His Right Mind

Luke 8:35 (ESV)
³⁵ Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

Jesus had encountered a man that was out of his mind, raging, naked, and living among graves.  He was an outcast, until he met Jesus.

Jesus cast out the demons, healing the man. That was bad news for a herd of nearby pigs. Jesus allowed the demons to enter the pigs, which then caused the pigs to dash over a cliff to their death. Perhaps Jesus did this to allow us to clearly see His power to save and the intent and goal of demonic forces: death.

The frightened herdsmen flee back to town to tell the news. The people come to find the man, “at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.” Luke does not tell us specifically why they were afraid, but they saw something they could not explain. Instead of reacting with joy, their reaction was one of fear. It has been and is the reaction of many when they encounter Jesus. There is no middle ground between accepting or rejecting the Son of God.

The man’s reaction was quite different. He sat at the feet of Jesus in his right mind, for that is the only mind that is possible at the Savior’s feet, as God intended. He must have been clothed by the disciples, which speaks of our part in God’s plan. He was not afraid, but at peace; he was in his right mind. May we be found in that same position.