The Demon-Possessed Man: Part 2 - Recognition

<<Part 1                                                                                                                                      Part 3>>

When [the demon-possessed man] 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 G-d?..." -Luke 8:28

I feel like if I were a preacher giving this as a sermon, this would be the moment where I'd be walking in, expecting reprimand and perhaps even the loss of members.  I suppose I may even lose readers for saying what it is that I'm about to say.  But that's the way it goes sometimes.  If boat-rocking is not for you, then I'd suggest diverting your eyes.

I want you to reread that verse slowly, incredibly slowly.  This verse is jammed-packed with things that are simply mind-boggling, if you take the time to see them.

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 G-d?

There is so much here, I'm not even sure where to begin, so please forgive me if my writing becomes a little disjointed.

I think that what strikes me most prominently here is that I can't recall I time that I've heard any Christian asking this question, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High G-d?", let alone throwing ourselves upon His mercy and screaming to hear His will.  Seriously, ask yourself, when was the last time you did this?  If you've answered "never," don't worry; you're not alone.

I mean, I've asked G-d to show me His will, but I've been more than happy to make that mean, "Show me that you want me to do what I want to do."  I haven't thrown myself at His feet, but several demons (I suppose I should have put a spoiler alert, in case someone hasn't read this story before) have.  I want to ask "How can I justify that?", but I don't think that I can.

But wait, there's more.

I keep conveniently not touching on the real kicker, here.  That's all about to change.  Scripture tells us that this demon-possessed man didn't just ask his question, or even yell his question; he screamed it a the top of his lungs.

Have I ever screamed Jesus at the top of my mind, or am I allowing demons to proclaim Christ louder than I'm willing to proclaim Him myself?  I think that's a question we all need to be asking ourselves.  We cannot let the voice of the demons be the leading proclamation of Christ, because they will get it wrong.  Every. Single. Time.  I'm going to touch more on this phenomenon in a later post, but, for now, I want to keep this relatively simple:

1. The demons recognized Jesus instantly.
2. The demons unabashedly proclaimed G-d as the Most High G-d.
3. The demons asked Jesus His will as soon as they got done praising him.

Be honest with yourself: can you say that you've done the same thing?

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. -James 2:19

<<Part 1                                                                                                                                      Part 3>>