August 18 2025; Luke 8:26-56

Daily Dose of Hope

August 18, 2025

Scripture – Luke 8:26-56

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we are finishing up Luke 8.

Jesus has headed to the other side of lake.  We’ve talked about this before.  This means that Jesus intentionally leaves Jewish territory to head into pagan territory.  And when he does, a tormented man immediately approaches him.  He calls himself Legion because he is possessed by so many demons.  He has been homeless for quite some time, living in the tombs, which I can only imagine are pretty dark and dank.  He is naked, another source of shame in that society.  We also know from other Gospel accounts that this man has been self-harming.  He could break his chain restraints and was unable to live in normal society.  His existence is absolutely miserable.

When the man sees Jesus, he falls down before him, crying out.  It’s the demons within him who are crying out and they immediately recognize that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God.  They know his power.  In fact, they beg for Jesus’ mercy.  Keep in mind that spiritual powers submit to the higher and stronger power.  They knew that Jesus’ power was greater than theirs and that they were under his authority. 

The demons also know that they can only live if they possess something.  They beg Jesus to allow them to enter a big herd of pigs that is nearby.  Jesus heals the man and allows the spirits to enter the pigs, all of which promptly run off a cliff to their death. 

What’s so interesting to me in this text is that Jesus totally and completely heals the man but the people seem to hardly notice.  I mean, this man’s total existence has been transformed.  He has gone from demon-possessed, tormented naked guy, to a sane man who can sit and listen to Jesus’ teaching.  Instead of being amazed by this miracle, the townspeople are scared.  They ask Jesus to leave.  They have seen his power and they are scared out of their minds. 

The formerly demon-possessed man asks to go with Jesus, which makes sense.  He wants to stay with the one who has given him life.  But Jesus tells him to stay and share what has happened.  We will soon see that the man does just that.

But the miracles don’t stop there.  Jesus heads back to Jewish territory and people are waiting for him.  A Jewish official is desperate for Jesus to heal his daughter and Jesus agrees.  On the way to his house, he meets the woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. 

This is a story that we find in the other Gospels as well.  This woman would have been incredibly desperate.  Bleeding meant being unclean.  She could not go to synagogue; she really wasn’t even supposed to be among other people.  Thus, she was separated from her community.  She was an outcast.  She was probably all alone by this point, poor, forced to beg to live.  Kind of like the demon-possessed man from across the lake, this woman also lived a terrible existence. 

And Jesus noticed her.  On his way to this high official’s home, he noticed her touching the hem of his cloak.  He stopped the whole crowd and looked for her.  In doing so, he transformed her life.  “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”  With just a few words, she went from being desperate and alone to being part of a family.  She is his daughter.  She is called out for her faith.  This means not just physical healing but also spiritual and emotional healing. 

Jesus could have stopped there and it would have been a pretty productive day.  But he doesn’t forget about the official’s daughter.  They keep heading to his house.  The people say the daughter has died but that doesn’t stop Jesus.  Jesus heads into her room and raises her from the dead.  A physically dead girl gains life again.

Over and over again, we see how Jesus brings life to places where harm has been done, where tragedy has struck, where illness and death have created desperation and grief.  The Kingdom of God is a place where the sick are made well, the hungry are fed, the outcasts are included, and the dead become alive. 

More tomorrow.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki