220203 01 – Matthew 08:28-34
Jesus Casts Out Demons
Matthew 8:28-34 NASB
²⁸Then 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.
²⁹And 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?”
³⁰Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them.
³¹The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
³²And 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.
³³The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.
³⁴And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.
Study
Gergesenes
The readings vary between Gerasenes, Gadarenes and Gergesenes.
▪︎ Gerasa and Gergesa are forms of the same name.
▪︎ Gadara was some distance to the south of the Lake. It was, however, the capital of Peræa, and the more important place; possibly Gergesa was under its jurisdiction.
Gergesa is identified with the modern Khersa; in the neighbourhood of which “rocks with caves in them very suitable for tombs, a verdant sward with bulbous roots on which the swine might feed” (Macgregor, Rob Roy), and a steep descent to the verge of the Lake, exactly correspond with the circumstances of the miracle.
Tombs
Tombs hewn out of the mountain-sides formed convenient dwelling-places for the demoniac.
The Gadarene Demoniac.
Mark (Mark 5:1-20) and Luke (Luke 8:26-39) make mention of one demoniac only.
Mark relates the incident at greater length and with more particularity.
Matthew omits:
▪︎ the impossibility of binding him with chains,
▪︎ the absence of clothing,
▪︎ the wild cries night and day,
▪︎ the name “legion,”
▪︎ the prayer not to be sent into the “abyss” (Luke),
▪︎ the request of the demoniac to be with Jesus,
▪︎ and the charge which Jesus gives him to tell his friends what great things the Lord had done for him.
What business do we have with each other, Son of God?
- Bad men must sooner or later acknowledge their deserts.
- They believe that a “time” for punishment of their sins will come.
- A guilty conscience dreads the presence of Christ.
Drowning
- The Egyptians pursuing Israel drowned in the Red Sea (Hebrews 11:29 See also Exodus 14:21-28; Exodus 15:1-5).
- Jonah was delivered from drowning (Jonah 2:2-7).
- The demon-possessed herd of pigs drowned in the Sea of Galilee (Mark 5:1-13 pp Matthew 8:28-32 pp Luke 8:26-33).
- Jesus Christ’s disciples feared they would drown in a storm (Mark 4:35-41 pp Matthew 8:23-27 pp Luke 8:22-25).
- Drowning in the teaching of Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:6).
- Metaphorical use: Job 10:15
This Bible section shows us:
- That this was not a work of authority done by our Master in His own country. He had passed from His own country. Truth knows no limitations; a man that has it owes it to mankind.
- The sad spectacle that met our Lord was a man in ruins.
- The moment our Savior came into the presence of this man. he brought a distributing force. Two spheres came together that were antagonistic. Evil claims its rights, liberty. This is the keynote of the opposition in modern society to every attempt to make men better.
- We should oppose these malign influences front self-interest, and in self-defence. It is not going away from our own affairs when we attempt to break down everything that is destroying the industry and virtue of society. We are bound to meddle with the demonized part of society. Men ought to stand on the ground of goodness and assert the dignity of rectitude over immorality
The Gadarenes, in return for Christ’s works of love, majesty, and mercy, besought Him to depart. They eared more for the swine which the devils had destroyed than for the poor man Christ had restored.
Illustration
It is still the same in our days!
Let us mark
Coming
It was a universal movement, and a most interesting one. A whole city flocking out to meet Jesus! How seldom had such a thing been seen, or is seen now.
Seeing
They did not remain afar off, but came nigh.
They saw for themselves, and that aggravated their guilt.
Refusing
An awful request in many ways.
Was there ever a request so sad, so fatal?
Why was this?
There was something in Jesus that drew them; but there was more that they disliked.
▪︎ They would like Him as the physician of the body,
▪︎ but they did not want Him as healer of their souls.
▪︎ His company seemed dangerous and terrible to them, so they asked Him to depart. Their ” depart from us” is the foreboding of His “depart from Me” (Matthew 25:41).
Observe:
1. How near salvation they were.
2. How much they wronged the Savior.
3. How immensely they wronged themselves.
Devotional
Jesus is recognized or rejected as the Conqueror over the power of the devil.
Although the devil still has a place and great power here on earth (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:14; 1 Peter 5:8), with Jesus’ coming into the world, his power is basically broken (Colossians 2:15).
▪︎ This section shows us very realistically the devastation he can wreak in one’s life and in the surrounding nature.
▪︎ But we also see Who Jesus is!
Possession is much worse than illness, though superficially it resembles the mental illness insanity. To be possessed means that your whole mind is controlled by one or more demons, who use you as a willingless tool.
They are out to ruin your life until it ends in death (cf. Hebrews 2:14,15).
The demoniac lived in the rock tombs. He was cruel and indomitable, and everyone feared him (Matthew 8:28; This country is 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the Sea of Galilee).
But now there is a meeting with Jesus.
In Him they (the demons) discover their Lord, Who is stronger than they, and Who will one day deal with them (Matthew 8:29; Cf. Revelation 20:10).
They rightly suspect that He will not leave them alone.
They ask Him questions that show how afraid they are of Him.
They know that He can cast them out (Matthew 8:31), for they know Who He is: God’s Son! They reluctantly have to admit that (cf. Matthew 4:3,6; James 2:19).
For them He is not the only comfort, but the worst terror!
They want nothing to do with Jesus.
Just one word from Jesus and they must go (Matthew 8:32)!
They are allowed to go into a herd of swine.
Why? That’s puzzling.
- We must remember that swine were unclean animals to the Jews;
- That it now becomes manifest how destructive and confusing demons are;
- That one person is worth much more than many animals;
- That the inhabitants are put to the test; whether they value the presence of Jesus, the Redeemer of men, more than their possessions. They fail
To avoid further financial loss, they want Jesus to go away.
A terrible choice, which also serves as a warning example for us in our materialistic age! (1 Timothy 6:9).
Question
- How do you react when Jesus shows his saving power?
Prayer Suggestion
- Ask the Lord to protect you from the power of the devil, which you are no match for.
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