Luke 8
The key word in this chapter is fear. Four episodes play on the word, exploring different elements of people’s reponse to Jesus.
We start with the Twelve crossing the Sea of Galilee as a storm begins to brew. As the boat is tossed by the waves and begins to sink, the disciples are, to say the least, afraid. So they do the only thing they can think of to do: They wake Jesus, shouting, “Teacher, get up! We’re gonna drown!” Obviously they expect him to do something, anything. If anything can be done, Jesus is the one to do it. But they aren’t prepared for what happens next.
Jesus stands up and rebukes the wind and the waves, and immediately all is calm. Now they’re afraid. “Who is this? He commands the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Next we meet Legion, or more correctly, Jesus meets Legion, as the man falls at his feet screaming. Jesus casts the demons out of him, leaving him calm and sane. When the townspeople see the man who once was Legion sitting clothed and transformed, they are struck with fear and actually ask Jesus to leave.
We tend to get hung up on the pigs at this point. It’s rather odd and mildly humorous - Jews tending pigs, which in perfect unison suddenly go charging at breakneck speed down the hill into the lake. But I don’t believe that the pigs had anything to do with the townspeoples’ fear. What scares them to the core is not the loss of a herd of pigs, it’s the fact that Jesus holds such incredible power. He holds a power stronger than the chains and guards with which they had attempted to constrain the man Legion. Jesus’ power goes beyond the mere strength to constrain; it is a power which can free a man from bondage and leave him sitting in his right mind.
The third person is a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. If only she could touch the edge of Jesus robe, she could be healed. So she sneaks into the crowd, head down, pushing toward Jesus. She manages to reach out and touch him, and instantly she is healed. She can feel it right away.
At that moment, Jesus abruptly stops and calls her out. Not her specifically, pointing to her or calling her name, although he certainly could have done so. Instead, the burden is on her to stand up. Trembling and terrified, she comes to the front. “Daughter,” Jesus begins, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Finally, we come to Jairus. He’s walking with Jesus back toward his house when someone comes to tell him that his daughter has died. Jesus intercepts the message, almost before it has the chance to sting, saying, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”
We too are confronted with Jesus power, and like these four, we’re left to wrestle with its implications. Do we, like the disciples, hope for some help - but not quite that much? Are we afraid of a God who can change lives as dramatically as he changed Legion’s? Or are we willing to come before Jesus, trembling in awe at his power - and his mercy? Can we allow His words to echo in our lives? “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”
