Old Testament Reading:
[Zec 3:1-5 ESV] 1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.
New Testament Reading:
[Rev 20:1-6 ESV] 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Gospel Reading:
[Luk 8:26-39 ESV] 26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Sermon Text:
[Mat 8:28-34 ESV] 28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
Introduction
We continue now in Matthew’s Gospel with another miracle.
Two men are healed from demon-possession and a whole herd of pigs are dead.
How did this happen? It happened because Jesus said ONE WORD to those demons: GO!
We see here that Jesus has power not only over the land and the sea, the world and all that is in it, but also the spiritual world. He can command even the evil angels who fell with Satan.
That is the basic story that we have in our Scripture reading today.
But there are a number of details regarding this passage that we ought to look into so that we can understand it better.
I. Jesus and His disciples in the land of the Gadarenes.
First, where are Jesus and His disciples?
We saw before that the were heading “to the other side” of the Sea of Galilee. In the middle they had a storm which Jesus miraculously rebuked with his voice and the great storm ceased and a great calm took its place.
Now they’ve gotten to the other side.
There is an apparent problem.
Matthew says they are in “the country of the Gadarenes.”
But Luke and Mark say it is “the country of the Gerasenes.”
Which is it? Gadarenes or Garasenes?
These types of “problems” are commonly brought up by atheists. And it seems to some like they’ve found a contradiction in the Bible!
But they haven’t, and a solution is relatively easy.
Gerasa is directly on the other side of the lake, and it has cliffs (for pigs to fall off of).
But Gadara is the name a larger town some distance south, which probably gave its name to the whole region. So Jesus and his disciples are in the country of the Gadarenes and in the Village of Gerasa. That’s a possible solution. Whether or not that is THE solution isn’t that important; the point is the Scriptures are not contradicting themselves.
II. The Demon-Possessed Men
Another challenge them comes as to whether there is 1 man possessed by demons (like Luke and Mark say), or 2 men possessed by demons (as Matthew says). Again the solution is fairly easy; there were two demon-possessed men, but Luke and Mark focus their telling on one of them. (This is much like the question of how many angels at the tomb. One or two.) Time and time again, if you’ll look into the supposed “problems” you find in Scripture, you will also find a solution.
The condition of these two men is atrocious, miserable.
They were “coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.”
They apparently lived among the tombs. Perhaps the demons felt more at home around death. But the touching of a dead body (like those laid out in catacombs) is a great defilement for the Jews. Numbers 19:11 says “whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean for seven days.”
So the Gadarene people would want to avoid these demon-possessed men, for fear that they would themselves become unclean when one of them touch them.
The text notes another reason to avoid them. They were fierce. So it is not just about uncleanness, but about physical safety. These demoniacs were reckless, likely attacking anyone they saw. So the people avoided them studiously.
But Jesus comes close enough to these tombs that the demon-possessed men come out to confront him.
Now why would these demons want to confront Jesus?
It is almost like a King of Old, who, recognizing he has the weaker force, comes out to ask for terms of peace.
The demons KNOW that Jesus is powerful and he’s coming to get them and that they are in trouble. The demons know more than the people do about Jesus.
They came out of their to tombs and cried out to Jesus: “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
The people didn’t know that Jesus is the Son of God. But the demons did, just as Satan knew the same earlier in Matthew’s Gospel.
What does this term mean, “the Son of God?”
We’ve seen it just one time previous in Matthew’s Gospel, and it was Satan who said it. He said “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” and “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down” [from the temple.] So at this point it is only the evil forces – and not the people that are using this term for Jesus: the Son of God.
They know that truth that the people have not yet learned. They know that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the “mighty God” prophesied by Isaiah.
It will take longer for the people. Later, Jesus’s disciples will say “Truly you are the Son of God.” But for now only Satan and the demons know.
And these demons, knowing the power Jesus Christ wields, the are afraid of him. No one else has been able to do anything about these demons. They’ve been running amok.
They plead: “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
They know that Satan and his minions will one day be rebuked and sent to the pit of hell. (Revelation 20 for example)
So they begged Jesus saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.”
III. The Faith of Demons
The demons put the people to shame. They know about Jesus, but it is like James points out in the his epistle: “You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe and shudder.” (James 2:19)
What demons DO NOT BELIEVE is that Jesus will save them.
They know that in God’s eternal plan, Jesus was sent to redeem His people, not the fallen angels of Satan.
Saving Faith is more than believing that God exists; for God ‘s eternal power and divine nature is evident to all. It’s is nothing to say “God exists.” The demons even believe this. And rightly they should, because they are afraid of what Jesus will do to them.
So they, say, “anything but hell; send us into those pigs!” It is better to be in a stinky unclean animal than to be in hell.
IV. The Power of Christ
But then we see the power of Christ. The real pinnacle of this passage. What does he say?
Go!
Just one word.
Jesus simply says “Go.” What amazing power is in his word. By the word of God the world was created; and by the word of God demons are exorcised.
And he’s not compromising with the demons. He does indeed send them to the pigs, but those pigs immediately rush off of a cliff and die.
This is one of two consequences of Jesus speaking.
One, the demons enter pigs, fall off a cliff, and die (presumably both pigs and demons die).
Then, two, the people are upset with Jesus because of the loss of their pigs and the ask him to leave.
You see here just how perverted their priorities were. They care more about the pigs than the men. Shouldn’t they be rejoicing them two men are healed!? Instead they are lamenting their financial loss.
Here I want to make an application.
APPLICATION: People are more valuable than anything else on earth. [REPEAT]
So if you are running a for-profit business, you are not to do so recklessly and the risk of life. You are not out to get rich at all costs. Work is good and prosperity is a blessing, but these are not ends in themselves. And if you are using wealth to aggrandize yourself, rather than to support your family and those in need, you’re doing it wrong. So do not, as the phrase says “put people over profits.” That’s a politically charged phrase, but I mean by it only what I’ve just said: you shouldn’t act so as to harm another person or have serious risk of harm, while making money.
Then, perhaps in the other direction politically, we see another part of this application. We are not to prize PIGS over man. Who does this? Many environmentalists. But the logical conclusion of valuing nature more than people, is to conclude that there should be no people at all! Environmentalists have an inverted hierarchy of value, but we know Biblically that man is to be steward OVER the environment and the pigs, while knowing also that man is greater than these things. So the people of Gadara should have been happy for the healing of the men.
I’ve spoken about this in our Genesis series in men’s Bible study. What was the pinnacle of Creation? It was man.
Or, if not man, it was woman!
Either way, rather than seeing ourselves an insignificant specs in a grand universe, we ought to see ALL THINGS created FOR US, that we may see the Glory of God displayed. Man is more valuable than the Galaxy, for the Galaxy was man for man and not man for the Galaxy.
Such is how Jesus values people.
He prioritizing His people above all else.
Using his power to protect them against all enemies.
Conclusion: Christ protects us from demons.
What is a demon? I’ve noted already that they are fallen angels. Evil, deceiving.
Are there demons today? This is a difficult question to answer.
Frankly, I don’t know what to make of the reports of demon possession. They happen, the reports at least. John MacArthur, in a sermon I listened to, even noting seeing one. And he was not one to quickly embrace that conclusion.
But even if demons are not actively possessing people today (a debated point), I think all Christians would agree that something like C. S. Lewis’s “Screwtape Letters” is going on. Satan and his demons are actively trying to deceive men.
But, now some assurance.
There is no example in the Scriptures of a believer being possessed. [REPEAT]
Why do you think that is?
There’s no room for a demon in the heart of a believer, because the Holy Spirit has already taken residence there.
The other night – this is so silly – I was in the church when it was dark outside. I turned my office light off and hurried out the building, because the darkness is spooky! Then, I remembered, THIS IS A CHURCH! Evil is not welcome here.
That is the same thing we should remember with ourselves. Evil is not welcome here.
Satan and his demons will come after you, no doubt, but they are not welcome.
Jesus says to the demons “Go” and they obeyed his command.
So let us be are of evil, and fight against, but all the while know that we are safe in the arms of the Lord.
Let us pray.