Matthew 8:28-34 Mark 5:1-20 Luke 8:26-39
Daemons and their ability to possess people are one of the
most frightening things about living in this sin-cursed world. There are many things that we don’t
understand about daemons and daemonic activity.
Today’s text gives us a little bit of insight into this world and
records how Jesus handled a very difficult situation involving daemon
possession. As we read this passage and
consider the things we learn from the text; we should be careful not to imagine
that the passage represents some sort of manual on how to deal with
daemons. The passage is a narrative on
how Jesus handled this particular situation.
There are certainly things we can learn from the text but it is important
that we remember who Jesus is as well as who we are. Namely, we are not Jesus. Just because Jesus did something in a certain
way does not mean that it is our responsibility of even that we have the
ability to do the same thing. As I read
the passage there are at least four lessons that we can learn.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE DAEMONS: The reason that daemons are
so scary is that they are so destructive.
They left these men naked, living in tombs, screaming, filthy,
inflicting cuts on themselves and threatening anyone else who dared to come
close. The image of these poor men is
haunting and sends chills up our spines when we try to picture it. These men had supernatural strength as they
had been chained on many occasions but they just tore the chains and shackles
apart so there was no way they could be restrained. Apparently, when daemons find a place where
they can indwell they seem to invite the presence of more daemons. These men are possessed by a legion of
daemons. We don’t know how many that is
but the text gives us a clue that there may have been more than two thousand of
them as that is the number of pigs that the daemons destroyed. Apparently, daemons have an innate desire to
possess someone or something as they request permission to go into the swine as
opposed to just being cast out. The
result of this was a massive destruction of pigs. On one hand, we feel sorry for the pigs and
can understand how the pig farmers would be upset. On the other hand, we must ask ourselves what
a Jew was doing raising thousands of pigs since they were unclean animals according
to Jewish Law. Whatever the case may be
we can clearly see the destructive nature of daemons in this text.
THE DOMINATION OF THE LORD JESUS: The reason that we do not
need to live in constant fear of daemons is the domination that our Lord Jesus
has over them. When the daemons
recognize that Jesus has arrived at least one of the two men bows down before
Jesus and the daemons begin to implore that Jesus not cast them out into
darkness. It is very interesting that
the daemons seem very aware of the fact that one day they will be judged and
cast into utter and eternal darkness. They
know that the time has not yet come but that it will eventually come. Jesus exercises complete authority over the
daemons and they make requests to Him.
This is where it is important that we remember that we are not
Jesus. Just because Jesus dialoged with
these daemons does not mean that we should try to carry on conversations with
daemons when confronted with a person who is daemon possessed. We can be assured that He who is in us is
greater than he who is in the world.
Since believers are inhabited by the Holy Spirit we do not need to fear
daemon possession. However, we must
remember that it is Jesus who has direct authority over daemons so any dealing
we may have with daemons should be done in His authority and not our own.
THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE PEOPLE: Perhaps, the most
surprising thing about this passage is the reaction of the people. The herdsmen are clearly upset at their loss
of income so they go into the city and report what has happened. Instead of the people being relieved about
the liberation of their neighbors and worshiping Jesus, they come out and tell
Him He is not welcome to stay in their midst.
Apparently, they were more concerned about their financial well-being
then their spiritual standing before God or even protection from the
destructive daemons. This discrimination
is hard for us to understand but demonstrates just how earthly minded and
selfish men tend to be. Financial gain
can easily become an idol in our lives that distracts us from the Lord.
THE DEDICATION OF THE SAVED MAN: Matthew tells us that there
were two daemon possessed men who were liberated but Mark and Luke only
describe one man. Perhaps, because only
one of the two responded by coming to Christ and asking to be able to be a
follower of His. Whatever the number of
men involved, we know that at least one of the men was saved through this encounter
by his response. Jesus does not commission
this man to come with Him and His disciples; but He does commission Him to go
back to His home and testify as to what happened to him. This is exactly what the man does. He returns to the city and tells all the
people what Jesus had done in His life.
We must all be dedicated to this same task of telling others all that
Jesus has done in our lives. We may not
have been daemon possessed but we were chained to our sin and condemned to
eternal destruction. The blood of Jesus
has set us free and given us eternal life.
This message should always be on our lips.
APPLICATION: Treat daemon possession with the fear of the
Lord. As believers, we do not need to
live in fear of daemon possession. Any,
dealings we have with daemon possession in others should be done through the
authority of Jesus. Examine our hearts
for materialism and a lack of focus on the eternal. Constantly praise God and testify to others
about what Jesus has done in our lives.
Comments
Post a Comment