Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 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. 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.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (Luke 8:26-29)
As we have entered this new year, we now start the next section of Luke 8 where Jesus healed a demon possessed man. Over this next month, we will look at 4 distinct aspects of this story to dig a little deeper into and glean from.
When Jesus stepped off the boat, he was met by a naked, demon possessed man who lived among the tombs, who we’ll later read was kept under guard with chains. As this man approached Jesus and Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out, the man, or rather a legion of demons as we’ll soon read, fell down before him and asked a question.
Now in the days of Jesus, a standard Roman legion was 6,000 men. So, it’s fair to say that this man was possessed with around 6,000 demons, and yet they, through the actions and voice of the man they possessed, fell down before Jesus and acknowledged Him as the Son of the Most High God. These demons whose eternal damnation is only a matter of time to come, bowed down and confessed who Jesus was.
And being found in human form, [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11)
Falling Before Jesus
As we read that the demon possessed man fell down before Jesus, this is one word in the Greek which means to violently fall forward and prostrate oneself in homage. These demons couldn’t help but fall forward and pay homage in the presence of Jesus because they knew exactly who Jesus was.
As Paul mentioned in Hebrews: For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:30-31)
The demons knew who Jesus was, they recognized Him as the Living God, Son of the Most High God, and fell in homage as they begged to not be tormented.
Jesus paid the price for our sins and He offers every human being salvation through Him. We all must choose to either bow the knee and confess His Lordship now, accepting Him as our salvation; and if not, then we will bow later and confess before being eternally separated from Him.
For us as followers of Jesus, we see the goodness of God’s great mercy and have bowed the knee and confessed with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and are saved.
Let’s wrap up with this…
If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, have you also fully surrendered your entire life and every aspect of it to His Lordship? If not, what’s stopping you? You know who He is, you know that even demons declare it and violently fall prostrate in homage to Him, so why would you ever choose to withhold any part of yourself from Him?
If you truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is, surrender your all to Him and don’t let demons outdo you in showing homage to the Most High God.