A New Exodus.
Proper 7- Luke 8:26-39
The story of the demoniac in Luke 8 is not just a tale of deliverance—it is the beginning of a New Exodus. Just as God once came down into Egypt to deliver His people from Pharaoh’s oppressive grip, so now Jesus crosses the chaotic waters to confront a new Pharaoh: a legion of unclean spirits. But this time, Jesus doesn’t send a prophet with signs and plagues. He comes Himself. He speaks, and the powers tremble. With the command of His voice, He casts out the darkness and sets the captive free.
The man in this story is a portrait of Israel in bondage: naked, tormented, living among the dead, chained in exile. He is the embodiment of every enslaved soul. But Jesus doesn’t hesitate. He steps ashore, and immediately the demons fall at His feet. They recognize the authority of the Son of the Most High, and they beg not to be thrown into the abyss. Instead, they request to enter the swine. Jesus grants their request—not as a concession, but as judgment. The unclean spirits enter the unclean animals and are hurled into the sea—the same sea that once swallowed Egypt’s armies. The story echoes with justice. The sea remains God’s courtroom.
And there stands the man: clothed, in his right mind, seated at the feet of Jesus. This is not just a personal healing; it is a covenantal moment. He is now a new Israel, formed by the word of God, delivered from his captors, made clean. Everything is in place for a wilderness journey—a journey with Jesus across the sea to a promised land of discipleship. But this Exodus goes in reverse.
Jesus doesn’t lead the man out of the land—He sends him back into it. He doesn’t remove him from the world of death and fear—He plants him there, alive and free, as a witness. This is what makes the story new. In the old Exodus, Egypt was left behind. But in the New Exodus, Egypt is transformed. Jesus is not just leading people out of darkness—He’s lighting the darkness itself. He is turning the land of tombs into a garden, the Decapolis into the City of God.
This is what the Church must understand. Jesus doesn’t only save us from the world—He sends us into it. The man is now the Church: once tormented and ashamed, now washed, clothed, and commissioned. He becomes the first missionary to the Gentiles, a forerunner of the kingdom. And when Jesus returns to that region, a crowd is waiting. 4,000 people—hungry for the Word, fed by the Bread of Heaven in the very place that once rejected Him.
The New Exodus has begun. But this time, it doesn’t lead into the wilderness. It leads into the world. Not to flee from it, but to fill it with God’s glory. Jesus changes everything. And those He sets free, He now sends—not just to be saved, but to become agents of transformation. We no longer escape Egypt; we reclaim it. Jesus is building His city where tombs once stood. And through His Church, the kingdom comes.
Watch the full Sermon HERE. Listen to Sermon HERE.
Peace Be With You,
Pastor Bruce
