MATTHEW 8:28-34 [THE MESSIAH REVEALED SERIES]
PRINCE OF PEACE OVER THE SPIRIT WORLD
[Revelation 18:1-8]
Previously Jesus has demonstrated His power and authority over diseases and nature. Now we see His power over the unseen supernatural world. Jesus brings back lost life and demonstrates Himself Lord of still other dimensions and darker realms. The Prince of Peace brings peace to men tortured and torn by mysterious tyrannical powers. He speaks His all-powerful authoritative Word and the strife and rage of demonic possession flees and leaves a great calm in its place. Jesus exercised authority and compassion that freed people even from demon possession (CIT).
Jesus’ meek power is authoritative in all realms and with all beings. Even before the crucifixion Jesus had absolute, universal authority. The men in the boat wondered what kind of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him. The demons know and will tell them.
I. VIOLENT DEMON POSSESSION, 28-29.
II. VOLATILE DEMON EXTRACTION, 30-32.
III. VANQUISHING THE LORD, 33-34.
The group having crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee arrives on the eastern shore in verse 28. “When He came to the other side into the country of the Ga/da/renes, 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.”
Jesus and His disciples made it the rest of the way to the other side of the lake with few words I imagine as they contemplated the overpowering event they had just witnessed. They came ashore below the middle of the lake, in the country of Gadarenes near the lesser known city of Gerasa, a predominately Gentile area. [The name Gadarenes comes from the town of Gadara, the capital of the region about eight miles southeast of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee.] The eastern side of the Sea of Galilee has limestone cliffs that are full of caves. The dead were buried there. Who else but a maniac would haunt the tombs.
Out of these tombs burst two exceedingly violent men. These men were so violent (÷áëåðïé), fierce, savage, even ruthless translates the word, that they were able to keep the whole community at bay. There were no flowers laid at these tombs. [This was no nominal possession as legions (Lk. 8:30) of demons possessed these men.]
“Three things in this verse would have shocked the first-century Jewish reader. First, Jesus purposefully entered Gentile territory. Second, He went to a cemetery, thought to be unclean because of the dead bodies, and also thought to be inhabited by evil spirits. Third, He was met by two men possessed by demons. Just as first-century people treated natural forces with greater respect than we do, they also respected more highly the forces of the spirit world. The concept of going face-to-face with demons was frightful to the first-century reader. These two men were so violent and dangerous that people avoided them.” [Weber, Stuart. Holman NT Commentary. 2000. Broadman & Holman. Nasnville, TN. P. 121]
Demon possessed people are under the control of one or more demons. Demons are fallen angels who joined Satan in his rebellion against God and are now evil spirits under Satan’s control. They help Satan tempt people to sin and have great destructive powers. Demons are disruptors of the whole life of man.
Verse 29 discloses the demons knew who Jesus is even though He is incarnate in human flesh. “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?”
The Devil’s agents recognize Jesus and speak out through the men they possessed. They cried out in a sudden, startling, powerful voice fitted to shock weak nerves but not the cry of men about to attack. The men with the strength to break free of chains and shackles (Mk. 5:3-4; Lk. 8:29) that terrorized the whole region were subdued by the stranger who arrived in the neighborhood. Jesus was no more afraid of them than He had been of the storm.
The demons recognize Jesus as God’s Son. Now the fact that they believed Jesus was God and had an understanding of the purpose of life and eternal destiny did not save them (James 2:19). They were not willing to come underneath nor yield their life to Jesus’ Lordship [though they must still heed His command]. Mark says they even fell at His feet (Mk. 5:6), in acknowledgment of His authority, but not in worship.
It is obvious that despite their correct belief about who Jesus is, they are not headed toward heaven because they ask Jesus if He came to torment them before the time. To what time are the demons referring? To the day they would be cast into the bottomless pit (Rev 14:10; 20:10). They feared that Jesus had come to prematurely punish them. Here is also the indication that Christ has the power to hurl the demons into the abyss even before the appointed time.
The demons know that an appointed time of judgement awaits when they will be permanently removed from God’s people to suffer eternal punishment. Despite their being convinced of who Jesus is, and theologically correct about hell and eternal destiny and even give Him due respect, they are not saved. They even sense the difference between His first and second coming. Their belief surpasses that of many church members.
II. VOLATILE DEMON EXTRACTION, 30-32.
As the demons seek another option we are told of a herd of swine in verse 30. “Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them.”
Obviously these regions were largely inhabited by Gentiles for Jews did not raise pigs. The law forbids the eating of pork. The swine doubtlessly belonged to some people in the town. They were at a distance so the enslaved men would not frighten them. Mark says the herd was about 2,000.
In verse 31 the demons requested permission to enter a nearby large herd of pigs. “The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
Note the absolute powerlessness of the evil spirits to contend against God. The unclean spirits are keenly aware that the Lord of All is present and without His permission they can do nothing.
Why did the demon’s make this request to go into swine? Demons seek a bodily existence (Mt. 12:43-45), either one more pleasurable to antagonize or one that is more useful to them. Perhaps when evil spirits are absent from a physical body they sense frailty and insufficiency (Lk. 11:24). Whatever else is here we learn that demons have location and can only be at one place at a time. Jesus treats the demons as real entities, separate from the men they inhabited. Deep down in the mysterious subliminal consciousness there exists a gate through which spiritual beings may come into contact with human personalities. Through repeated contacts the person slowly turns their will over to these beings power until they can be possessed. Avenues such as seances, other contact with the occult, alcohol, drugs, controlling music, greed, weaken the resistance and help bring the natural barrier down.
In verse 32 Jesus’ finally enters the conversation with the one word reply, “Go!” “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.”
Jesus exercised His authority forcing this legion of demons [Roman legions were 6,000 men] to leave the men, and honoring their request to enter the pigs by not forbidding it. Notice once again the use of Jesus’ Word as the vehicle of authority. Matthew records only a single concise command, Go! That was sufficient for these beings of the spirit world. Such is the authority that Jesus possesses even over beings of great power and number.
[It is important for us to realize that the devil, while his power may excel ours, is not a second god in the world and in no way does his power match that of God’s. Furthermore, whatever the demons are as extensions of the devil’s power or influence, they are not to be feared when we know Christ. In any comparison with Him they are puny, and can be overcome in the name of Christ! [Augsburger, Myron S.; The Preacher's Commentary Series, Vol. 24: Matthew. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982, S. 18.]
Immediately and suddenly they came out and went into the swine. The brutes went wild and rushed down the steep slope and galloped into the sea. Swine are extremely adverse to entering deep water and must be forced into it. The demons were not expecting this reaction. The plural for died (apethanon) may indicate the demons died yet it is certain the herd, singular, also perished.
Why did God allow the demons to do something that caused the destruction of valuable property? A greater question is why does God permit demons to enter man who is of eternally greater value? The freedoms God gives are of His own design. Jesus placed a greater value on man, made in the image of God, than He does on human property or demons.
III. VANQUISHING THE LORD, 33-34.
You would think everyone would be grateful for the person that set two men free from bondage. In verse 33 the herdsmen rush off to relay the miraculous event. “The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.”
The herdsmen who had been in charge of the pigs ran off and reported to their masters and to everybody else everything that happened. They include the exorcism of the demons whom the people had been held in superstitious terror.
Just as you think revival is about to come verse 34 gives the people’s reaction to God’s power. “And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.”
When the people of the nearby town learned what happened they went out to meet Jesus. They came not to see what manner of man is this, but to urge Him to leave their region. O the hardness of the human heart toward Jesus and His spiritual power. They feared the great holiness of Christ realizing how different He is compared to themselves as He has power over demonic violence and evil.
They might have told each other later that it was because of the destruction of the hogs that they asked Jesus to leave. If so they cared more for hogs than for Jesus’ presence and the saving of souls - it still happens frequently today. [People preferred pigs to persons, swine to the Savior. Are you more concerned about property and programs than people? Human beings are created in God’s image and have eternal value. How foolish and yet how easy it is to value possessions, investment and even animals above human life. Would you rather have Jesus leave you that loose out on some earthly benefit? [Life Application Study Bible. NIV 1988 Zondervan. Grand Rapids, Mich. p. 1664.]
Jesus would take time to give instructions to one of the freed men that was now seeking to follow Him, then He would obey their request that He leave. Read Luke 8:34-39.
The demons, who were so violent that no physical person could pass that road could not keep Jesus out of the country, but people who by their free don’t desire Jesus to come in and change things did. They and the hardness of their hearts cause Him to decide to turn around. Jesus never lingers long where He is not wanted. The reason Jesus is not in any life, home, church, county, country is because the people do not want Him there. It has to be the homo-sapiens who bid Him not to come in and stay, for no demonic force can keep Him out.
In CLOSING
Jesus was advancing the kingdom of God by casting out the kingdom of Satan. Jesus’ power over evil and evil spirits is not a comfortable or even acceptable thing to those who hold to or prefer evil. Depart from me for I prefer the company of the unclean is the request that Jesus often receives. Alas, Jesus does not stay where people do not want Him.
What about you? Are you inviting Jesus into your relationships and business? Or are you too afraid His holiness would ruin your business concerns, that His power to clean up evil would mess up your sinful ways?
Don’t worry, Jesus won’t force His presence upon you. If He is not welcomed in your life, home, family, church, or community He will not force Himself upon you but rest assured that no demonic power can keep Him out should you invite Him to enter in.
