pieces? I don’t know.

But, however it went down, what I do know is the people came, and they saw, and they were afraid.

Their demonic maniac monster was clothed.

He was sitting on the beach next to Jesus.

And he was, finally, in his right mind.

And they got scared….

Kind of pathetic, huh?  They didn’t get excited.  There was no celebration of the liberation.  Nope, they just got scared.

We can all get into our comfort zones, can’t we.  The place where being out of control is our in control and we feel ok with that.  And we get invited to church by a friend, or we get confronted with our addictions, or we receive an answer to prayer which requires our action… and we see Jesus at work in our lives…

…and we get scared.

And we see change and we get scared.  Our friends begin to heal from longtime pain, and we get scared because their pain gave us a sense on our being needed to help them.  And their healing shows us we need healing…

and we get scared.

And when our teens or those we love feel called to seemingly dangerous places for Him, and, although we know they are truly walking with Him… we get scared.

It takes the confrontation of our sin to clothe us and to put us in our right minds.  You and I have to face it.  If not, it may never heal and you will simply exist as a Spooky Naked Terror, and you may never know it.

Your alcoholism, your drug addiction, your family before God belief, your being consumed with growing “your” church, your tennis ranking… maybe God put this story in the Bible because He needs you to recognize demons are real.  They can consume.  They can destroy and terrorize you and others through you…

But, when confronted by Jesus, they will leave you, literally, clothed and in your right mind seated at the feet of Christ.

Notice, please, the God of the universe allowed the pain.  He allowed the demons to do their work.  Basically, He needed this story to be told.

You and I will go through pain.  It’s going to happen.

Yet, realize your pain is ultimately His pain.  And your worst can be preparation for His best.

And nothing can ever separate you from His love.

For wherever you are in your life, however hopeless it may seem, you have to know that Jesus has destiny planned with you…

… and He will meet you on His terms in your life.

Maybe you are the Herdsman rich will thousands of pigs, and God takes them away.  Maybe you are the townspeople who lived with demonic terror, and God frees you from your monster.  Maybe you are personally consumed with sin, and God clothes you.

I don’t know where you are.

But, I do know where He is and I know He wants you, forever, in His life.

Luke 8:30

Jesus asks him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.

Spooky Naked Guy Chronicles: Part Four

Previously: In the past Spooky Naked Guy had been chained, but always escaped when the demons returned to inhabit him and gave him supernatural strength to break the chains. Then, they made him run to solitary places.

We learn from Spooky Naked Guy that sometimes chains (discipline, accountability, intervention) are meant to protect us. Yet, sin can cause us to see healthy boundaries as controlling and dangerous, thus driving us away from the very thing which truly cares about our happiness.

The story continues…

Jesus really didn’t need to know Spooky Naked Guy’s name, or the names of the demons inhabiting him. He already knew exactly who and what He was speaking to and why. Yet, the Bible clearly shows Jesus asked him his name!

And, just before this, Jesus had commanded the demons to come out of Spooky Naked Guy… but He then let the demons ask Him questions before obeying His commands.

Why would Jesus negotiate with demons, and ask them their names, and even allow them to speak to Him in the first place!? In other places of the Bible, Jesus commands and no negotiating follows.

Jesus had chosen to have this amazing meeting on the beach with Spooky Naked Guy long before he even knew he was spooky and naked. This guy cutting himself with rocks and living in a cemetery while terrorizing locals was the object of his Savior’s love. Before, and during, the demonic possession is a child of God made in His image who is totally loved and adored by His maker who has come to rescue Him.

And here is Jesus writing the Bible through His words and deeds to teach us and show us and love us nearly 2000 years later. He has his reasons for allowing the demons to speak to Him.

When we have sin in our lives, sometimes we don’t see it. Sure, sometimes we do, but often we don’t. Maybe we have sinful habits passed down from our parents or grandparents. Maybe we are addicted to something and the sin has blinded us. Could be we choose to sin and rationalize it as ok.

I’m guilty of all of the above!

Aren’t you?

Jesus needed us to read this passage in His story. Jesus wants us to name our sin, see it for what it is.

He knows sin is powerful and can and will overtake our lives inhabiting and controlling our destiny. When sin recognizes Jesus, it will bow down… yet will still attempt to control through negotiation.

When Jesus and Spooky Naked Guy were face to face on the beach, the demons recognized Jesus and Jesus recognized the demons. Sin began its negotiations, yet Jesus demanded Spooky Naked Guy to name his demon (sin). He wanted it to be revealed through words. He wanted it to be exposed.

We all have sin in our lives. Jesus knows our sin.

He’s asking you to name the sin in your life. Is demonic activity influencing your thoughts and actions? Are you immune to it!? No, you’re not. Name your sin. Expose it. Tell it to Jesus.

Stop negotiating with it yourself. Stop letting it rule your life. Name it. Expose it as the fraud it is!

Jesus knows every detail about you. He knows every aspect of your life. His love for you knows no end. As you live each day, do you have a complete and clear understanding of the power of God’s total love for you? Forget what the world teaches! Forget it!! What was trendy 100 years ago, is idiotic now.

Who cares what the latest God-aphobic trend is now!? I don’t. You shouldn’t. The absolute only thing that matters is Jesus Christ crucified. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Name your sin. Tell it to Jesus.

You are a child of God made in His image.

Jesus is asking for all of you…

… give him your sin, so you can begin to live free in Him.

Scott Paschal

International Christian Tennis Association