It is a great encouragement to read in the Bible about encounters that Jesus has with people. So often the people who meet Jesus are fearful, doubt-filled, and unsure of what will happen to them. In many ways, that makes them just like us. The good news is that Jesus does not wait for such people to become stalwarts of faith before He will meet with them. The gospels tell us over and over about how Jesus encounters hurting and hesitant people, and how He makes them whole in spite of themselves. We see two such stories in Luke 8, with two very different people: one powerful and established, one poor and outcast. But what brings them together, and brings them before us, is their need for Jesus, and the essential question that we all face, “Do You Believe?” (Luke 8:40-56).

I. Two People in Great Need
A. When the World Collapses
B. When Life is More than You Can Bear

II. Jesus Heals
A. Healing for the Body
B. Healing for the Soul

III. Jesus Gives Life
A. Fear and Laughter
B. Faith and Life

Questions for consideration: (1) What things in your life press down hardest on you? How are you dealing with them? How does this passage help you with them? (2) In what way are you afraid to bring your needs to Jesus? (3) Why did the people laugh at Jesus? What was the worldview behind that? How do we see a similar reaction and worldview around us today? What is our answer?