Luke 8 (Part 2)

Luke chapter 8. Open your Bible there, please. Luke chapter 8. We're going to finish the eighth chapter of Luke today. Luke chapter 8. Pray with me please. Lord, we just want to hear from You today. Even as Ken prayed, Lord we want to be transformed by Your Word. And so, as we open it up we just pray for Your Holy Spirit to enliven our heart. Give us ears to hear, give us eyes to see. Lord, speak to our hearts today. Speak to us about the important things of life. We ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen. Last week in the first half of Luke chapter 8, you'll remember that we focused on the words of Jesus, and He had a lot of important exhortations to give us about being hearers, and we went through the parable of the sower, and we learned that there are many different ways to both hear and respond to the Word of God. Now, as we get in here to the second half of Luke chapter 8, we're going to be dealing not as much with the words of Jesus, but with the works of Jesus, and the first work that we're going to be looking at here today takes place when they're out in a boat. Verse 22 is where we're picking it up in Luke chapter 8, and it goes like this.

I want you to pause there, if you would please, with me, for just a bit, because in this first section, we want to look at what's happening here. I'm sure you've seen this. You've read this many times. This is an opportunity.

Jesus took this opportunity to reveal to His disciples, His authority, His works over the wind and the waves, but there's way more going on here than just that. As you can well imagine, there almost always is more to it than just what is appearing on the surface. This is an opportunity for the disciples to learn an incredibly important lesson for the time that is to come in their lives and their ministries, and I believe this is a very important lesson for you and I to pay attention to and to learn from, and I am quite certain that with the disciples this is one that they remembered a lot in the months and the years to come. But the lesson that is being taught here to these men, which is far more than just, I can speak to the wind and it'll be calm, and I can speak to the waves and they will settle, is this. It's all about facing the dangers of life, facing really scary situations and doing it with Jesus at the helm. But I have to be honest with you going into this story, that when I first started really reading this passage, I remember the first time I read it, I was a little bit miffed at Jesus because I thought that His question to them was rather unfair, and that question was, where's your faith? When I first read that, I was like, how could you ask that question? Because most of these guys, not all of them, but most of them, we're experienced fishermen. I mean, they knew how to handle a boat and they knew when they were facing a dangerous situation. I mean, a truly dangerous situation. These guys weren't a bunch of panty waists that had never been in a boat like, oh, it's rocking or, oh, I'm getting wet. There's none of that going on. These guys are fishermen. These are big, burly, hairy, stinky fishermen, and they're used to handling a boat and they're used to maneuvering through rough waters. And I am sure that some of these guys had been through rough waters in their time as fishermen, and I am willing to bet that all of them knew someone who had been caught in one of these famous squalls that were often to descend upon the lake of Galilee there, and cause such great and difficult times. I'm sure that they had known people who had lost their lives, died in this sort of a very situation, and Luke makes it clear in his telling of this in the narrative, he says they were in danger. So he admits that in this whole thing. And as we read this, we recognize that is in fact the case, which is why I always felt like the question that Jesus put to them was unreasonable. Where's your faith boys, sort of a thing. It's like we were in danger! Haven't you ever heard of these squalls that come upon the sea of Galilee? Haven't you heard about the people who have died? I know someone who lost their life in this very circumstance, in this very body of water. I know someone who died. How can you say to us, where's your faith? But the more I got to thinking about it, and the more I learned, the more I became convinced that Jesus isn't trying to convince them that a dangerous situation isn't a dangerous situation. I don't think that's what's going on at all, and in fact, I think what He was doing was He was passing along a life lesson that they desperately needed to learn, and that is how their relationship to danger would never be the same again. You guys need to hear me on this because it applies to you too. It is the birthright of every child of God. He's trying to communicate to them that your relationship to danger will never be the same again, and that is because when we give ourselves by faith to Jesus Christ, and we offer our lives to Him, a whole new dynamic begins to open up in our lives related to our safety, and our future, and our days and it begins because our lives are now under new management. You do know that, right? You've come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior, and your life is now under new management. I want to show you what I mean, just a little bit here, when Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he said an interesting thing about believers. Let me put this on the screen here for you from 1 Corinthians 6. It says this, he says, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

…you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Now, I don't know about you, but when I buy something, I assume that thing becomes my possession. Don't you? I mean, I bought it, I paid for it. If somebody challenged me as to why I had that in my home, I could say, well, I purchased it, it's mine. You with me? The same is true of your relationship with Jesus Christ. We are told in that Scripture that you are no longer your own, but you have been purchased with a price. We know what the price was, His very life on the cross, His blood that was shed for you and I, and we are now under new management, we are now under new ownership, and here's the point. Our attitude about life ought now to reflect that new ownership, and our attitude about danger. About the dangers that we face, the difficulties, the challenges, the hardships, the junk that we face, and Jesus, as I'm sure none of you are surprised, is our perfect example of how that attitude should come out in our lives when we're facing a situation that is dangerous. You probably remember that when Jesus was arrested on the day that He was to be crucified, He was taken first to the Sanhedrin and then, because they had really no authority to put a man to death, they took him to meet with Pontius Pilate, who was the governor of the land that was under Roman occupation at the time. And while Jesus stood there before Pilate, we're told that the Jews were throwing all kinds of accusations against Him in the hearing of Pilate, and Pilate was accustomed to hearing people in those sorts of situations defend themselves to say, oh, that's a lie or that's stupid. They don't know what they're talking about, but Jesus didn't do any of that. He just held his tongue. He just sat there or stood there as the case may be, and just, and allowed these accusations to come flying in, and Pilate was amazed by this and he finally spoke up to Jesus and asked Him about it. And it's in John 19, let me put this on the screen here, John 19 look what it says. John 19:10-11 (ESV)

Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” (and look at the Lord’s answer) Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above… Do you think that's something only Jesus can say? I submit to you that is something that you and I can say now because our lives are under new management, because we've been purchased, we've been bought with a price. And I want you to notice how authority likes to be thrown out at us. Did you notice Pilate said to Him, don't you realize that I have the authority? I can release you, or I can sentence you to death. Don't you know that? And that's exactly how danger speaks to us.

When danger looks you in the eye and gets your attention and says to you, don't you know what I can do? Don't you know what I've done in other people's lives? Haven't you seen what I have accomplished? I have the authority to accomplish it, and it speaks to us in just those kinds of ways, and convinces us that it has the authority to do something in our lives, and it's usually something pretty awful, right? But Jesus knew better. And so He responded to Pilate in this statement about authority. He responded with a correction, and I love His response. You would have no authority at all over me unless it had been given you by my Father in heaven. In other words, there's only one true authority in my life, and that is God, and any ability that you might have to affect my life is only that which is granted to you. Guys, are you hearing me? The only ability that danger has to affect your life is that which it has been granted to affect your life. And that was the lesson that I believe Jesus was conveying to His disciples that day when that storm descended upon the sea of Galilee, it hit that lake, He stood up and He showed them in no uncertain terms that regardless of the danger and how threatening that danger is, He has the final authority and those things, those dangers must bow before His Word. They must, because He has that ultimate authority, and that lesson, that lesson, you guys is critical. It was critical for the disciples to learn, good grief, in the coming months and years that these men would minister. Danger would be an everyday occurrence for these guys. The threat, the impending looming threat of losing their lives would become an ever-present reality. And for you and I, it's not so much. There are some of us, maybe even in this room, for whom threats like that, of doom seem to be always hanging over our head, but regardless of whether they are constant or whether they come and go the lesson here is that the final authority is God's. The final authority is not that situation that you are facing. That is not the final authority in your life. That does not have the final word in your life as much as it may try to convince you. Pontius Pilate is this picture of all these kinds of danger that come up in our lives that want to convince you and I that I'm in control. It says to us, don't you know that I have the power to kill you? Don't you know that I have the power to destroy your life? Christians I really think that you and I need to take a page out of Jesus' book, literally, and be able to speak back to the ever present danger and literally, and if you have to say it, then say it out loud. You would have no power over me had it not been given you from above. So there.

Kind of puts danger in its place, doesn't it? The point, though, is that you and I, hopefully aren't just echoing empty, for us, empty words, but that there would genuinely be a heart of faith there that believes that the final authority is God's. I really believe that this is something the Lord wants all of His children to get a hold of so that they can walk it out in faith, and trust, believing. This thing is not the final authority in my life. It says it is, and others may give me the idea that it is, but it is not. Moving on. Verse 26, look with me in your Bible.

Jesus is now moving into more Gentile territory. I'm sure there are some Jews living there too, but it's essentially now been taken over by the Gentiles. And it says in verse 27 that,

Pause there, please, with me for just a moment, because this is a terribly pathetic situation that Luke is painting for us here. No sooner does Jesus set foot on land, as they reach the shore on the other side of the sea of Galilee, but He's met with this man screaming, naked man, running toward him, screaming at the top of his lungs, crying out, living a life of pure misery because he is infested by many demons. We're told here, living not among people but among the dead, which is, this is what demons do to people. They take away their life. They steal their life and everything that's good and holy and pure, and a gift of God and they take over, and this man had been taken over. He was now a prisoner in his own body and his soul was captive to the destructive work of the evil one, and what I find interesting though, is that he seems strangely attracted to Jesus. And I don't know if this is what demons do. I know what men do when God steps on the scene and they don't want to be around Him. They run, don't they?

We have, way back in Genesis after the first sin was committed, the Bible says that God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and what Adam and Eve do? They made a beeline for the nearest place they could hide, right? They didn't want to be around His presence because there was just such conviction and such desire to be away, apart and so forth. But somehow these demons, which are fallen angels, are drawn and attracted to the point where they compel this poor man to run toward Jesus toward Him, falling down on his knees and crying out before the Lord. What do we have to do with us Jesus, Son of the most high God? Oh, and by the way, do you notice the demons knew who Jesus was? Demons always know who Jesus is there. They're in no doubt about His existence, which, by the way, is a good reminder for you and I, that just knowing or believing in the existence of God isn't enough. Because that's what demons do. Remember what James said? Here it is on the screen from James chapter 2,

Even the demons believe-and they shudder. I'm never comforted when somebody says to me, I believe in Jesus. Yeah, who cares? So do the demons. You and I know that it's not just believing it's receiving, right? It says, “to those who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God,” and receiving Him means embracing all that He's done on the cross for you and I and so forth. Anyway, verse 30,

And I think the word or the title legion is simply given to us to imply multiplicity, because frankly, a legion was a detachment of soldiers in the Roman infantry that could vary from a thousand to six thousand soldiers. So, a legion could be any number of large groups, so I don't think this is meant to give us a specific number.

--- I've heard some commentators say, which tells us here, he had 6,000 demons in him. I don't think that's what's going on. I think it's just, he had a lot. There were a lot of demons going on and it's his way of saying that this host, this man, is in deep trouble here from serious demon possession. And it says in verse 31 that, “...they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.” And this is an interesting statement too, which tells us that demons know and understand that their ultimate destiny is the abyss. I don't even know what the abyss is. Well, I mean, I don't think any of us do really. I mean, we know there's a place called the abyss where the enemy is ultimately going to be cast and all of these demons know that their ultimate destiny is there. I always thought it was the bottom of my wife's purse, but anyway, we don't know very much about it. But one thing is crystal clear, the demons have no desire to go there, and so they're begging Jesus not to pass them, cast them into the abyss. We're told here in verse 32, “Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.” Oh, there's so much here we just don't understand. But apparently demons long for some living host. They knew that they weren't about to get permission to go into any human beings around there because Jesus was there, and if anything, He was about to cast them out of the one host that they had, and knowing that these pigs were there, crazy, isn't it? I mean, this is the weird stuff that crazy stories are made from. They asked permission to go into the pigs. There's no other biblical record of animals being possessed, because I don't think it's really even possible, because animals don't possess a soul or a spirit like human beings do, and you'll see here what happens when it takes place. But it's crazy that these pigs were willing to, or these demons, rather, were willing to inhabit swine. It says Jesus gave them permission, there at the end of verse 32. And then verse 33, we see what happened. “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.” There you go. That's what happens when demons enter animals. They just freak out. There's no potential to even resist. They can't resist. You and I can resist at least up to a point. ---

Now as believers, we can resist in a powerful sort of a way. By the way, that's why I don't believe a Christian can be demon possessed because we are told this, “…resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Right? Did you ever notice when James gave us that he didn't say resist the devil unless you're possessed, in which case you can't. He didn't say that. He just said, resist the devil and he will flee from you, and that verse would absolutely make no sense if believers could be infested with a demonic presence, because you're way past resisting to the point of him fleeing. You can resist to the point where, I mean, I think a person who's even demonically possessed can resist to the point of holding back some of the influence from time to time, but ultimately, it's going to overwhelm the individual. But with an animal, it's overwhelming from the get go. Here's these animals, all these demons go in, and they're just, they're gone. They just freak out, run down the hill, drown in the lake, and there you go. Instant deviled ham, all over the beach. Sorry, that was a bad joke. Anyway, this whole story raises a whole lot more questions than it does answers. But one thing we clearly see here is the destructive nature of demons. They are given over to destruction. They are given over to darkness. They are confirmed in their darkness. People have asked from time to time, can angels be saved? No, they can't. They're confirmed. and that word confirmed. Anybody ever go through confirmation as a kid? Most people who have ever gone through confirmation don't even know what it means, but to be confirmed in something means to be set on a path that you don't vary from. You're confirmed in something. And the reason we call them, I'm sure church has called them confirmation classes, is they believe that once a kid went through this process of confirmation, they would be confirmed in their path. Very few kids ever were, but angels are demonic. Well, actually all angels fallen or otherwise, they are confirmed in their situation. Demons are confirmed in their darkness and the angels of God that are not, did not fall, they are confirmed in righteousness, and they can no longer fall, and the other angels can no longer be restored. They're confirmed. It's a done deal. They have beheld the face of God, and they still made their choice. So, anyway, here you have about 2,000 floating pigs, and by the way, it's Mark who tells us how many pigs there were in this whole thing. And we're told in verse 34 that, “When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they (came to him and they said, wow, that is really cool. We're really happy for what you did. Yeah, I threw that in there because that's the opposite of what they did. It says, and they) were afraid. (They were afraid) 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. (Kind of went through the whole story) 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked (Jesus) him to depart from them, (Look at this) for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.” When I, sometimes it's funny, I read through some of the commentaries that I have that I consult from time to time when I'm studying. And some of the commentators will say they already had lost so much revenue by these 2,000 pigs being destroyed that they said, Jesus, we don't want you in our land because their greed was so high that they thought, if this guy stays any longer, we'll be ruined. That's not what the text says. I mean, the text simply says they were seized with fear, and that's why they asked Him to leave. They were fearful. I believe that they, again, they asked Jesus to leave for the same reason Adam and Eve hid in the garden when they heard the Lord walking in the cool of the day. They didn't want Him, they didn't want to be in His presence because they were convicted of their own sin. They were convicted of their own wrongdoing and they didn't, it was too much. It was too much. Like leave, just leave. Have you ever, do you remember before you came to Christ when you didn't want God around anything around your existence, your frame of reference that would remind you of God's presence, including Christians and their Bible toting weirdness, and all this other stuff that, would? It's like, oh, I wish these Christians would just get away from me. And I think that's, what's going on. They were seized with fear. Same reason people don't like to come to church, or they'll say, I'll come to church when I get my act together. They know that they don't measure up. And we don't, do we? We all fall short of the glory of God, and who wants to be reminded of that? Anyway, it goes on. I'm impressed with the last few verses of this story. Look at verse 38. It says, “The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.” I’ve got to tell you that just really blesses me. This man who was so horrifically overcome by these demonic beings, to the point where nobody could handle this man. Nobody could bind him. Nobody could control him. I mean, talk about having your life out of control. And I get it. He wants to come and just hang with Jesus. I would too. Here's the man that just set you free from this existence of misery and destruction and just what a horrible life. But Jesus says to him, I've got other plans. I want you to go and I want you to tell the people what the Lord has done for you. And so, He sent this man to go share his testimony, and a testimony is a powerful thing, isn't it? The testimony is very simply, here's what God's done for me. And your testimony might not be as elaborate as a man who was, infested with all kinds of demons, and lived among the tombs naked, and could break chains, and we’re told also by Matthew that he used to cut himself because he was so tormented. And you may not have that same kind of a testimony, but you have a testimony. And this man had a testimony. You know what’s interesting? This one man, this one man, powerful thing, even though the people of this land chased Jesus off and away from their territory, do you know that Jesus is going to come back a little bit later on? And do you know what? He's going to be met with adoring crowds. What made the difference? This man became His evangelist to these people, and when Jesus goes back here a second time and lands on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the people are going to flock to Him to hear what He has to say, to bring their sick and infirmed, and they're going to meet him in a completely different attitude because this man shared his testimony. He shared what happened. This is just that great reminder to you and I, so tell people what the Lord has done in your life. It's a very powerful thing. Verse 40. “Now when Jesus returned, (and that means went back to the other side of the sea of Galilee, we're assuming he went back to the area of Capernaum. It says) the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.” I want you to picture this in your mind's eye. Jesus has just been basically told to leave on one side of the lake. He goes to the other side and the people are waiting for Him. He's back in more pure Jewish territory now, and they're pressing around Him, and as they're pressing, there's this man that fights his way through the crowd to get Jesus' attention, and he is a man who has a daughter who is desperately ill and near death, and the love of this father for this little girl, his little girl, transforms this man from an otherwise respectable man. It says he was a synagogue ruler, which meant he had the care of the synagogue and he would open up the doors and he'd put the scrolls away when they were done, and basic functions, but it was a place of respect and honor, and yet now he's just a pathetic beggar who falls at the feet of Jesus and says, I need you, I need you, I need you. And when you need Jesus, that's all that really matters, isn't it? It's just, I need you. So we're told Jesus agreed to go with the man, but then the last thing we read there in verse 42, very key to the story, is that people were pressing in all around Jesus. Now put yourself in Jairus' position. He's been waiting. I can see this man in my mind's eye pacing up and down the shore, can't you? I mean, if my little girl was sick and I thought that she was about to die, and I knew that Jesus was across the lake, I would be pacing up and down the shore, and just as soon as I catch sight of that boat coming, I am going to just, I am going to plant myself right here and I'm not going to move, and I don't care how many people press around. I don't care how many people clamor for His attention, however loud they yell, I'm going to yell louder, right? However much they press in, I'm going to press in more because my little girl is sick and I am going to get His attention. And he does, he gets Jesus' attention. Not only does he get His attention, he gets His agreement to come to his home and touch his little girl. Oh. Oh, couldn't have gone better. But as they begin, Jesus, I live just in the village, just down. So come on, but there's the people and the people are pressing and they're clamoring and everybody's got a need, and they're sick and there's crippled and the people are clamoring, Jesus, Jesus just a moment of Your time. And they're grabbing and they're clamoring and they're pushing and they're shoving and all this is going on, and Jairus is like, come on, come on, I don't know how long my little girl's going to last. And then the entire procession grinds to a halt, which is Jairus' worst fear.

Verse 43, “And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, (Interesting, isn't it? That number 12 is rather prominent. Because Jairus had a daughter who was 12 years old. This woman has been bleeding for 12 years. And it says that) and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.(Mark tells us she actually even got worse) 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”” What an incredible story. This woman, who probably had a recurring menstrual cycle that was far beyond what it should have been normally, most likely just had this constant sort of a thing that was going on that created this bleeding. Again, we're told that she spent all of her money in search of some kind of a cure. It was not forthcoming. The only thing that was forthcoming was her imminent poverty, and it's significant, I think, to add here, that this woman was not just haunted by a physical ailment that seemed to be incurable, but she was also, in a Jewish way of thinking, ceremonially unclean because of her issue of blood. And that was just part of the law. And what that meant was that not only was she unclean and couldn't participate in any of the temple services because of this, but anyone she touched would be rendered unclean for a period of time. Here she was, right smack dab in the middle of this crowd of pushing and shoving people, working her way toward Jesus so she can touch the tassel on the end of His garment. But she believed if she did that, she'd be healed almost, I mean, it borders on superstition but she's reaching out and touching and wanting to, be healed. But her hope is to get in and out of there with nobody noticing. I can get in there, I can fight my way through this crowd, which is pretty significant for a woman, and also for a woman who's been bleeding, and she wants to get in there, she wants to touch this guy, she wants to be gone. But her worst fear is realized when after she touches Him, realizes that she's been healed, Jesus stops the whole thing and says, who touched Me?

And Peter's like, Lord, who didn't touch You? No, no, no, no you don't understand. I'm not talking about just any normal touch. I know that somebody touched me in faith. This is interesting, you guys, because you get that when Jesus says something, we're getting an insight into God, and what we're hearing here is that when you approach Him with faith, He notices. And He'll stop the whole parade to turn around and notice your faith, your faith. You might not have breathed a word of it to any other human being, but when you know that you know that you know that you have faith in God and He notices. He notices that. So this woman finally realized she can't get away. Jesus He's stopped. He's looking around and He's not going to move. Who touched me? Who is it? I know healing power went out of me, I was touched with the hand of faith and she finally realizes, so she comes to Him, she spills everything, and she ended up, instead of getting a rebuke, which she probably expected. What in the world were you doing touching all these people when you knew that you were ceremonially unclean? Didn't you care about anybody else? That's not what she heard. What she heard was, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Shalom.” And it's a great, it's a great story. When we place our faith in Jesus, amazing things happen. But now back to this man whose daughter was dying, verse 49, “While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”” I can imagine Jesus looked at the countenance of that man when he got that message, “your daughter is dead,” and He probably saw his countenance fall when the news reached him. But sometimes the worst news is an opportunity for faith to remain steadfast, and that's what Jesus asks this man to do. Remain steadfast in your faith. But Lord, you don't understand. She's gone. It's the worst. My worst fear. Remain steadfast in your faith. It's easy to say. Man, is that hard. Verse 51. “And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.” Now these are the paid mourners. When someone of some substance had someone in their family who passed away, you would hire a group of professional mourners to come and weep and wail, and it was considered to be a great sign of respect and honor for the person who had passed on. But notice that Jesus, He puts them all out. He gets there and He says leave, leave. The only people he allows are Peter, James, and John and the parents of the child. Verse 54 says, “But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” 55 And her spirit returned, (Which is a great phrase, isn't it? And that's the exact opposite of what happens when you die. Your spirit leaves your body when you die. Her spirit returned, which tells us she was in fact truly dead. And it says) and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. (How incredibly practical) 56 And her parents were amazed, (which I'm sure is an incredible understatement) but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.” Which is quite different from what He told the demoniac over in the Gerasenes isn't it? He told him to go to his community and tell everybody what God had done. But now he's in Jewish territory. He knows that there are greater implications to that, and so He says, don't tell anyone what has happened. What do we see here in the final section here of Luke chapter 8? We see Jesus exercising his authority over nature, right? We see Him exercising authority over demons and demon possession and the worst of demon possession, we see Him exercising His authority over sickness and ailments and ultimately over death. Let me end this morning with a statement that Jesus made that ought to generate faith in your heart. Matthew chapter 28 on the screen, Mathew 28:18 (ESV)

And Jesus came to them. And said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Why do I end with that? Because we said earlier that there's good reason for you and I to have a different attitude about danger, and difficulty, and trials and challenges, right? Those don't have the final word in your life. Why? Because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him, not to that thing, or that person. Right?