The Miracles of Jesus
Jesus Delivers the Demon Possessed Man of Gedara!
(Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8: 26-39)
The day
had begun with Jesus teaching the crowds from on board a boat, anchored along the western
shore of the Sea of Galilee. At the end of the teaching that day, Jesus had instructed his
disciples to set out for the other side of the lake (Mark 4:33-36). The disciples then passed through a
life-threatening experience on the Sea of Galilee. A terrible storm had almost taken their
lives, and in a moment of weakness, they thought that Jesus had forsaken them. Awakening
Him in a panic, they cried out, “Save us or we perish!” The Lord spoke to the
murderous winds, and said, “Be Muzzled,” and the winds were stilled. The Lord
rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith in Him and all that He had taught them. They
responded with humble hearts and were in awe of their Lord, as the boats drew close to the
shore. Perhaps the disciples sighed with relief, “Safe at last.”
Probably none of the disciples realized that they had landed in a “no man’s
land.”
This day
would not end without another miracle taking place in the fading light of day. Suddenly,
the quiet lapping of the water on the shore was interrupted by a piercing scream.
Seemingly, out of nowhere, a wounded, naked man - hair matted, eyes wild, broken chains
rattling from wrist and ankles, ran up to them on the shore and threw himself down at the
feet of Jesus. Nothing that they had experienced prepared them for this.
THE BACKGROUND OF THE
MIRACLE
(Luke 8: 26-28, 29b)
“Then they sailed to
the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. (27) And when He stepped out on
the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.”
Matthew,
Mark and Luke all record this story. Although Matthew refers to two men;
whereas in Mark and Luke only one man recorded. The natural explanation is
that Mark and Luke chose to concentrate on the one who was the most outspoken and the most
prominent of the two men.
Luke goes
on to tell us that us that this man “had demons for a long
time” the KJV says that, “he had devils
for a long time” but in reality there is only one “devil”
but there are many “demons.” When the Bible says that “he had
many demons,” it means that he was “demon possessed” or literally
“demonized,” that is “under the influence of one or more evil
spirits.”
Insanity, epilepsy, blindness, the inability to hear or speak, frequently
accompanied and were symptoms of demon possession (Matt 12:22, 9:32, Mark 9:17,25, Luke
11:14-16) but this by no means indicates that all persons with such diseases were demon
possessed.
The Bible
speaks of demon possession rather matter-of-factly, without apology or excuse. There are
some today who find it distasteful to accept this account because of the mention of the
Supernatural, and they try to say that this man was merely insane and not
actually controlled by anything other than his own twisted mind. Others say that each time
Jesus encountered such insanity, He just accommo-dated His terminology to their crude
level of understanding. In other words, He just called such cases demon
possession, all the while knowing that such was just a primitive superstition. The problem
with that answer is that it makes Jesus a deceiver.
C.S Lewis wrote about the confusion
about demon possession when he wrote, “There are two equal
and opposite errors into which our race can fall about demons (devils). One is to
disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and feel an excessive and
unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased with both errors
…with the same delight.” [C.S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters. (New
York: MacMillan. 1971) p. 3 ]
Our world plays with spiritual forces rather than taking them seriously. Every day
we see psychics advertise on television, and the newspaper carries your daily horoscope.
We tend to see these things as harmless and they are not. We need to
be careful not to allow the forces of spiritual darkness to get a foot in the door of our
minds through occult books, movies or even games such as “Dungeons and Dragons”.
Much of what is called “Occult
Research” today is clearly an abomination to the Lord.
This is serious business, according to Ephesians 6:12 there is a very real
spiritual battle being waged between the God and Satan over the lives and souls of men and
women. It was going on during the ministry of Jesus, it was seen in the early days of the
church, and it will continue in every generation until the Lord comes again and Satan and
all of his demons are forever cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:10). The power of the
Devil is real and I believe we are seeing increased evidence of it today.
I think
that one other word of explanation is necessary here because there is still a lot of
confusion about “demon possession” within the ranks of Bible believing
Christians. Some maintain that even Christians can be possessed by a Demon. Let me try to
explain why this can not be true! Charles Ryrie defines the problem by
saying “Demon possession means a demon residing in a
person., exerting direct control and influence over that person, with certain derangement
of mind and body. Demon possession is to be distinguished from demon influence and demon
activity in relation to a person. The work of the demon in the latter is from the outside
in demon possession it is from within. By this, a Christian cannot be possessed by a
demon since he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. However, a Christian can be the
target of demonic activity to such an extent that he may give the appearance of demon
possession.” [as quoted by Ron R. Ritchie. Do You Believe in the Devil.
Unpublished data file. Palo Alto, Calif.: Discovery Publishing. (www.
pbc.org/dp/Ritchie/4319.html). p.3.]
The Bible is clear that there is a Demonic power
at work in the world and that the Satan exercises his power in a three-fold way. First
Satan power is exercised by himself, but he is not God and cannot be everywhere at the
same time. Secondly, this power is exercised by demons on behalf of their prince. And
thirdly, it is exercised through human beings who he has possessed and controls. [Herbert Lockyer. All the Miracles of the Bible. (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1961) p. 187]
One of the
problems concerning demon possession is that no where in the New Testament are we told how
any one came to be demon possessed. Christians can place themselves in a position to vulnerable
to the forces of evil any time they surrender to either fleshly appetites (anger, lust,
passion etc) or some form of self-emptying such as eastern mediation. The situation we
encounter in our text today may not, at first glance, seem to apply to any of us. After
all, we encounter a man here who is obviously fully demon possessed. He lives in a
cemetery, for crying out loud!! He is a raving madman who cannot be bound by
shackles and chains. He cries out in shrieks and wails all night long, as he cuts his body
with stones. How could this apply to us? He is a reminder of the dilemma that is faced by
every human that has not come under the influence of the saving power of Jesus Christ.
Paul describes the condition of all believers prior to salvation in Ephesians 2:1-2,
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins
in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of
the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”
The story
of the demon possessed man illustrates how a person can be so inwardly bound that he
suffers inner pain and confusion. While he may throw off all outward restraint, he is
unable to control what is going on within him. Sometimes, this bondage is caused by our
human frailty. Other times, it is caused by the direct oppression of demonic activity. But
behind an outward facade of apparent wholeness, there is nonetheless, brokenness inside.
This inward bondage may vary in degree and differ in appearance, but the struggle is the
same. As a matter of fact, the person sitting in front of you, or beside you may have
struggles that you know nothing about. You may even be saying, “I don’t have to
look around, that person is me!” The good news is that you can be set free!
The
townspeople in the past had subdued this man but he had broken his bonds and escaped taken
up residence in the cemetery, the townspeople now have decided that the safest thing to do
is to leave this man alone. The man who resides in the tombs had gotten so bad that he was
abandoned by other human beings. At this point in his life he no longer had any sense of
modesty or shame, the text tells that “he was naked.”
“…For it had
often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he
broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.”
He
appeared to be a raving lunatic who was extremely violent to himself and to anyone he
chanced to meet. He had become his own worst enemy. Sin does that, sin is always
self-destructive. The alcoholic, the drug dependant, the promiscuous (today we our world
calls it “the sexual active”), are all in degrees destroying the life given to
them by God This man had become little more than an animal, he was both frightening
to others and at times himself afraid. In his lucid moments he no doubt
realized how repulsive, unloved and unwelcome he was. It’s all a matter of control.
This man was completely controlled by the demons within him. While a person today may not
be at the extreme of demon possession, it is still an issue of control. Whether they admit
or not; a person who hasn’t been freed from sin by the Lord is a slave to sin. Paul
said in his letter to the Romans (6:16), “Do you not
know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are the one’s slaves
whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to
righteousness?” The New Living Translation puts it this way, “Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes
your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death or you can choose to obey God and
receive His approval.”
Sometimes,
the inward suffering can be so great that even outward physical pain can itself seem a
relief. Our desire to find relief can lead us to do something equally as foolish. Any kind
of escapism will do, alcohol, drugs, television, because we just cannot seem to be alone
with ourselves.
(LK 8: 28) “When
he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What
have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment
me!"
It is
reassuring to note that when Christ and Satan meet head to head that it is not a clash of
titans with the outcome uncertain, Satan and his demons do not stand a chance when they
come into contact with the full force of God’s power.
When all
other avenues of escape are exhausted and we are forced to face reality, we become
desperate as this man was. Hopefully, our desperation will lead us to the same place it
lead the demon possessed man. Hopefully, it will lead us to Jesus.
When our
text says that he “fell down before Him” it does not
necessarily imply “worship” as we understand the term, in fact in
Mark’s account where this word is translated “worshipped” it means to bow
down and pay homage to but not in the sense of true worship. Philippians 3:10
foretells of a time when “every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord,” but neither is this worship, it
forces homage to the truth. In confrontation with the demons there is no repentance,
only regret for the consequences of their sin. Much like the many that you
will find in our prison system today, they regret being caught and punished but not truly
repentant for what they had done.
The demons
that control this man proclaim, “Jesus, the son of the most
High God.” Unlike the religious rulers of the day the demons immediately
recognized that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. This recognition did not however, change
their desire to continue their destructive ways. Like an army that knows it is defeated,
they want to inflict as much damage as possible before going down.
The demons
ask Jesus in verse twenty-eight, “do not torment
us” and Matthew records that they said, “Why have
you come to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:28). Before what
time? Before the time of judgment. The word “torment”
tells us that the demons believe in Hell even if men and women of today do not. The fate
of the demons is sealed. The fate of men and women is still unsettled as long as they are
alive. Oh how tragic to hear, people say such things as “A literal hell I
don’t believe that stuff.” or “Heaven won’t have me and
Hell is afraid I will take over.” or “Well if I go to hell at
least all my friends will be there.” These are the words of very deceived
people who are in for a very rude awakening! The truth is that demons realized that Hell
is not funny.
“For He had
commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. … (30) Jesus asked him, saying,
"What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had
entered him. (31) And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the
abyss.”
When Jesus
asked the demon for his name he was not simply requesting information. He asked in order
that all could see how pitiful this man’s condition was. The demon responds that his
name is “Legion.” A Roman legion consisted of 6,000 foot soldiers
as well as 120 horsemen and other personnel. To the Jewish mind “legion” suggest
great numbers; efficient and organized and relentless in strength.
Luke’s
account in verse twenty-nine says that Jesus “…
commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.” Jesus did not seek to
calm the man but rather he confronted the demons that were abusing the man. In verse
thirty-one the demons make a request of Jesus, “ And they
begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. (32) Now a herd of
many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them
to enter them. And He permitted them. (33) Then the demons went out of the man and entered
the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and
drowned.”
The
demon(s) begged to not be sent to the “abyss.”
The abyss is a place in which some of the angels who fell with Satan are currently confined,
awaiting God’s final judgment (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6).
When the
demons are allowed to enter the herd of swine as requested, the swine unexpectedly
stampeded, much to the shock of everyone. The shock of suddenly being occupied by the
demon spirits, caused the hogs to blindly charge down the hillside into the lake to rid
themselves of their unwanted guests. These pigs preferred suicide to demon possession.
Some have
questioned why Jesus would allow the demons to go into the pigs and destroy the livelihood
of the swine owners. There are several possible answers. First, as the sovereign ruler of
the universe He does not need anyone’s permission. Secondly, it was also possible
that these swine herders were Jews, in which case they were guilty of breaking the law of
Moses. If so we have not only a miracle but a case of divine judgment. Technically
speaking he did not send the demons into the swine he only allowed it. It is worth noting
that if they could not enter into pigs without permission, how likely is it they can enter
into the Lord’s sheep?
(Luke 8:34-36, 38-39)
The Demon Possessed Man is Freed
“When those who fed
them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.”
The word
spreads fast when those tending the pigs fled into the city to report what had happened.
When the people came out they found a completely different man than they had known. There
is a word of hope here for those who have descended so far into sin, and have so many
scars that they have given up on ever being made whole. In the life of the Demon possessed
man when the deliverer comes there is new life. His encounter with Christ
has changed him completely in both his look and his outlook. In verse thirty-five
we find that when the townspeople arrived they “… found
the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in
his right mind.” Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that when we
really commit our selves to Christ we are changed, “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things
have passed away, behold, all things have become new.”
In verse
thirty-eight we see that he also has a new heart, for he “… begged Him that he might be with Him.” The
healed man wanted to join Jesus’ band of disciples, but Jesus had a different calling
in mind. Someone must be left behind to be a light in a dark world. Not everyone is called
into full time ministry. Not everyone is called to a foreign land as a missionary. Some
must go, but some must stay. For some, what Jesus wants, is for those who have experienced
deliverance, to tell those in their own hometown about him.
Jesus gave
this man’s life a new purpose, (vv. 38b-39) “…
but Jesus sent him away, saying, (39) ‘Return to your own house, and tell what great
things God has done for you.’ And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole
city what great things Jesus had done for him.” Jesus told him to “return to your own house” his testimony was to begin
with those who knew him best and could see the change that Jesus had made in his life.
Luke uses the aorist tense to tell the reader that what Jesus had done was complete. He
was to testify of “what great things God has done for
you.”
Mark, in
his account, tells us that the result of this man’s testimony was that “all marveled” (5:20).
The townspeople, however, did not
respond as the demon possessed man did. Verse thirty-seven reveals that “Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the
Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear…”.
Following
Jesus is now and always has been a choice. The townspeople chose to ask Jesus to leave.
Sadly they would rather push Jesus away than risk Him changing their lives too. Far more
people than we can imagine turn their backs on Christ or ask him to go away because they
fear he will disrupt their lives.
Be careful
about asking Jesus to leave you alone. The text tells us that “…And
He got into the boat and returned.” Did you know that as far as we know Jesus
never returned to the land of Gadarenes? Never! This was their only chance. We have to
wonder just how different it might have been in their lives had these people invited Jesus
to come into their city and into their lives, instead of asking Him to leave.
Statistics
today tell us that 85% of all people who do not accept Christ before they
are 18 never will. So Jesus left. He simply got into the boat and departed.
He didn’t beg. He didn’t plead. He didn’t threaten. He didn’t come
back. Jesus takes charge only in the lives of those freely offered to him.
Martin Luther penned these words in
his great hymn of faith “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
“And though this world
with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God
hath willed
His truth to triumph through
us.
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him –
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure:
One little word shall fell
him.”
And that word my friend is
“Jesus”
[Martin Luther. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” in Praise: Our Songs and Hymns. (Nashville, Tenn.: Singspiration Associates, 1977) no. 333.]