The Desert Knows His Name
In Scripture, to “find” is never mere discovery.
It is encounter—
It is encounter—
a turning of the text where mercy meets rebellion,
where favor walks hand-in-hand with wrath.
where favor walks hand-in-hand with wrath.
In Gerasa, the people find the healed man—clothed, sane, silent—
and they tremble.
and they tremble.
He is a mirror, a testimony they cannot bear.
Restoration becomes a scandal. Mercy, a threat.
As well it should be.
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.
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?
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.
but also to be found out.
To be found wandering.
To be guided.
The disbeliever finds God waiting—
and no one can shield him.
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.
Grace, if received.
Judgment, if refused.
So—finders, beware.
The light of instruction burns.
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.
- Joseph, found wandering, is sent on a path of suffering to deliver many from famine (Genesis 37:15).
- “A man found [וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ (wayyimṣaʾēhu)] him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’”
- Benjamin, found out by a planted cup, exposes guilt but leads to submission and reconciliation (Genesis 44:12).
- “He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found [וַיִּמָּצֵא (wayyimmāṣēʾ)] in Benjamin’s sack.”
- “He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found [וַיִּמָּצֵא (wayyimmāṣēʾ)] in Benjamin’s sack.”
- The prophet, found under the oak, faces judgment for disobedience (1 Kings 13:14). The “finding” (מ־צ־א) here is a trap—not for the wicked, but for the prophet who fails to remain obedient to God’s direct command.
- “He went after the man of God and found [וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ (wayyimṣaʾēhu)] him sitting under an oak…”
- “You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way you came.” (1 Kings 13:9)
- “So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.” (v. 19)
- “He went after the man of God and found [וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ (wayyimṣaʾēhu)] him sitting under an oak…”
- Jonah, who finds a ship, is caught in a storm of God’s judgment—and becomes a reluctant prophet (Jonah 1:3).
- “But Jonah rose up to flee… and found [וַיִּמְצָא (wayyimṣaʾ)] a ship going to Tarshish…”
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:
- Abraham pleads for Sodom upon having found favor (Genesis 18:3).
- “He said, ‘My Lord, if now I have found [מָצָאתִי (māṣāʾtī)] favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.’”
- Lot, though surrounded by destruction, acknowledges divine mercy (Genesis 19:19).
- “Now behold, your servant has found [מָצָא (māṣāʾ)] favor in your sight, and you have magnified your zealous care…”
- Moses repeatedly intercedes for Israel’s rebellious collective after finding favor in God’s sight (Numbers 11:11).
- “Why have you been so hard on your servant? And why have I not found [לֹא מָצָאתִי (lōʾ māṣāʾtī)] favor in your sight, that you have laid the burden of all this people on me?”
- In the golden calf incident, no favor is found in God’s sight—only consequence. Yet, Moses stands in the breach and intercedes (Exodus 34:9).
- “If now I have found [מָצָאתִי (māṣāʾtī)] favor in your sight…”
- Esther, having found favor, risks her life to save her people (Esther 8:5).
- “If it pleases the king, and if I have found [מָצָאתִי (māṣāʾtī)] favor before him, and the matter seems proper to the king…”
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:
- Egypt, the symbol of empire and wealth, is found stripped bare—exposed in its powerlessness before God. The Egyptians, found lacking, are emptied of silver and reduced to servitude (Genesis 47:14).
- “And Joseph collected all the money that was found [הַנִּמְצָא (hannimṣāʾ)] in the land of Egypt…”
- A thief is found in possession of stolen goods, and the act triggers justice (Exodus 22:4).
- “If what he stole is actually found [נִמְצָא (nimṣāʾ)] alive in his possession… he shall pay double.”
- The people gather manna on the Sabbath against God’s command—and are found in rebellion (Exodus 16:27).
- “Yet it came about on the seventh day, that some of the people went out to gather, but they found [לֹא מָצָאוּ (lōʾ māṣāʾū)] none.”
- The prophet searches for one righteous person in Jerusalem—but finds none (Ezekiel 22:30).
- “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall… but I found [וְלֹא מָצָאתִי (wəlōʾ māṣāʾtī)] no one.”
To “find” in these passages is not merely to locate, but to encounter the wrath of divine justice. As in Luke 8:35, where the people find the healed man and respond with fear, these examples reveal how the moment of discovery exposes the vanity and wickedness inherent in human beings. What is found, then, is judgment.
Gathered or Exiled?
The final verse exemplifies מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph) in the context of judgment fully realized—everything “found” is destroyed. The act of finding is inseparable from condemnation, a pattern echoed in Luke 8:35–37, where those who “find” the healed man do not rejoice, but recoil, thus condemning themselves:
- Judges 20:48 – In Judges, the tribe of Benjamin, having committed a grievous crime, is defeated by the other tribes of Israel. In the aftermath, the Israelites destroy every city they come across—executing judgment through complete annihilation.
- “The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, the cattle, and everything they found [נִמְצָא (nimṣāʾ)]; they also set on fire all the cities which they found [נִמְצְאוּ (nimṣəʾū)].”
The text does not say that God ordered the destruction described in Judges 20:48. The violence is Israel’s own doing—a grim outcome when human vengeance masquerades as divine justice.
The burning of cities and the annihilation of everything “found” reflects the arrogance of civilization—of settled elites taking matters into their own hands.
In Luke 8:35–37, rather than embracing the judgment that restores, the people enact—or invite—judgment that destroys. Proximity to God’s justice, when resisted, turns grace into condemnation. Following the pattern of Luke, in Qur’an 59:2, the Banū Naḍīr bring destruction upon themselves—not because God desires it, but because they reject his mercy:
“He it is who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think they would go out, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from God. But God came at them from where they did not expect, and he cast terror into their hearts, so they ruined their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take warning, O people of vision.” (Surah al-Ḥashr 59:2)
This judgment fell not simply because of rebellion, but because the mercy of divine judgment was refused, twisted into a justification for power—and in the end, what is “found” is ruin. Notably, the Arabic title ٱلْحَشْر (al-Ḥashr)—which can be heard as “The Gathering” or “The Exile”—reflects the double-edged sword of biblical and Pauline grace “found” in the Lukan parable: the same mercy that restores the outcast scatters the proud, “in the imagination of their hearts.” (Luke 1:51)
“To Find” (و–ج–د) as Judgment, Mercy, and Unveiling
In its Qur’anic itinerary, the root و–ج–د (wāw–jīm–dāl)—“to find”—functions not merely as discovery, but as confrontation: an encounter between the human being and God’s will, mercy, or judgment.
Surah Ad-Duḥā (93:7, “The Morning Brightness”) — God Finds His Slave
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى (wawajadaka ḍāllan fahadā)
“And he found you lost and guided you.”
Here, God finds the Prophet Muhammad lacking guidance and brings him under divine instruction. To be found is to hear the words of the text and submit. It is a turning point, not earned, but gifted. This is Pauline Grace, preached by the “found man,” akin to the Prophet, and rejected by the people in Luke 8:35.
Surah An-Nūr (24:39, “The Light”) — The Mirage and the Reckoning
وَوَجَدَ ٱللَّهَ عِندَهُ فَوَفَّىٰهُ حِسَابَهُ (wawajada allāha ʿindahu fawaffāhu ḥisābahu)
“And he finds God before him, and he fully pays him his due.”
This verse contrasts superficial appearance with divine fruit. The disbeliever’s deeds are like a mirage—seemingly full but empty. When he “finds” God, it is not for mercy but for reckoning. As the Apostle Paul said, you do not “know” God, but are “known” by him. (Galatians 4:9) To be found out is to stand exposed, with no illusions able to shield your deeds. This is the light (al-nur) that shines in the darkness. (John 1:5)
Surah al-Kahf (18:60–65, “The Cave”) — Moses Finds a Slave of God
فَوَجَدَا عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَا (fawajadā ʿabdan min ʿibādinā)
“So they found one of our slaves…”
Moses, seeking a deeper understanding of the Torah, encounters a slave of God (traditionally identified as al-Khiḍr), who imparts divine wisdom through unsettling actions. To “find” in this context is to be confronted by a divine wisdom that defies human reason—especially the moral reasoning of Greek ethics and Roman law. Moses, temporarily misled by Hellenistic ideals of justice, is humbled by al-Khiḍr’s divine instruction. Al-Khiḍr means “The Green One” or “The Verdant One,” a name associated with life, renewal, and hidden vitality—a symbol of the garden in Genesis, a world untouched by Greco-Roman tyranny.
YOU WILL NOT FIND
Elijah was not found, yet he was fed by nomadic pastoral tribes—ע־ר־ב (ʿayin–resh–bet)—interwoven—mixed—peoples who move under the moonlight, the Arabs, like birds—ravens—regional desert nomads hidden from the reach of kings and the judgments of men.
As it is written:
“His descendants shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever like the moon, and a witness in the sky is faithful.” (Psalm 89:36–37)“Blessed is he who made constellations in the skies and placed therein a lamp and a moon giving light.” (Surah al-Furqān 25:61, “The Criterion”)
Thus, the New Testament identifies Jesus with Elias: for he too was not found among the condemned, but was justified by God and raised in power against the ruler of this world.
Again, as it is written:
“They searched for three days but did not find [וְלֹא מְצָאֻהוּ (wəlōʾ məṣāʾuhu)] him” (2 Kings 2:17)
For the righteous are not found, because they are not condemned.
“You will not find تَجِدَ (tajida) a people who believe in God and the Last Day having affection for those who oppose God and his Apostle—even if they were their fathers or sons or brothers or kindred. God has decreed trust in their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from him…” (سورة المجادلة, Surah al-Mujādilah 58:22, “The Woman Who Disputes”)★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★