Demons or evil spirits are afraid of Jesus and run away! Have you ever felt oppressed by a demon? Jesus can and will make them back off.
Matthew 8:28–34
When He arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met Him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29 “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region.
Jesus is the Son of God. Evil spirits oppose Him and His people. He has authority over them all. The storm had ended. Jesus and His disciples reached the other side of the lake. Two men were living in amidst the dead or in the tombs. They were very dangerous. People were afraid to come near them. (Read Luke 8:27–29 and Mark 5:3–5.) The state of these men was awful. It reminds us of the power of the devil and of his forces. It also shows that their power ruins lives. Their power spoils people.
The activity of demons
We can be sure that demons are real. We can learn about what they do. This passage emphasized these things. We read most about them during Jesus’ time on earth. The devil and his forces were meeting their greatest enemy.
Certain illnesses do not prove that a person has a demon. Some people say this about mental illness. But there is no idea of that, here. It is important to remember this. This passage shows that Jesus is ruler over all the powers of Satan (the devil). They are under His control.
The men met Jesus. Now the disciples got an answer to their question in verse 27. They had asked: ‘Who is this?’ about Jesus. The demons in the men shouted the answer. He is ‘the Son of God’ (verse 29). The evil spirits knew that they were with their great enemy. (Compare James 2:19. It might be a reference to this event.) They knew their terrible end too. (Read verse 29. Compare Revelation 20:3.)
It is hard to understand verses 30–32. The demons asked to go into the large group of pigs. As a result, all the pigs died. We do not know why Jesus agreed to the request. Maybe the time of their final punishment had not come. Maybe Jesus wanted to teach the local people something. This was a more likely reason. Jesus had saved two men from the devil’s control. This fact was more important than anything else.
The owners of the pigs were not pleased, of course. They forced Jesus to leave the area (verse 34). They did not bring their sick people to Jesus. They did not ask Him to forgive their sins. (Compare 9:1–8.) They only cared about their pigs.
[Note: It was against the law for Jews to keep pigs. But most of the people of this area were Gentiles (people who are not Jews). So, they could keep pigs.
This made the followers of Jesus think about what the most important thing in life is. But, they did not ask Jesus to forgive them. Then they could be God’s children. They were more interested in things instead. Possessions and selfish ambition came first. This was not a matter of religious laws. It was about what is important in life. It was about what was the most important thing in life.
Questions
1. Demons (evil spirits) can cause trouble in your life. Do you have confidence in Jesus? Are you sure that He can help you? Can you describe a time when this happened? How would you recognize the activity of Satan (the devil)?
2. How do you think that the devil tries to spoil church life today? Does he work better when he hides himself? Or is he more successful when everyone can see his work?
3. In what way is the devil active in the world today? He hides the real nature of his work. How does he do this?