Jesus Power on Display

Matthew 8:28-34 - Jesus and the disciples encounter the Gadarene Demoniacs.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Okay, we're continuing on in Matthew again after our little detour last week. And today we're looking at uh Matthew 8, 28 through 34. This uh comes in chat in chapter 8. You know, Matthew's been uh giving us examples of Jesus' power. And uh then uh what we're getting ready to look at today is he and the disciples need some time alone. So uh they're gonna head off to a different place, try and get away from the crowds. And that's what our passage is today. So Matthew 8, 28 through 34 says, 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. 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? And there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them, and the demons began to entreat him, saying, If you are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine. 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. The herdsmen ran away and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they implored him to leave their region. So Jesus and the disciples, if you remember, there was a crowd of people at Peter's house that Jesus had been healing, and he tells the disciples, let's get in the boat. We're going to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. And on the way, we have the story we talked about where he calms the wind and the waves because of the storm. So if you look at the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Galilee runs north and south, and it's longer than it is wide. Capernam, where Jesus was, where he was stationed, is up here on the north end of the lake. Where they were going was almost due south, all the way down to the other end along the length of the Sea of Galilee. And the area they're going to is in an area that's known in that time as the Decapolis. It was a loose confederation of ten Greek cities. But the whole idea is this is a Gentile area. This is not Jewish territory. And that's made obvious by the fact that when they get there, there's herdsmen there that have a herd of pigs. There's another gospel that tells us there was about 2,000 pigs. That's a lot of pigs. No Jew at all would have been associated with the keeping of pigs. So this is very much a Gentile area. We don't know why Jesus was going there. You know, obviously he said we need to get away, we need some rest. Maybe he was going to an area where they hadn't heard of him and they didn't know him, so that there wouldn't be any crowds following him. It's obvious that he went a long distance so the people couldn't go around the edge of the lake and catch up with him as they did in other passages. They just need some time alone. They need some time to rest to recoup and rejuvenate. And so they're in this area, and what happens? They don't even get to town before these two guys are coming out of the cemetery to talk to them. Have you ever been in a situation like that? You're just you want time off, you want some time to yourself, you've just been, you know, your whole day has just been a mess. You've been harried, you've been hurried, you're just at your wit's end, you're just trying to get away somewhere just to get a breath. And somebody stops you and wants to talk. You know, and what's our first inclination? It's like, oh my God, why me? Leave me alone. I just want some time to myself. Well, we're gonna see, there's some reasons why this happened, but we're also gonna see what Jesus' response to it was. Because as they're walking, remind ourselves that just prior to the crossing, what had Jesus been doing? You know, we talked about this in Matthew 8 and verses 14 through 17, where he talks, where it discusses that Peter's mother-in-law was healed. And then goes on to say that there was a crowd of people that came to the house that night. And Matthew 8, 16 says, When evening came, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill. He had already been casting out demons back in Capernaum. So when they got out of the boat and they're walking inland, they're met by these two men that were, as the Greek says, demonized. It's one thing the Bible never says is that people are possessed by demons. It says they're tormented by demons, that they're demonized, but it never explicitly states that people are demon-possessed. And so these two were so tormented by these demons that they were forced to live outside the community. And it says they came out of a cemetery, out of the graves. Well, you know, graves in that day, a lot of them were carved out of rock hillsides. And so there probably would have been some little alcoves or maybe even some empty tombs that provided them protection in a living space. But how bad off does somebody have to be to live amongst the dead? Right? And the demonization they were experiencing was expressed in their violent behavior. Excuse me, they were so violent that this path that Jesus and the disciples are walking on, most people who knew the area wouldn't go that way. Because they knew if they did, they were going to get attacked. And it doesn't say they were doing it for money, it doesn't say they're really doing it for anything we would think rational. They were just violent people. So Jesus and the disciples are on this path, and what happens? Well, these guys come out of the tombs to meet them.

unknown 7:48

Right?

SPEAKER_00 7:49

I guess they're coming to do what they normally do, which is terrorize people, perpetrate violence on them. But before that can happen, something really amazing happens. They recognize Jesus. And understand it's not the men that recognize Jesus, it's the demons. And their response to recognizing who Jesus is tells us at least three things. First of all, demons are real. Right? The Bible doesn't shy away from the reality of demons. Now, our warfare on earth, according to Paul in Ephesians 6, 11 and 12, is spiritual. It says, put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Jesus Himself tells the disciples, if you remember when he sent the 70 out to go preach, when they came back in Luke 10, 17 through 18, it says, the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And he said to them, I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Jesus knows the reality of Satan and demons. And Paul warns the Corinthians about sacrifices made to their idols. In 1 Corinthians 10, 19 and 20, he says, What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No. But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to become sharers in demons. I mean, even those that were opposed to Jesus understood the reality of demons because they attributed his power over demons to Satan himself. Luke 11, 14 and 15 says, and he was casting out a demon, and it was mute. And when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said he casts out demons by Beelzebubul, the ruler of the demons. There's many more verses that speak of this reality, but it is a reality. Demons and demonic activity are present in this fallen world, and they will be until, as the demons call it, the time. Now I think a short admonition from C.S. Lewis is appropriate here. In the screw tape letters, he says, there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. Demons are real. We must admit their reality and be on the watch for them. But we shouldn't be trying to find a demon under every rock and behind every ill of mankind. The second thing this passage tells us is that demons know they are judged and their time is limited. In the passage, the demons admit they know this. In verse 29, it says, 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? Now remember, this is prior to Jesus' death and resurrection. So it appears Satan and the demons have known since the fall that their reign on earth will come to an end. The time, referred to by the demons, is a time of revelation when Jesus has returned and pronounced final judgment on all those who still stand as enemies of God. Revelation 20, 10 says, And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And in that same chapter in verses 14 and 15, then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. The demons also understand that that time has not yet come, because their fear is Jesus is going to send them into that lake of fire before the time. The third thing it tells us about demons is they know who Jesus is, and they still do not submit. They know his true identity. They identify him as the Son of God. Now there's other passages in the Gospels that tell us that same thing. Luke 4.34, the demons say, Let us alone. What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. If you remember in the book of Acts, there's a passage where the demon recognizes not only Jesus, but also one of his apostles, but not those who were trying to use Jesus' name for their own ends. Acts 19, 13 through 15 says, but also some of the Jewish exorcists who went from place to place attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. Seven sons of Skeva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this, and the evil spirit answered and said to them, I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul. But who are you? It's always amazed me that in the Gospels it seemed that it was the demons who were the first to identify Jesus by his true identity, and shouted so loudly that he had to tell them to be silent. The passage in Mark 1, 23 through 25 says, Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying, What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet and come out of him. Do you notice in all these interactions, the first thing they say is, What business do we have with each other? The things of God and the things of Satan have no business with each other. Now it's obvious from this passage that the demons fear Jesus. You know, James tells us the same thing in James 2.19. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe and shudder. But this is not the fear of God that brings about salvation and reconciliation with God. This is not the fear of God that results in awe and worship. This is fear in its primary meaning. They are afraid because they know they are defeated, and they will have to bow to the Lord of the universe and submit to his punishment. Philippians 2, 9 through 11, for this reason also. God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. D.A. Carson, in the Expositor's Bible commentary, says about this. To know Jesus yet hate him is demonic. Now in the same passage, we see that Jesus' power is demonstrated, and Matthew continues to reveal Jesus as Messiah by showing his power. We know he has power over illness and sickness by those he healed, Peter's mother-in-law, the leper, the centurion servant. We know he has power over nature. Matthew 8, 26 through 27, he tells the disciples, Why are you afraid, you men of little faith? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed and said, What kind of a man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? Now we see his power over the spiritual realm. Now it's obvious the demons have already figured out Jesus is going to cast them out of these men they're tormenting. They're so afraid that he's going to send them into the lake of fire that they beg him to send them into a herd of pigs. Verses 30 and 31. Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat him, saying, If you are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine. And Jesus does that with a single word. He says, Go. Didn't need any elaborate rites or rituals, right? No incantations, no verbose or flowery prayers, no joining of his spirit to the disciples' spirits. None of that nonsense that humans believe have to occur in a situation like this. Single command from the power of God that is his. Every encounter with him required some type of response. And our passage today tells us the demons responded in fear and hatred. Parallel passages in Mark and Luke tell us that at least one of the men responded in faith. Mark 5.18 says, as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring him that he might accompany him. Luke 8.38, but the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging him that he might accompany him. If you remember, Jesus sent him back to the town to tell them what he had done. But other responses include, well, show us signs and wonders. John 4.48, so Jesus said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe. How many times did he do a miracle? And the very response was, Well, what sign are you going to show us that you're the Son of God? He just did a miracle. How many more is it going to take? There are people in this world, there were people then, there are people now. I'm not going to believe unless I see all these wonderful signs and miracles. And one is never enough. Another response includes feed us, meet our perceived needs, do for me.

unknown 23:30

Right?

SPEAKER_00 23:30

In John 6.26, this is after the feeding of the 5,000. Again, he's gone across the Sea of Galilee. This time the crowds follow him. And Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. There are those who look to God, who look to Jesus as nothing more than a way to fulfill their physical needs. There are those who reject Jesus because of their ties to this world. The most famous example of that is the rich young ruler, right? Mark 10, 22, but at these words he was saddened and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. There are people that are so tied into the things of this world. There was a, I can't believe the exact quote, but Aldus Huxley, who wrote the novel Brave New World and many others, supposedly said that all the evidence is there, and he would believe in Jesus except that interfered with his sexual desires. There are people that are so tied in to the things of this world that even when they know it's the truth, they reject it. And finally, you have people that not only reject Jesus, but hate him for who he is. John 5.18, for this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. We have those people today, when they hear the truth, they're not content to just walk away and reject it. They have to destroy that truth in anybody that preaches it. They hate it. Now, in our passage today, what do the townspeople do? They beg Jesus to leave. Matthew 8, 34, and behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they implored him to leave their region. And I think it's really interesting the way Matthew did this because the word implored, that the townspeople implored Jesus to leave, is the exact same Greek word that's translated entreat when the demons wanted, entreated Jesus to send them into the herd of pigs. They desperately want Jesus out of their area. He was a threat to their way of life. He had already permitted their prophets to be destroyed. So it wasn't only the Jews and the demons that responded to Jesus in fear. Gentiles did as well. And this shouldn't surprise us. Anyone that is a slave to sin will naturally respond to Jesus in fear and want him to go away and leave him alone. It's only those that have become followers of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit that welcome his presence and proclaim the truth of who he is. In the middle of teaching the Corinthians about the signs of the Spirit, Paul makes this statement in 1 Corinthians 12, 3. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is accursed. And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Faith was not the natural response to Jesus when he was on the earth, and it is not the natural response today. Those that are under the power of Satan, that are under the power of sin, have no more desire to declare Jesus as Lord, as those that have been saved through the power of the Holy Spirit have the desire to deny who He is. We are engaged in a spiritual battle for men's souls and the good of creation. And Jesus made that clear in this passage and many others like it. It's not a battle we fight on our own, nor are we to rush to find a battle in every situation of life. Our power does not flow from our ability to quote Scripture or to find demons in every nook and cranny or anything we can do humanly. Our power flows from the same source of power that brought us to salvation in the first place, the Holy Spirit. As followers of Jesus, we must still care for those that are under the power of sin and Satan. Jesus cared for these men tormented by the demons because he cares for all humanity that is beset by sin and death. We have to care for them as well. But don't be surprised or hurt or angry when those same people reject Jesus and the gospel. People still respond in fear and rejection to the preaching of the gospel. They would rather run, hide, or find ways to darken the light of the gospel rather than to hear the truth. Jesus never forced anyone to believe. He never argued anyone into faith. Even the miraculous displays of his power over illness, over nature, over demons, over death, even those couldn't bring people to faith that did not want to believe. We must continue to preach the truth of the gospel to those who are perishing and leave it to the power of the Holy Spirit to change their hearts. Do not be deceived. Demons are real, demons are active, and only our God and Savior has the power to deal with them. God, our Father, we thank you for the things you reveal to us in Scripture. We thank you for the truths you give us. We thank you, God. That the power of the Holy Spirit did change our heart of stone into a heart of flesh. That the power of the Holy Spirit gave us the faith to believe, and with that faith we proclaim that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. God give us the courage, the strength, the will to continue to proclaim that message to a world full of sin and death that is going to eternal destruction. Unless they hear the gospel and through the power of the Spirit respond to it. In Jesus' name. Amen.