Summer 2025
Dear Friends in Christ –
Luke 8: 26-39, the Gospel Reading for June 22, the Second Sunday after Pentecost, tells of Jesus’ delivering the Gerasene demoniac. This story is in all three of the synoptic Gospels and it occurred right after Jesus’ calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, which I believe is significant. This was the first time that Jesus during His public ministry ventured into Gentile territory (the presence of pigs confirms that). Satan tried to stop Him with a storm. When that did not work, Satan tried to stop Him with a demoniac. What are some of the ways in which you see Satan trying to hinder, disrupt, stop, and destroy the work of God today?
Near the beginning of the account it says, “As He (Jesus) stepped out on land.” Near the end it says, “So He got into the boat.” It only mentions Jesus as stepping out of and getting back into the boat. The disciples must have been too spooked – by the storm, by being in Gentile territory, and by the demoniac – to be willing to get out of the boat. When have you been so spooked that you did not want to do the equivalent of following Jesus out of the boat? With all the things that are happening in our country, in our world, and even in some parts of the church today, it would be very easy to be totally spooked and just want to stay in the boat.
Notice the way in which Luke describes the demonized man. “For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.” “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.” Mark adds, “He was always howling and bruising himself with stones.”
Satan hates us. Satan’s greatest desire is to hurt the people of God and to hinder and destroy the work of God. How do you see Satan doing that today? As I look around I see many ways in which Satan is active overtime trying to destroy the work of the church today.
With all the turmoil happening in our world, it would be very easy to be totally afraid. But here we see that the forces of evil immediately recognize the far greater power of Jesus. When the demonized man 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.”
And then when Jesus asked the demon for its name, the demon replied, “Legion.” The reason for that name is that many demons had entered him. Jesus was establishing His authority over the demon by commanding the demon to tell Jesus his name. Many who have a ministry of spiritual deliverance have said that demons have resisted telling their name. A legion was the largest military unit in the Roman army and was composed of over 5,000 men. By comparison, Mary Magdalene had only seven demons cast out of her (Luke 8:2).
As I understand the Scriptures, God is omni-present, able to be everywhere all at the same time. Satan is a created being and therefore can only be in one place at a time. Therefore, Satan has his various levels of followers – whom Paul describes as “rulers, authorities, cosmic powers of this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6: 12). These Satan assigns to specific people, places, and situations. That is why the legion of demons begged Jesus not to order them to go back into the abyss. They would be in deep trouble with Satan if they were to abandon their post and return to hell.
Then we come to what has been for many people the most difficult part of the story. Why would Jesus give the demons permission to enter a large herd of swine, which would lead to the death of the swine? Why would Jesus allow the destruction of the property of others as well as the livelihood of the swineherds? Many Bible scholars believe that these pigs were being raised to be sacrificed to idols. So Jesus is showing that His power is not only far greater than the Legion of demons, it is also far greater than all pagan gods.
If that is the most difficult part of the story, we then come to the saddest part of the story. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told people about it. Rather than being overjoyed that the demoniac had been delivered, the people were afraid. And because they were afraid, they asked Jesus to leave. They asked Jesus to leave, and He obliged them by leaving. The tragedy is not only that Jesus left – as requested – but there is no record that He ever returned. Sometimes it seems that some parts of the church have so elevated other values and agenda priorities that they basically have asked Jesus to leave.
The story concludes by telling us that the man who had been delivered of demons begged Jesus that he might be with Him. But Jesus said to him, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” Naturally this person would want to follow Jesus because Jesus had liberated him. But Jesus knew that he would be most effective in witnessing to people who had known him before he had been delivered. I am very grateful for all the people who tell me that they are sharing our materials with others. Who are the people who would be most apt to listen if they were to hear it from you?
The ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be coming up at the end of July. We are deeply concerned about actions that will be taken, including further cementing DEIA values and Marxist critical race theory into the governing documents of the church, substituting a “gospel” of dismantling racism for the Gospel of forgiveness of sins through the cross, a fast-tracking of the approval process for amendments to constitutions, and a full embrace of the most extreme LGBTQ+ agenda. Like with the townspeople in Luke 8, it feels like many in the ELCA are asking Jesus to leave.
Thank you for your prayers, words of encouragement, and faithful financial support, all of which enable and strengthen us to continue to do our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans. Please find enclosed a form which you can use to give a gift towards our regular operating expenses. Your prayers are especially important as we face all the changes that we anticipate coming from the upcoming ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Please let us know how we can be praying for you.
In the all-powerful Name of Jesus,
Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
P.O. Box 1741
Wausau WI 54402-1741
