Text: 8:26 Then they arrived at the country of the
Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 8:27
As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long
time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before
him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me,
Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”– 8:29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean
spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept
under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds
and be driven by the demon into the wilds.)
8:30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said,
“Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 8:31 They begged him not to order them to go
back into the abyss.
Introduction:
There’s a Polish proverb which has begun popular today: “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” It’s a way of saying, “Don’t drag me into your drama and your issues—I’m not getting involved.”
Early in my professional career, I sat in a training session led by a wise instructor from Florida who presented one of the most valuable pieces of advice for my professional, personal and even spiritual life that I have received. He shared the title of a book the name I cannot recall that taught us to be careful not to allow problems, negative attitudes, assaultive thoughts, or burdens into our lives. At a practical level, he said imagine that anytime someone approaches you that they have ten monkeys on their back. That person’s goal oftentimes is to unload as many monkeys onto you as possible. But, in reality, maybe one or two of those monkeys actually belong to you. If they are your responsibility, own them and take care of the problem. But just maybe none of those monkeys belong to you. Be careful not to take on monkeys that don’t belong to you. They will overwhelm you, take of your time and suck the energy and life out of you.
Now, imagine Satan, the Evil One, showing up at your door. And, trust me, he shows up every day. He wants to unload his monkeys, let’s call them demons, onto you. Now, let’s say clearly up front. None of Satan’s demons belong to you. Do not take one demon from Satan. Do not give him a foothold. He will dress his monkeys up in lipstick and ruse. But a pig with lipstick is still a pig. A demon, no matter how glamorous and attractive his offer may be is still a demon. Do not take demons on. They will ruin your day. They will ruin your life.
Traditionally, in the Christian faith, these demons will lead you into one or more of the seven deadly sins. They are: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. We won’t break each of these down this morning, but suffice to say that each of these sins, if you allow into your life the demons that introduce them to you, will have a detrimental, destructive, decadent effect on your life and the lives of those with whom you have a relationship.
The Gerasene carried many monkeys.
The Gerasene man’s monkeys were some serious monkeys. Demons, Luke calls them. Spiritual influences upon the Gerasene demoniac that had ruined this poor man’s life. These monkeys had weighed him down, caused him much mental stress even to the point that he ran around completely naked and lived in a graveyard. We don’t know how it came to be that this man acquired these demons. Was it a mental illness from some traumatic experience? Was it an evil presence that had possessed this man so that he could no longer function? Was he acting out some great pain, or fear, or hurt that he could not overcome, so he lost his mind? Perhaps he had an addiction of some sort that had engulfed his life? Whatever demons were possessing this man, one thing is for sure, they did not belong to him. Or, let’s say it this way, they belonged to him only as long as he allowed them to remain.
Somewhere along the way in his life, he accepted theses demons. He assented to their presence, to their continued residency in his mind and soul. Those demons that afflict us do not belong to us. They belong in the abyss. In fact, that is initially where Jesus intends to send them in our story.
The problem is, these demons can take up residency so long within us that we do not know how to get rid of them. We seem helpless to overcome their curse, their voices, their evil machinations upon our lives. Addictions are like this. Toxic relationships can be like. Self-loathing can be like this. Fear can be like this. But the demonic voices of these ugly spiritual powers over our lives can be so overwhelming and overpowering that we do not know how to break free.
It is so easy for us to look upon someone who is afflicted with some sort of demon, whether is be in the form of a mental illness, an addiction or involvement in a toxic relationship and judge the person. Why don’t they just stop the behavior? Why don’t they just stop doing drugs? Why don’t they just cut loose of that toxic relationship? You can even offer them the most logical, most sound, trusted advice, and they will not see it or get, because the demons are so overpowering that they do not have ears to hear. Such demons can be so overpowering that the person has essentially become incapable of breaking free without and intervention, a divine intervention, an outpouring of the Spirit into their life, the arrival of Jesus in the Gerasene of their lives.
Oh, but guess what? Jesus has crossed the Sea of Galilee. He has showed up and he is taking names.
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 impure 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 Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
What is the demon’s name? Legion, for we are many. Monkeys don’t show up in ones. They travel in packs, it seems. Demons come at you with a legion of assaultive thoughts, disappointments, doubts, fears, unkind words, rude behaviors toward you, events that will test your faith and threaten your happiness. They will try to tear you down, break your spirit, and try to find an opening of fear, resentment, jealousy, envy, any kind of little opening into your heart and soul. And once in your mind and soul, they will demoralize you, put defeatist thoughts into your head, isolate you from family, friends, church. Make you think you are all alone in the world, that nothing matters.
But know this one thing. Those demons are not yours. They do not belong to you. They are death. They come from the Evil one, who has come to kill, steal and destroy. And if you find yourself in the valley of spiritual death with these evil demons but don’t know how to break free, there is a way out. His name is Jesus. He is the physical presence of God in the world. He is God incarnate. He is God working love, redemption, renewal and healing in your body, in your mind and in your soul.
Jesus demonstrates not my circus, not my monkeys
Three times in the desert, Jesus is tempted to take on something that doesn’t belong to him, including power, possessions and pride. Each time, Jesus does not engage in an argument. Instead, he goes to Scripture, God-inspired response. Not my circus not my monkeys. (Luke 4:1-13)
Jesus is always aware that his detractors wish to trick him into theological and political traps. In one instance when he is standing before the Jewish Sanhedrin, which is trying to find a crime with which they can charge him, ask him, are you the Son of God? Jesus replied, You say that I am. A brilliant response. Don’t let people trap you by twisting your words. The best way to avoid that is to be careful with your words. Otherwise, people will give you monkeys that don’t belong to you. Tell them, Not my circus not my monkeys. (Luke 22:7)
Jesus says people will ask you to make commitments that you may or may not be able to keep. Don’t let others force you into untenable situations and set you up for failure. Instead, Jesus says, All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Why? No my circus, not my monkeys. (Matthew 5:36-37)
When Jesus tells his disciples that he must suffer and be crucified, Peter is especially dismayed. In fact, he rebukes his Master, Jesus. He says this shall never happen to you, Jesus. Jesus replies, Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. But this was, in fact, Jesus’ burden to bear. He was called to carry the cross for you and me. (Matthew 16:21-23)
Jesus demonstrates the advice given by the writer of Proverbs in Proverbs 4, beginning with verse 20. Here is how you avoid the infiltration of demons and all of their ugly, destructive wickedness from getting a foothold in your life and leading you to ruin. The Proverb writers says this:
20 My son, pay
attention to what I say;
turn
your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out
of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to
those who find them
and
health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard
your heart,
for
everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free
of perversity;
keep
corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look
straight ahead;
fix
your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought
to the[c] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the
right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
Maybe this morning you are dealing with some demons. Maybe, you let your guard down and failed to say not my demons, get behind me Satan. Maybe there are dark spiritual forces that have a hold of your life this morning. What you need now is a power to redeem you. What you need is a savior. What you need is Jesus. The good news is that in our story in Luke, Jesus drives the demons out of the demoniac of Gerasene. He drives those demons into a herd of pigs, which runs over a cliff and into the sea. That is how far away your demons can be removed from your heart and mind. They belong in the sea, not within you. Jesus can remove your demons. He will drive them out. He will heal you. Those demons are not yours. Let Jesus remove them and free you today.
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