Toward the end of Luke 8, there’s a crazy story about Jesus casting demons out of a man and into a herd of pigs. The demons are named Legion, a name inspiring subsequent horror writers for years. What’s so strange about this story – as if casting demons into a herd of pigs is not strange enough – is that after Jesus heals this man, the people in the region were overcome with fear and ask Jesus to leave. Jesus frightened them.
Jesus was too much for them. Jesus in his true form may be too much for us. Jesus healed people, Jesus cared for people and sometimes, Jesus scared people. I think that these people got a glimpse of the very real power of Jesus. The status quo was upended, normalcy was trampled upon, change was afoot and they freaked. Jesus was simply too much for them.
Jesus can be too much for us, especially if we get a clear glimpse of his power. As we know, many embrace him, while others ask him to leave. Jesus is a gentleman and will leave if asked. Pity those who do so, however. Far better to risk with Jesus than to send him away.
Cool. Jesus will freak you out! I’m going to read this at dinner tonight, it’s the kind of stuff my teenagers will connect with!