J.C. Ryle's Devotional Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke. Section 47. The Demon-Possessed Man. Luke Chapter 8, verses 26 through 36. And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man which had devils long time, and wear no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him, and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters. And he broke the bands and was driven of the devil into the wilderness. And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion, because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they 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. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. The well-known narrative which we've now read is carefully recorded in all of the first three gospel writers. It is a striking instance of our Lord's complete dominion over the evil prince of this world. We see the great enemy of our souls for once completely vanquished, the strong man foiled by the one stronger than he, and the lion spoiled of his prey. Let us mark first in this passage the miserable condition of those over whom the devil reigns. The picture brought before us is a frightful one. We are told that when our Lord arrived in the country of the Gadarenes, 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. We are also told that although he had been bound with chains and in fetters, he broke the chains, and was driven by the devil into the wilderness. In short, the case seems to have been one of the most aggravated forms of demon possession. The unhappy sufferer was under the complete dominion of Satan, both in body and soul. As long as he continued in this state, he must have been a burden and a trouble to all around him. His mental faculties were under the control of a legion of demons. His bodily strength was only employed for his own injury and shame. It is difficult to conceive of a more pitiable state for mortal man to be in. Cases of bodily possession by Satan like this are, to say the least, very rarely met with in modern times. Yet we must not on this account forget that the devil is continually exercising a fearful power over many hearts and souls. He still urges many, in whose hearts he reigns, into self-dishonoring and self-destroying habits of life. He still rules many with a rod of iron. He goads them on from vice to vice, and from profligacy to profligacy. He drives them far from decent society and the influence of respectable friends. He plunges them into the lowest depths of wickedness. He makes them little better than self-murderers. He renders them as useless to society as if they were dead and not alive. Where is the faithful minister who could not put his finger on many such cases? What truer account can be given of many a young man and many a young woman than that they seem to be possessed by demons? It is vain to shut our eyes to facts. Demon possession of men's bodies may be comparatively rare, but many, unhappily, are the cases in which the devil appears completely to possess men's souls. These things are fearful to think upon. It is fearful to see what a wreck of body and mind Satan often brings young people. It is fearful to observe how he often drives them out of the reach of all good influence and buries them in a wilderness of bad companions and loathsome sins. It is fearful above all to reflect that in a little while Satan's slaves will be lost forever and in hell. There often remains only one thing that can be done for them. They can be named before Christ in prayer. He who came to the country of the Gadarenes and healed the miserable demoniac there still lives in heaven and pities sinners. The worst slave of Satan in England is not beyond a remedy. Jesus may yet take compassion on him and set him free. Let us mark, secondly in these verses, the absolute power which the Lord Jesus Christ possesses over Satan. We're told that he commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man whose miserable condition we've just heard described. At once, the unhappy sufferer was healed. The many demons by whom he had been possessed were compelled to leave him. Nor is this all. Cast forth from their abode in man's heart, we see these malignant spirits beseeching our Lord that He would not torment them or command them to go out into the abyss, and so confessing His supremacy over them. Mighty as they were, they plainly felt themselves in the presence of one mightier than themselves. Full of malice as they were, they could not even hurt the swine of the Gadarenes until our Lord granted them permission. Our Lord Jesus Christ's dominion over the devil should be a cheering thought to all true Christians. Without it, indeed, we might well despair of salvation. To feel that we have ever near us an invisible spiritual enemy, laboring night and day to compass our destruction, would be enough to crush our every hope, if we did not know a friend and a protector. Blessed be God, the gospel reveals such a one. The Lord Jesus is stronger than the strong man armed who is ever warring against our souls. The Lord Jesus is able to deliver us from the devil. He proved his power over him frequently when upon earth. He triumphed over him gloriously on the cross. He will never let him pluck any of his sheep out of his hand. Ye will one day bruise him under our feet, And forever bind him in the prison of hell. Happy are they who hear Christ's voice and follow him. Satan may vex them, but he cannot really hurt them. He may bruise their heel, but he cannot destroy their souls. They shall be more than conquerors through him who loved them. Romans 8, verse 37. Let us mark, finally, the wonderful change which Christ can work in Satan's slaves. We're told that the Gadarenes found the man the demons had departed from sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind. That sight must indeed have been strange and astonishing. The man's past history and condition, no doubt, were well known. He'd probably been a nuisance and a terror to all the neighborhood. Yet here, in one moment, a complete change had come over him. Old things had passed away, and all things had become new. The power by which such a cure was wrought must indeed have been almighty. When Christ is the physician, then nothing is impossible. One thing, however, must never be forgotten. As striking and as miraculous as this cure was, it is not really any more astonishing than every case of true conversion to God. As marvellous as the change was which appeared in this demoniac's condition when healed, it is not one whit more marvellous than the change which passes over everyone who is born again and turned from the power of Satan to God. Never is a man in his right mind until he is converted. Never is a man in his right place until he sits by faith at the feet of Jesus. Never is a man rightly clothed until he is put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Have we ever considered what real conversion to God is? It is nothing else than the miraculous release of a captive, the miraculous restoration of a man to his right mind, the miraculous deliverance of a soul from the devil. What are we ourselves? This, after all, is the grand question which concerns us. Are we slaves of Satan, or servants of God? Has Christ made us free, or does the devil yet reign in our hearts? Do we sit at the feet of Jesus daily? Are we in our right minds? May the Lord help us to answer these questions aright. you