The Son of Man, Demons, and Rejection

“The Son of Man, Demons, and Rejection”
Luke 8:26-39
November 23, 2025

We have an enemy.

• He is intelligent — “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (Js. 2:18).
• He is strong — “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:11-12)
• He is the deceiver — “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:9).
• He is against us — “So the dragon was enraged with the woman [Israel], and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” ( Rev. 12:17).

We have an enemy.  And he is also a defeated enemy.   “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).  But it doesn’t always feel like Satan and his demons are defeated.  Sometimes it feels like they win.  Sometimes it feels like sin rules, not Christ.  We need a reminder that Christ, the Son of Man, is victorious.  Over our enemy.  Permanently.  And we have such a story in Luke 8:26-39 in the healing of the Gerasene demoniac.  In this story we learn (are reminded and encouraged) that —

Christ is authoritative over Satan and sin…be confident in living under and declaring His authority.

Last time we saw that troubles aren’t greater than Christ’s power and authority.  In this passage we see that sin and the author of sin is not greater than Christ’s authority.  It’s a story filled with hope — confident expectation.  When tempted by sin and when confronted with the powerful work of Satan, the believer is safe because of Christ.  He is the Son of Man.  In this story, Luke reveals Christ’s authority in three scenes:

1. The Son of Man Confronts Demons (vv. 26-29)
2. The Son of Man Cures a Demoniac (vv. 30-33)
3. The Son of Man Considered (vv. 34-39)

Download the rest of this sermon on Luke 8:26-39.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.

Ancient Gadara, xorge, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.