Love this passage in Luke 8:26-39:
"They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 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 God? I beg you, don’t torture me!”
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned...The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him."
Two thoughts:
Jesus goes to a place He has never been before and a place He will never go again in His ministry. He simply goes to see the demon-possesed man. Jesus comes for the one. He was and still is always concerned with those on the outs.
When Jesus healed this man, He had a plan for him. The man wanted to go with Jesus and start his life over. He was known as a weirdo. He had been isolated for years and had lost everything; yet, Jesus called him to go where they knew Him as the "crazy guy." Can you imagine the stares or the whispers when people saw him? Staying where they knew his reputation from the past was uncomfortable and hard. All he wanted to do is forget the past and live a normal life. YET, the man did exactly what Jesus told him to do. He still obeyed even though it was not what he wanted to do, and the Lord was glorified because of it.
