Luke 8:34 Commentary and Bible Study

‘They fled’, they ran as far from the scene as they could. This is terror; this is fear, ‘and they went and told it in the city and in the country.’ Yes, their livelihood had been destroyed by this event, by these demons who interfered with the swine, but wouldn't you think they would be touched by the fact this notorious deranged man had been healed. The demons were out of him; in a moment he was changed. He spoke rationally, his face lit up, he stood up straight, and they could see he was changed. A great miracle had been affected in that man. Wouldn't they be filled with amazement and wonder and gladness for him? Not a bit of it. Even that frightened them. Somebody had been transformed by Christ, by God: that was alarming. All the more they said, ‘We don't want any part of this. We don't want that to happen to us; we don't want any interference in our lives. You can almost hear it today. ‘So-called conversion, new life, walking with God: that's not for us’, and there was fear at the exhibition of divine power that had taken place with the swine and they ran. You read on, and you see that the people who heard this account from these frightened men, went out to see what was done, and came to Jesus and found the man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind and they were afraid. That is a separate group of people who are afraid. The deranged man was afraid, the observers were afraid, the people who they told were afraid. What were they afraid of? They were apparently afraid to see a man sitting calmly in his right mind. But really, they were afraid of the power that had transformed him, because they knew how bad he had been before. They knew that no power of theirs was able to bring him to that calm state. They were afraid also of what had happened to the swine. This was evidence to everyone that the demonic activity was real, and what had been in the man was terrible indeed, and capable of destroying such a great heard of animals. No animal kills itself; it is contrary to all instincts that God has placed within living beings. The dark power needed to overcome this instinct is terrible to conceive. But this was not just one animal gone berserk; it was a coordinated act of self-destruction. The evidence of demonic activity was undeniable and it was terrifying to them. But why were they not comforted to know that there was one present who was greater than all these demons, one who had mastered them, one who understood the powers of darkness, and was not himself afraid of them, but the reverse? The demons were afraid of Christ. Now these people were also afraid of Christ, it is clear, for the demons were now gone, but he remained, and yet their fear persisted, and even increased. They could see that the effect of his work was entirely good, and the opposite of the working of the demons. They destroyed; they drove a man mad; they caused him to strip himself naked, and to wound himself, and cry out like a beast. Christ healed a man and restored him to his full humanity, and made him to sit calmly, listening to Jesus and wanting to be with him. Yes, but these people who witnessed this event knew that they were not living as they ought to live, and they were not, at this stage, prepared to change. They were afraid of the power of God that was manifest among them, a power which was most unwelcome to them, for they did not want God in their lives.