Sermon - Proper 7, Year C, 2025 - Luke 8:26-39

The Swine Driven into the Sea, James Tissot, 1886

Jesus Casts Out Demons

1. Jesus casted out the demons from the demoniac and cleansed the man

2. Our nation is plagued by demonic oppression

3. The Word of Jesus casts out demons and cleanses us

Demons are real. Jesus casts out demons. When Jesus first entered the Decapolis, particularly the region of the Gerasenes, it was gentile territory. This means that these people did not worship the true God but were pagans and heathens. The soul is like a vacuum, so where the Holy Spirit does not dwell, unclean spirits dwell. Thus, it’s entirely unsurprising that “When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.” It should come as no surprise that when people are without the Lord there will be demons there.

When demons inhabit or oppress a person they make that person look inhuman and freakish. For instance, the Goliath whom David killed was from a pagan group of people who grew to freakishly gigantic proportions or the priests and prophets of the pagan god Baal would cut themselves and bleed or numerous pagan gods required human sacrifices, especially babies. Demonic assault glories in death and mutilation and disfigurement; it’s very nightmarish.

Thus, this Gerasene demoniac is described as being naked and unashamed of his wickedness, living among the tombs with the dead, freakishly strong breaking chains, and in Mark’s Gospel he’s described as cutting himself and mutilating his flesh. It’s a hideous sight and makes you sick just to think about it. 

But when Jesus approaches the man and commands the demons to leave, the reaction is interesting! “When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”” At the command of Jesus even demons must fall down before the Lord and beg Him for mercy. Even demons recognize the true identity of Jesus as the Son of God. This should be instructive for us that a simple historic or factual knowledge that Jesus is God and that God is real does not amount to saving faith. “Even the demons believe - and shudder!” What Christ calls us to is repentance, faith, and trust in Him.

We also learn that this poor man is possessed not just by a demon, but by many demons. The demons say their name is Legion. A Roman legion is a military unit consisting of between 3000 and 6000 soldiers. Since the demons use a military term, it infers that they are thinking like an army at battle, and their actions are not random but strategic, and their assaults against humans are intentionally degrading and demoralizing. This should also be instructive for us, that if demons are so well organized and actively fighting against us, then we must be prepared to fight them in return.

When the demons are faced with the Christ, they know they have lost, and that the Christ has the authority to cast them into hell. So they make a request: “And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.” But what’s the abyss? In the Old Testament the abyss is the chaotic waters which God’s creation ordered, but it’s also the chaotic waters that destroyed the earth, and it’s the watery deep which shall be the eternal place of judgment for demons. But importantly it’s a place of deep waters. Demons therefore do not like water, which is why Jesus says they wander through waterless places and they drive the demoniac into the desert.

So, the demons beg Jesus to let them enter into a large herd of pigs, numbering about 2000. Perhaps surprisingly Jesus gave them permission. But! “Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.” At first glance this may look like the demons are getting the upper hand, since now they get to be destructive and hurt Jesus’ reputation. But remember, demons like waterless places and the abyss is a place of water, therefore rushing down into the sea to drown is not something the demons would want.

Thus, what’s going on here is Jesus showing His dominion over Satan and His victory against the powers of hell. It’s a sort of preliminary fulfillment of Jesus’ defeat of Satan in Revelation: “The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Jesus does not give into demons and let them win. No, Jesus sends them into the abyss.

God be praised, Jesus does not merely defeat the devil, but He cleanses those who have been oppressed by Satan. The demoniac was freed not just from his shackles of metal, but from his bondage to Satan. He’s “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.” The healing of this man means that he has been cleansed of Satan’s attacks. No more is he dwelling among death, but sitting at the feet of Jesus as his disciple. No more is he naked, but he’s clothed and especially clothed in the robe of righteousness. His mind is clear and soberheaded, and he desires to remain with Jesus. The Lord sends him back to his home, where he preaches throughout the city what Jesus had done for him. By the time Jesus comes back to the Decapolis, no longer are people chasing Him away, but bringing their sick to Him, because they had heard this man’s preaching. Jesus really does make all things new.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, demons are real, Jesus casts out demons, and He makes all things new. Our nation has been very rapidly devolving into a non-Christian nation. Paganism and other false religions are on the rise, not to mention that the number of people who actually attend Christian services is dismally tiny compared to the number who claim to be Christian. The Soul abhors a vacuum, and therefore it must be occupied, either by the Holy Spirit or by an unclean spirit. Considering how few people are practicing Christians here in our country now, this means there are a lot of people possessed and oppressed by demons.

The signs are all over the place, it’s obvious! This generation is obsessed with death. Our entertainment is watching gore to the max and our government funds child sacrifice under the guise of healthcare. Our bodies ought to be treated like a temple of the Lord, but instead they’re freakishly mutilated and deformed. Look at how people present themselves in public; and it’s not just Walmart people anymore, it’s everywhere. When I was a teenager, kids were cutting themselves. Now, teenagers are being mutilated by doctors with hormones and genital amputations. All of these signs point us to demonic assault.

I know, when you hear all of these things it makes you depressed, so you throw up your hands and lament. But just like getting a tough diagnosis from the doctor scares you a bit, at least you know what you’re dealing with and you have a course of action and treatment. Similarly, it’s a shot in the gut to hear that demons are real, and they’re actively organized in our cities and our homes. But if you know that you’re dealing with demons, then you know what to do.

How do you combat demonic oppression? With the power of the Word of God. Look, this one healed demoniac went home and preached what God had done for him, and many people believed in Jesus from that time on. None of us are that different from him, because all of us have been cleansed by demons and won for Christ. Before you were baptized, you weren’t just this cute little baby, but you belonged to Satan. So when you were baptized the unclean spirits were cast out of you, and the Holy Spirit entered in to make your heart His place of rest. Look what God has done for you! Look what Jesus has done for you. He spared not His own life, but gave up His life in order to bear the burdens of your sins, your demonic oppression, and forgive you. By the power of His blood, He cleansed you. In the blessed flood of baptism, Jesus drowned the demons in the abyss, and washed away your stain of sin. See how much Jesus has done for you! The power of that Word is enough to cast demons out of others.

What may be difficult for us to bear, however, is that the scars of those who have been oppressed by demons will not be removed from their flesh until the resurrection on the last day. The demoniac was cleansed, his sins were forgiven, he had faith in Jesus, but his scars in his flesh from cutting himself remained until the resurrection. His reputation, his actions and behaviors before his conversion would’ve stuck with him until death. Those were burdens he’d have to bear, and other Christians with him.

Those who were slaves to sin often bear in their flesh the scars of their sins, and those are burdens they must bear until Christ returns. The drug addict whose body is destroyed, the alcoholic whose liver is trash, the mother whose child has been sacrificed, the transgender whose body is disfigured, the adulterer who is now lonely without family. These are burdens, and not easy to bear. As the body of Christ, we must learn to bear one another’s burdens and suffer alongside them. None of us are without sin, and all of us have scars either visible or not, so in humility let us learn to love one another with the love of Christ.

And take heart, the demons will not win, they will in the end all be cast into the abyss. All who sit at the feet of Jesus are already cleansed of their sins, and in the end shall be cleansed completely and thoroughly. All who suffer the burdens of the scars of sins shall be cleansed and their bodies completely restored. Nowhere else will you find complete restoration than in Christ Jesus. He doesn’t just take you as you are, and leave you as a mess, but He makes you new again and restores you to perfection.