Luke 8 Devotional

From the Tombs to His Feet

““Return home and describe how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and proclaimed all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.”Luke 8:39 (BSB)

For a long time the man among the Gerasene tombs has gone without clothing or a home, breaking every chain meant to hold him (8:27-29). Jesus sends the demons out, and the townspeople arrive to find the man sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and thinking clearly (8:35). The one no chain could restrain is now at rest.

The town, afraid, asks Jesus to leave (8:37). The man begs to go with him, but Jesus sends him home to describe how much God has done for him, and he goes through the whole town telling how much Jesus has done (8:38-39). Luke lets the two statements sit side by side: what Jesus did was God's own work. Across this chapter the same authority calms a storm, stops a woman's bleeding, and raises a dead girl (8:24, 8:44, 8:55). The man had no story but rescue, and that was enough to send him out. What Jesus has done for you is worth telling to people who already know you.

To think about: Who in your own home or town has never heard plainly what Jesus has done for you?