Reading for October 16th

 Read Luke 8.22-39. In 8.22-56: The commanding word of Jesus. In verse 24: Master is the title of a person in authority (5.5; 8.45; 9.33, 49; 17.13). In verse 25: "who then is this?" recalls the power of God over the forces of the deep (Ps 107.28-29). In verses 26-39: The Gerasene demoniac. In verses 27-28: The lore about demons included anti-social behavior (he wore no clothes) and ritual impurity (in the tombs). His shouting is a power confrontation where the demoniac knows Jesus name (Son of the Most High God, (see 4.34, 41) and must reveal his, or at least the size of the horde (a Roman Legion was a troop of several thousand soldiers). In verses 31-33: The abyss is the bottomless pit reserved for God's enemies (Rev. 1-11). The swine are unclean and suitable for demons, but water was their destruction (see 11.24, "waterless regions"). In verse 37: The people, seized with great fear, have seen but not believed (8.10). Comments or questions..