Matthew 8:28-34 NASBS
When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. [29] And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” [30] Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. [31] The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” [32] And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. [33] The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. [34] And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.
One of the most important aspects of the story is the men who were living amid the graves that had been carved into the rocks, which were most likely above-ground crypts for the deceased. These facilities provided a safe haven for those who were homeless on the streets.
There is a discrepancy between Matthew’s reference to two guys and Mark and Luke’s reference to only one man.
Some believe that Matthew regularly prefers to add to Mark’s account, while another quite good view is that there were two guys, but that one stood out in particular during the clash between the two groups of people.
Mark and Luke tell us about the fact the demon possessed man called himself Legion because they were many demons. (Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39).
The topic of demons preoccupied the minds of the ancients for thousands of years. They believed that demonic powers were responsible for the majority of illnesses, including mental sickness, epilepsy, and the majority of physical illnesses.
In ancient Egypt, they thought that the body was divided into thirty-six parts, and that any one or all of these parts may be possessed by demons at any time. There were Jewish beliefs that demons were the fallen angels that seduced mortal women (see Genesis 6:1–8).
Whatever the source, the Gospel writers are adamant about the historical accuracy of these episodes as well as the fact that Jesus Himself spoke of the personality and presence of demons in his teachings.
The key here is that the demons were aware of Jesus’ identity. Their statement symbolizes knowledge of the world beyond, of the person of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and of their own impending judgment. According to James’s writing, “The devils also believe, and tremble” (2:19, KJV).
Jesus did not show any fear of the demons at all. Because He had power over them, he ordered that they be freed from the men they were bound to. If we think the devil is powerful, we should know that he is not a second god in the world, and his power is not even close to that of God. The demons are also not to be feared when we know Christ because they are just extensions of the power or influence of the devil. In any way, they are small and can be defeated in the name of Christ!
Mark provides us with a fuller version of the narrative, which helps us to better comprehend what is going on. A difficult aspect of this journey is the episode involving the death of an entire herd of 2,000 pigs.
Perhaps the demons knew what would happen and thought this was a good way to fight back against Jesus. The herd of swine may have killed themselves because they had asked Jesus not to judge or punish them before. Jesus had come to deliverer and save the man behind the demons and he did so.
Perhaps Jesus saw this as a way to confront the people in the area, a way to show that human life and well-being were more important than the swine trade. Or maybe it was to show the possessed men that they were free, that the demons had gone into the swine and went with them to their death, freeing them from the hellish powers that had bound them.
Everybody in the city came out to see what was going on. It says in Mark that when they came to Jesus, the demon possessed man was “clothed and in his right mind,” which is very interesting (5:15).
This was a chance for them to see true values, to value people above things, and to celebrate with those who were freed and healed.
There had been a big loss in their business, and the herd of swine had been killed and because of that they couldn’t see the move of God in their midst.
This is a picture that shows how you can choose between the values of the kingdom and the materialism of the world. People didn’t care that two men were made whole if their economy was now in trouble.
This is human selfishness in its most clear form. But this isn’t a new thing. People don’t seem to care about the needs of the this World as much as they do about protecting their own economic advantages.
It’s also true of the church, where we talk a lot about “protecting our security” but don’t care about the well-being of our brothers in need.
The sad fact of today’s church is that men are still debating whether they should follow Jesus by valuing people above their things or whether they should safeguard their pigs and live comfortably!
And you? What are you choosing?
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