Second Sunday after Pentecost

 Sermon Text: Luke 8:26-39

 Other Readings: Isaiah 43:8-13 and 2 Timothy 1:3-10


 

  1. What do you make of the fact that the demons “begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss” (v. 31)?
     
  2. Do you think that demon possession was more common in Jesus’ day or that we just aren’t as aware of it currently? Explain your position.
     
  3. In verse 36, the New International Version says that the man was “cured.” But the Greek word used there also sometimes means “saved.” What word-play might St. Luke be doing with this verb?
     
  4. Verse 39 reads, “‘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.” What’s different in the second half than the first half? What is St. Luke teaching us?
     
  5. Both the demons and the man recognized that Jesus is God. By the end of account, who had faith in Jesus? How can that help you put your faith into action?

 

  1. Hell has nothing pleasant about it. Not even the phrase “misery loves company” applies because hell is completely separated from any bit of God’s mercy and grace.
     
  2. It seems like demon possession was more common back then, probably in part because it was the devil’s way of trying to go toe-to-toe with the Son of God come in the flesh. But perhaps demon-possession is less common now in our culture also because he doesn’t need to work on us in that overt of a way. Or maybe we have just become accustomed to explaining most things to medical diagnoses that we are hesitant to find demonic influence or control.
     
  3. St. Luke might want us to be thinking of a curing of both body and soul, that the man was saved not just from the demons but from unbelief itself.
     
  4. “God” is switched out in favor of “Jesus.” St. Luke is making it very clear that Jesus is true God.
     
  5. The man had faith because he put his trust in Jesus. This can help you to understand that faith is not just a thing of knowledge in the brain; it is a position of confidence in the heart. This confidence moves us to want to follow Jesus without reservation and to tell others about him.