Second Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Luke 8:26-39       

Luke 8:26-39

This week we find another of the amazing gospel deliverances brought to needy souls by the Savior. Now, one was directly affected, but I said “souls” because there is always fallout when Jesus does the miraculous. I love the scene for all the power of the Lord brought to bear on this demon-possessed man. But what I truly love is the result of it all. 

A bluster of pigs drowned in the sea. Tumult in the nearby towns. All caused by a man being freed. The people gathered about the incident know the man’s history. And now they observe him, “ …. sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.” And then, …. then he just wants to be with Jesus. You can’t blame him. It begs the question, “Is that where you and I want to be?” But that isn’t even the main point for me in writing about this account. It’s what comes next.

Jesus gives the man-made-new a task. A mission, you might say. Here it is: “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you” (8:39a). In other words, go home and tell your family about me. And that’s where it should and always truly begins. The gospel brought home, loved and lived at home, in order to saturate the home. For now and for all the days ahead. Start there. And watch what God’s deliverance can do.