In Scripture, to “find” is never mere discovery.
It is encounter—
a turning of the text where mercy meets rebellion,
where favor walks hand-in-hand with wrath.
In Gerasa, the people find the healed man—clothed, sane, silent—
and they tremble.
He is a mirror, a testimony they cannot bear.
Restoration becomes a scandal. Mercy, a threat.
As well it should be.
They send away the one who scattered their demons
because he disturbed their peace.
The Scriptures whisper:
To find a man is to stand at the edge of wrath—
to be weighed, watched.
Will you be spared?
In Hebrew: to find, to meet, to expose.
In Arabic: to find—yes—
but also to be found out.
To be found wandering.
To be guided.
The disbeliever finds God waiting—
and no one can shield him.
Every expectation collapses under the weight of divine wisdom.
Everything found is double-edged:
Grace, if received.
Judgment, if refused.
So—finders, beware.
The light of instruction burns.
This week, I discuss Luke 8:35-37.
Show Notes
εὑρίσκω (heuriskō) / מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph) / و–ج–د (wāw–jīm–dāl)
find; reach; meet accidentally; obtain, achieve
FOUND THE MAN
The people “find” the healed man—מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph)—and become afraid, encountering divine judgment. He stands as a sign of both judgment and mercy: restored and sent out as a witness. In Scripture, finding a man—whether by apparent chance, deliberate search, or divine appointment—often precedes divine entrapment: a moment of redirection, confrontation, or exposure.
Their encounter with this man echoes a biblical pattern in which finding a man signals the onset of divine action.
FOUND FAVOR
In Luke 8:35–37, after Jesus casts out Legion, the people come and find the man “sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind.” Rather than rejoicing in the mercy extended, they are seized with fear. They do not celebrate the restoration but instead beg Jesus to leave. This rebellion—typical of the עֵדָה ʿ(ēdāh) that Jesus scatters throughout the Gospel of Luke—reveals a tragic irony: grace is offered, but rejected.
This moment echoes a recurring biblical pattern centered around the root מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph), which signifies finding, meeting, or encountering. When someone “finds favor” [מָצָא חֵן (māṣāʾ ḥēn)] in God’s sight, it often leads to intercession on behalf of others—even the wicked:
In all these examples, those who found favor stood in the breach for others—unlike the people of the Gerasenes, who reject the one who intercedes against the Roman Legion. Their response echoes Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness, when the people grumbled against Moses and said:
“If only the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt when we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread! But you have brought us out into this wilderness to make us all die of hunger.” (Exodus 16:3).Though they had been delivered, they longed for the security of slavery rather than trust in the provision of God. So too in Luke 8, the people, confronted with divine mercy in the healed man, recoil in fear and send Jesus away.
Bloody cowards.
They cannot bear the grace that unmasks their allegiance to the 1%—the settled urban elites who love injustice. As in the wilderness, favor is offered—but refused. Grace stands before them, confronting their false peace—and they choose Pharaoh. Cowardice draped in civility. In the end, refusing to take a stand is the most wicked stand of all. May their dinner parties be found worthy of the price.
FOUND JUDGMENT
The people “find” judgment—מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph)—not by seeking it, but by standing in the way of divine mercy. In Luke 8:35–37, those who witness the healed man respond with fear rather than submission. The grace shown to the possessed becomes a sign of judgment for those who reject it. This reversal echoes throughout Scripture: to “find” is to be found out by God—exposed, weighed, measured, and confronted. “Finding” unmasks guilt, and divine justice follows swiftly—even when grace has already been extended: