Trash or Treasure? (Luke 8:26-39)

TRASH OR TREASURE? (LUKE 8:26-39)


The world’s most expensive coffee is dung, literally, of and to its first consumers. Luwak coffee, or kopi luwak, cost hundreds of American dollars a pound, but the beans are the droppings of the civet creature found in South East Asia, including Philippines and Indonesia. Originally seen as pests to coffee farmers and delicacy to food lovers, the animals are now the darlings of the coffee world, with civet mini-farms a thriving business today.

The locals patiently wait at night in the remotest forests for the animals that eat the ripest, sweetest and tastiest coffee beans to excrete the beans that the civets could not digest. The indigestible coffee beans had spent at least a day in the animal’s stomach acids and enzymes before resurfacing on the other end to be thoroughly washed and sun-dried for a smooth, aromatic and chocolaty brew with no bitter aftertaste. A Manila-based company exports the product to distributors overseas, especially Japan and South Korea, for US$500 per 2.2-pound bags, or about $227 a pound. (“From Dung to Coffee Brew With No Aftertaste,” New York Times, April 17, 2010)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/world/asia/18civetcoffee.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=from%20dung&st=cse

In April 2008 a department store in London began selling a blend of kopi luwak and Blue Mountain called Caffe Raro for £50 (US $99.00) a cup. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak

In Luke 8 Jesus came to a man whom society considered an outcast, an untouchable, a demon, a scumbag or a bum, but Jesus treated him as a person and a soul. Jesus was unafraid of and uncompromising to the unwanted man. Jesus refused to give up and go away; instead the demons were cast out and wiped out.

How did Christ respond to society’s abandoned people? What resources do we have in Christ to help them? What is our message and what do we offer?

Surrender to God’s Planned Pursuit of Your Life
26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. (Luke 8:26-27)

How much effort and of what kind do you put into what you do? I saw a man in shorts and a T-shirt which say

“I ALWAYS GIVE 100% AT WORK
12% MONDAY
23% TUESDAY
40% WEDNESDAY
20% THURSDAY
5% FRIDAY

Another version on the internet says, “I always give 100% at work. 25% for four days and take Friday off.”

What kind of effort of you put into caring for others and sharing the gospel?

Up to this point, even though Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 8:1), His ministry and travels were mainly confined to the Jewish side of Galilee, including ministry to a centurion at the beginning of chapter 7. The first thing you notice in this chapter is that Jesus took the time and initiated the travel to the region of the Gerasenes, which is on the Gentile side, across the lake from Galilee (v 26).

Jesus suggested the trip to His disciples (v 22). No one prompted and pressured him to do so. The book of Matthew indicated that Jesus got into the boat first and his disciples followed him (Matt 8:23). It was a planned, premeditated, and punishing trip, at least in the eyes of the disciples, who promptly ran into a windstorm (v 23), risking “great danger” (NT debut of word), drowning ( 24) and “raging” (NT debut) waters (v 24) in the process.

The adventure was strange and surprising. It was unusual, unfathomable, unnecessary and unwanted in the eyes of others. It was a risk and a ride no disciple wanted. Their destination was the nowhere land “region” of the Gerasenes. The more popular translation for “region” is country or countryside (Matt 2:12, Mark 1:5, Luke 15:14, 19:12, 21:21, John 11:55), the kind of place describing shepherds watching their flocks at night (Luke 2:8) and the prodigal squandering his wealth in wild living (Luke 15:13). The place seems so far and foreign that Luke uses another one-of-a-kind word in the Bible: “across” (v 26), which should be translated as “over/beyond against” (antiperan) Galilee. It was an extremely dangerous and long voyage. They started in the evening, according to Mark 4:35, and arrived the next day when farmers were already herding pigs (v 32).

Reaching the other side, the person who met them was not only a Gentile outsider, but a society outcast and a human oddball as well. Can you imagine Jesus scheduling only one event for one person on a day-trip over troubled waters and beyond yonder? All this trouble for the sake of a naked and homeless demon-possessed man? Matthew 8:28 describes him as “so violent” or “exceeding fierce” in KJV. “Fierce” (Matt 8:28) itself is an uncommon enough, appearing only once elsewhere in the Bible (2 Tim 3:1). He was a threat, a terror and a tyrant, not a teddy bear by any means. Jesus came to find a man the locals ran from; a ghost and a monster of a man the locals feared and forsook. Notice that verse 29’s “kept” and “broken” are participles in Greek, translated as “keeping” and “breaking,” meaning constant and continual struggle and battle.

Surrender to God’s Perfect Power in Your Life
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!” 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. 30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. 32 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. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. (Luke 8:28-33)

Watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZb2sDvWul0

What do we know about demons from this passage? They are unclean (v 29, translated as “evil” in NIV), undisciplined, unsparing and unrepentant by nature. Demons are known to be undisciplined, because the parallel passage of Mark 5:5 says that “NIGHT AND DAY among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.” Notice demons’ unsparing nature by the Greek plural use of “chained hand and foot” or “chains and fetters” in Greek (v 29), tombs (v 27), bonds/chains and solitary places (v 29). Mark’s account adds the plural “hills” and “stones” to emphasize the ruthlessness, ferociousness and maliciousness (Mark 5:5). Also, demons believe (James 2:19), but they never repent. They “cried out” (v 28), which is a participle, which means it is active and annoying. They bowed to Jesus (“fell at feet” in NIV), a homage reserved for Jesus alone in the gospels (Mark 3:11, 5:33, 7:25, Luke 5:8). Also, their voice was loud, or great in Greek (v 28). Like hardened criminals, the demons give up only when they are exposed or expelled. Jesus, however, would never accept any praise, plea, or proposal which is to their advantage, benefit or credit. Jesus is not demons’ friend, God is not their father, they are not His flock. Consistent with Scripture (John 5:30), Jesus seek to please the Father, and not the villagers or the demons, in the end not even the man.

Demons survive and thrive on people who are intimidated, isolated, irrational, irresponsible and ill. Fearful, fretful and fateful people are their prey. The way to deal with the devil is to receive the Lord, resist the devil (James 4:7), repent from sin (2 Tim 2:25-26, 1 John 3:8). The three-fold purpose of Jesus’ appearance is to demonstrate His authority, deliver the sinner and destroy the devil (1 John 3:8). The demons realized they could not imitate Jesus’ power, intimidate the person or ignore His presence. Jesus opposed the demons, ordered their departure (v 29), and overlooked their pleas. Their defeat, departure and demise are certain. He sees them as fugitives, frauds, and filth.

With Jesus present, the demons cannot rebel, rest or return; rebuke (Jude 9) and ruin awaiting them. The verb “command” (v 29) occurs but seven times in the gospels (Matt 10:5, Mark 6:8, 8:6, Luke 5:14, 8:29, 8:56, 9:21), all used exclusively in the Synoptics and all by Jesus. He sees them for the fallen nature they are and the fate they deserve.

Surrender to God’s Particular Purpose for Your Life
34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:34-39)

Claudia Minden Weisz (the mother of a Rett Syndrome child with a neurodevelopmental disorder) wrote this wonderful poem:
I asked God to take away my pride. And God said “No”.
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. And God said “No”.
He said her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience. And God said “No”.
He said patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn't granted, it is earned.
I asked God to give me happiness. And God said “No”.
He said He gives me blessings, happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain. And God said “No”.
He said suffering draws me apart from worldly cares and brings me closer to Him.
I asked God to make my spirit grow. And God said “No”.
He said I must grow on my own. But He will prune me to make me fruitful.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. And God said “No”.
He said He will give me life, that I may enjoy all things.
I ask God to help me love others, as much as he loves me.
And God said “Ah, finally you have the idea!”

There was nothing the healed man could do for Jesus in Jerusalem or in Judea, but His witness in Gerasenes was needed to turn the villagers’ fear into faith. His usefulness across the other side of the lake in Jewish circles was limited. However, the local boy’s turnaround was sure to cause a discussion, create a fuss and counter a misconception. The people were opposed to Jesus, but they were never opposed to the man.

The locals asked Jesus but not the demon-possessed man to leave. Sure, twice the text say they were afraid (vv 35, 37 “great fear”), but there was no direct object to their fear, meaning it did not say who they feared. Surely not the man, who had a free pass all over town and had plenty of contact with others, telling them how much Jesus had done for him (v 39). Not that the man did not try to leave with Jesus. He begged and beseeched, but never bargained. He approached and asked, but he did not argue, submitting and surrendering to His will. He implored without insisting and requested without resenting.

The account in Mark has the most amazing version and follow-up of how the begging (parakaleo) went, while Luke preferred “asked” (erotao) (v 37) and “begged”(deomai) (v 38). The demons “begged” (parakaleo) Jesus to send them among the pigs, which Jesus did (Mark 5:12-13). Then the people “pleaded” (parakaleo) with Jesus to leave their region, which he did (v 37, Mark 5:17-18). As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed “begged”(parakaleo) (v 38) to go with him, but he was turned down (Mark 5:18-19). Because of him, the people were no longer afraid but were amazed, the first time the word shows up in Mark (Mark 5:20). The man later made his witness in Decapolis (Mark 15:20), the name suggesting a region bound by ten cities. By the way, Jesus returned to Decapolis (Mark 7:31), but only to the coasts (KJV) of Decapolis, whereas the man made his mark all over town (v 39). Besides the apostles, the man is the first person to “preach” the good news of Christ (v 39).

Conclusion: In Jesus, no willing soul is left behind. In Him, trash becomes treasure. He specializes in souls and lives that are wretched, wasted and worthless. Have you gone out of your way to share the gospel? What kind of practical ways have you ministered to those trapped in their poverty, misery, and disability? Have you asked the Lord how you can glorify Him where you are and with what you have?