Matthew 8: 28-33 Two Demon-Possessed Men Healed
“When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes (Gadarenes), there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”
And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.”
Where does this story take place and who were the Gergesenes/Gadarenes? Wikipedia tells us this: “Gergesenes means “those who come from pilgrimage or fight.”
Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the “Country of the Gadarenes” or “Gerasenes” rather than the Gergesenes. Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. They were both Gentile cities filled with citizens who were culturally more Greek than Semitic; this would account for the pigs in the biblical account. Gerasa and Gadara are accounted for in historical accounts (by writers such as Pliny the Elder and Josephus) and by archaeological research. Today they are the modern towns of Jerash and Umm Qais.
A third city, Hippos, was similar in character to Gadara and Gerasa, and it may fit the biblical account even better. It was located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, whereas Gerasa and Gadara were several kilometers south-east of it. Hippos, Gerasa, and Gadara were all counted in the Decapolis, an informal grouping of Greco-Roman cities just south of the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi.”
One other bit of information: Caesarea Philippi was an ancient center for worship of the God Pan, a Roman nature god, whose worship included sexual orgies with lots of drinking. There was likely no shortage of demons in the area. Caesarea Philippi was located at the base of Mount Hermon at a point where water gushed out of a hidden spring to form one of the streams that combined to result in the Jordan River.
Everybody knew about the Gergesene demoniacs. Somehow these two men had become demon-possessed and were making their homes in the tombs, attacking anyone foolish enough to pass within their reach. Such doings were scandalous, but nobody knew how to solve the problem.
When Jesus and his disciples reached the shore after Jesus had calmed the storm, here were these two demoniacs waiting for them. The demons inhabiting these men cried out, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, and asking if he had come to torment them before the time. But to what time were these demons referring? These demons realized that their time on earth would be limited and they wanted to create as much havoc as possible while they could.
The demons knew that Jesus was about to cast them out of the men; that’s why they begged to be allowed to enter the herd of swine. As soon as the demons entered the pigs, the poor pigs went crazy and ran off a high cliff into the sea, drowning themselves. The swine herders immediately ran into town to tell everybody what Jesus had done. Everybody in town rushed out to see Jesus.
“Fine,” you think. “All these people are going to thank Jesus for delivering them from these two mad men. The families of these two men will probably invite Jesus and the disciples home for a meal, perhaps even offer them beds for the night. Perhaps the city leaders will even arrange some special honor for them.” That’s probably what the disciples anticipated; however Jesus already knew better.
When the first rock struck the boat, the disciples were horrified. Jesus had just freed these people from an evil menace, but now they were attacking and screaming insults, even throwing rocks and dust into the air. “You evil Jew! You must be in league with the devil if you are able to control demons in this fashion! Go back to where you came from before worse things befall us! Who invited you to come here anyway? Leave our town! Leave this region now or we will settle with you!”
Why did the Gergesenes/Gadarenes react so ungratefully? Perhaps part of their reaction was due to the financial loss when all those pigs drowned themselves. While Jews refused to eat pork, there were plenty of Greeks and Romans who had no such scruples and who might pay top price for good meat. Perhaps the local people were fearful that Jesus might expose their pet sins; after all, someone who could evict demons with a single word was certainly a powerful holy man, perhaps even a wizard. And perhaps these two men were not the only demonically influenced people in the area. Perhaps others were also demonically influenced but their evil was far more subtle and hidden. Certainly, the citizens of the area had a reaction very similar to that of the demons.
One lesson for would-be disciples is this: just because you do miracles, healing people or casting out demons, don’t expect that people are going to praise you or welcome you. Holiness frightens many people and you never know who has secret sin in their lives and who fears for that sin to be exposed. If people receive you, fine. But if people do not receive you, go elsewhere. You never know what God might do in your absence.
A pastor friend of ours used to say that we are only in advertising while God is in management. We are responsible for telling the Gospel in the best and most effective way we can; however, we must leave the results to God. As long we are obedient, we can trust God to handle things to bring people to Himself.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to consistently and persistently spread the word about You. But also help us to trust You for the results and not to worry if people reject us. We cannot know how You are working in people’s hearts. We pray all this in the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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