Luke 8--Very Late!
electorprince has been visiting so I'm six days late. I regret the lateness.
There's a lot of material here in Luke 8. I think everyone may have a favourite but for me the best part of the story is the Gerasene demoniac. It shows us what effect being healed has on people who encounter Jesus.
So we have this poor man who is a boarding-house for evil spirits. He's surrounded by Jewish uncleanliness: he not only is possessed but he lives among tombs in a pagan area. Swine are grazing nearby. Yet, for no apparent reason, Jesus comes nearby, close enough for the possessed man to see him.
The man's declaration, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" is usually taken as the demon's declaration. I am under the impression though that this is the man himself speaking. His consciousness is informed by the demon that Jesus is the Son of God--after all, if a demoniac identifies Jesus it's bad press for Jesus and makes the demoniac look crazier, deepening his aloneness and the misery on which demons feed. But I can't help but see the man's declaration as an echo of the centurion's plea that Jesus not enter his sinful house, but say the word to save the treasured servant. Jesus has previously compared the possessed to houses for demons.
When the demons do leave the man on Jesus's command, we find ourselves with another echo of another, most misunderstood healing. When the man has the demons driven out of him and he is sane and clothed, he is found sitting at Jesus's feet. This is, of course, the position of a Jewish religious student with his teacher. The echo I am referring to is that of Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus drove seven demons and who also became his disciple. Like Mary Magdalene, the man also wants to follow Jesus literally.
Chapter 8 began with Mary Magdalene, as the one from whom seven demons had gone out. We don't have her story, and this has resulted in her being defamed as a reformed prostitute. The demoniac gives us an idea of what her reaction to Jesus possibly was, with misery and years of confusion suddenly ending. It explains why she may have been in Jesus's entourage, because our demoniac doesn't want to leave Jesus either! His destiny is different though, as Jesus sets him to the task of telling the story of what Jesus did for him, precisely the opposite of what the demons wanted.
There is still a lot of wtf in this story, especially with the swine. I don't know what to make of that. Perhaps Jesus could only suspend his Jewish sensibilities so far.
Luke 9 for next weekend.
There's a lot of material here in Luke 8. I think everyone may have a favourite but for me the best part of the story is the Gerasene demoniac. It shows us what effect being healed has on people who encounter Jesus.
So we have this poor man who is a boarding-house for evil spirits. He's surrounded by Jewish uncleanliness: he not only is possessed but he lives among tombs in a pagan area. Swine are grazing nearby. Yet, for no apparent reason, Jesus comes nearby, close enough for the possessed man to see him.
The man's declaration, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" is usually taken as the demon's declaration. I am under the impression though that this is the man himself speaking. His consciousness is informed by the demon that Jesus is the Son of God--after all, if a demoniac identifies Jesus it's bad press for Jesus and makes the demoniac look crazier, deepening his aloneness and the misery on which demons feed. But I can't help but see the man's declaration as an echo of the centurion's plea that Jesus not enter his sinful house, but say the word to save the treasured servant. Jesus has previously compared the possessed to houses for demons.
When the demons do leave the man on Jesus's command, we find ourselves with another echo of another, most misunderstood healing. When the man has the demons driven out of him and he is sane and clothed, he is found sitting at Jesus's feet. This is, of course, the position of a Jewish religious student with his teacher. The echo I am referring to is that of Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus drove seven demons and who also became his disciple. Like Mary Magdalene, the man also wants to follow Jesus literally.
Chapter 8 began with Mary Magdalene, as the one from whom seven demons had gone out. We don't have her story, and this has resulted in her being defamed as a reformed prostitute. The demoniac gives us an idea of what her reaction to Jesus possibly was, with misery and years of confusion suddenly ending. It explains why she may have been in Jesus's entourage, because our demoniac doesn't want to leave Jesus either! His destiny is different though, as Jesus sets him to the task of telling the story of what Jesus did for him, precisely the opposite of what the demons wanted.
There is still a lot of wtf in this story, especially with the swine. I don't know what to make of that. Perhaps Jesus could only suspend his Jewish sensibilities so far.
Luke 9 for next weekend.