This morning we are going to be looking at the story of the two demoniacs at the end of Matthew chapter 8. It is an interesting story, a story that, I am guessing, you are somewhat familiar with. It is really a fantastic story, one that has been the focus of attack for many who look to discredit the Gospels. It gives us a peek into the spiritual realm and its interaction with the physical world that we are far more familiar with; it gives us a peek into the world of demons and in how they interact with humanity and with God. We will read from verse 28 to the end of the chapter.
“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 to torment us before the time?’ 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 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.”
In a research survey by the Barna group about 10 years ago, the study found that 60% of people who identify as Christians believe that Satan is not a living being but simply a symbol of evil. About 10% said that they were not sure what to believe about the existence of Satan. So, neither a positive nor negative affirmation. Likewise, about 65% of people who claim to be Christians rejected the idea that demons are real spiritual beings that exist or influence the world in any way.
In the larger Christian community that still exists Western culture, unless we’re watching an extravagant horror films about exorcisms, the whole concept of demons has all but disappeared from consciousness. I think we can point to the secularization of both the community as a whole and the church for this mentality. Whether we recognize it or not, we live in a world that is dominated by empiricism. That is, the mentality that we only believe in things so long as we can prove their existence; and that all that exists in is this present reality as can be defined by our senses.
This has not always been the case of course. Even within the last hundred years there have been varying levels of interest and belief in the existence of both good and malevolent spiritual beings. If you go outside of Western culture in much of South America, Africa, most of Asia there is still abundant belief in some form or another.
Within the church, there has been a lot of swinging back and forth. Either a hyper focus on it or a lack of one altogether. It largely comes down to a lack of education about theology, especially about the theology of Angels and Demons.
One of the things that allows this swing to take place is the fact that Scripture is largely silent on the specific details when it comes to both angels and demons. They are talked about a lot. In fact, the Greek word translated “Angel” occurs more times in the New Testament than the word “agape” “love;” it occurs more times the New Testament than the word for sin, heaven, and hell combined. Part of the problem when it comes to understanding of Angels and Demons is that though they seem to play a large role in the events of both the Old and New Testament, we know very little about them. Individual events and actions on the part of angels and demons are described, and they seem to play a very diverse role. But we know little about what they truly are, about their existence. For whatever reason, the Holy Spirit did not see fit to inspire one of the writers of Scripture to give us a deeper understanding of these spiritual beings, a peek behind the veil of the physical in the way we do with things like the Trinity, the effects of sin, and salvation.
What we do know about Angels and Demons has to be summarized through interactions like the one that we are studying this morning. As we start our deeper look at this interaction, let us remember the context. Jesus had been performing miracles all the previous day. Matthew detailed the leper, the centurion’s servant and Peter’s mother-in-law but there were many who were demon possessed and ill that were healed the previous evening. Then Jesus, being exhausted from ministering to those in need decides to head out across the lake and in the middle comes this sudden and frightening storm threatening to sink the little fishing boats. In desperation the disciples turned to Jesus who with the word rebukes the winds and the sea so that they become perfectly calm. This act terrifies the disciples more than the lethal storm they had just been fighting as they get a tiny glimpse of the true divinity of Jesus.
Matthew does not give us exact details, but I think we can justify picturing in our minds the dawning of a new day, early morning hours begin as the little boats come to shore on the opposite side of the lake and the party are received not by throngs of eager learners or even hopeful sick looking for miracle but two demoniacs, two men possessed by demons. Incidentally, in Mark and Luke’s account we are only introduced to one in this story because for their purposes they decided to focus on the one rather than both. Some people have tried to claim that this is a contradiction but neither Mark nor Luke say there was only one, and if there were two then there was at least one and it’s quite possible that they decided to only focus on the main figure with whom the dialogue in Mark 5 takes place. The spokesperson if you will.
In our study of the theology of demons let us start with what it means to be possessed with demons. There is just one Greek word which means “to be demonized.” Some people say demon possessed, demon oppressed, whatever. It means “to have a demon,” or “to be tormented by a demon.” The Bible does make a clear distinction, it just means to be under the control of demons.
It takes many different forms in Scripture. Demons can do a lot of things to people. Demons can attack the spiritual as well as the physical and the mental. The Bible describes false religions as being the doctrine of demons, perversions of the truth in order to keep the lost in darkness. In 1st Corinthians Paul talks about there being demons behind idols and the ones to whom the sacrifices are being offered to. I am certain that they are behind many of the cults and offshoots from Christianity over the centuries that have perverted the truth, perverted Scripture to create some spiritual abomination that has led people into destruction.
We know from the Gospels that they bring physical maladies. In the next chapter, in Matthew 9:32 we see a demon possessed man who is mute because of the demon. In chapter 12 demonic oppression brings blindness as well. There are instances in the rest of the Gospels of demonic oppression being linked to physical deformities and epilepsy.
Demons are associated with mental afflictions as well. They bring insanity, as they do in this instance. Mark chapter 9 talks about a suicidal mania where the individual who is possessed by a demon was continually attempting to kill himself. In Mark’s account of this event we are told that at least one of these demon-possessed men if not both was severely afflicted. We read that, “constantly, night and day he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.” The demons also have the ability to completely override the personality of the one they are possessing so as to speak for them. Again, in Mark’s account we read that Jesus asked this man his name and the demon responds with “my name is Legion: for we are many.” And the implication in Matthew is that it was the man speaking when the demons asked Jesus to cast them into the herd of pigs.
Demon possession can also grant immense strength as Mark mentions in his account of this instance. He writes “no one was able to bind him anymore, even with the chain: because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.”
Demon possession to the Gospels are linked to disabling of the body and arranging of the mind. They corrupt the truth bringing about false religion, occult practices, all kinds of immoral behaviors. They are constantly producing evil, vile consequences.
On a grander scale we see demons being involved in mass evil. It is well-known that Adolph Hitler and many of the top members of the Nazi party were avid members of the occult. Hitler even wrote in his diary, before his rise to complete power over Germany that he had made a covenant with Satan. The swastika was an intentional distortion of the Christian symbol of the cross. The Third Reich, Hitler’s kingdom was intended to supplant the kingdom of God. Demonic involvement in governments did not begin with Hitler and it did not end with him and is a threat to every nation even to this day.
I believe wholeheartedly that demon possession does still happen today. Though I have not experienced it myself, my father has, and I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of his story. I believe that it rarely rears its head in our culture because it can so easily hide in plain sight. We have become accustomed to seeing people with “mental illnesses” that lead to these same behaviors, self-harm and mania. Drug antics who are excessively violent and even given seemingly inhuman strength because of substances they take. Demonic oppression does not need to be called what it is because we have so many “scientific” explanations. People do not want to see any of it as demonic because they do not believe in demons so they will find some other name to give it.
We must also recognize that demonic possession and demonic oppression are not always going to manifest themselves in these sorts of extremes. Where a person may be possessed to the point that they are no longer able to exercise their own will and are completely under the domination of the evil spirit, many cases of demonic attack or affliction do not take that form.
I am convinced that as believers, we cannot be possessed by a demon in that way. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, then we cannot be filled by a demon. Light can have nothing to do with darkness and a demon cannot live in the temple of the Lord, which is what we are as re-deemed believers. At the same time, Christians come under demonic attack from time to time with varying levels of sophistication and influence. Because the spiritual world is held behind the veil, we cannot see exactly what is demonic influence and what is merely our own propensity to sin and doubt.
The New Testament makes it clear that we are combatants in the universal ongoing spiritual warfare that exists within the world. Both under attack and able to offend our opponents. But nowhere are we given instruction or authority over demons in the way that Christ and His apostles had. Instead we are told in James 4 to “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Similarly, Peter tells his readers in 1 Peter “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.”
Demonic affliction against believers takes the form of temptation to sin. Demons are ancient, wise, supernatural beings who are bent on evil and destruction. The way that they accomplish it in the life of true Christians is by enticing us to damage our walk with the Lord through sin. That takes as many different forms as there are believers. Introducing doubt and fear into those who are prone to sinful anxiety. Inflaming sinful thoughts in those inclined to lust. Creating situations that will provoke an outburst in someone susceptible to anger.
Christian resistance to demonic forces comes, as Paul describes in Ephesians 6, through “take(ing) up on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” We combat, we resist by guarding ourselves with the truth, protecting ourselves with the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation, preparing ourselves with the gospel of peace, and holding up the shield of faith. And we offend the same demonic forces by taking the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God and preaching it to ourselves as well as to those who are lost.
We are primarily effective by being conscious and knowledgeable of the truth spiritual warfare. Recognizing that it is a reality we face even if we cannot see it before our eyes. We are even told by Jesus to pray regularly for protection from the evil one. Think back to our study on the Lord’s prayer. The final phrase, in verse 13 says “and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Whenever “evil” is talked about in the abstract it is always engendered neutral in the Greek but in this verse, it is articular and masculine. The better translation would be “deliver us from the evil one.” We engage in spiritual warfare by being aware of the truth, by being on guard, vigilant for the attacks, by preparing ourselves with the armor of God, and by praying; asking for God to deliver us whenever we are face with temptation because it very well may be an attack by malevolent spiritual forces.
In doing so we must also remember that God has absolute authority over this enemy. This is not some cosmic battle of good and evil where we’re hoping that the light will come out on top in the end. This is not a balanced battle where we are forced to try and tip the scales. God maintains absolute authority over His enemies and even they recognize their inevitable destruction at His divine and Just hand.
We can see that in the demon’s theology in our passage here. They recognized immediately who Jesus is. Imagine this scene. The little boats are coming up to the shore and out of the tombs, out of the graveyard where these two men live come these crazed, naked, bruised and bleeding, shrieking, horrors racing down the hillside with incredible strength. They have scared off everyone else who came by. Look what it says there at the end of verse 28 “they were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.” They were accustomed to charging anyone that came into view and when they first saw the boats landing on the shore nearby, they were just thinking these were a couple more victims to terrorize.
But when Jesus came into view, they immediately knew what was up. In fact, Mark says in 5:6 “seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bow down before Him and shouting with a loud voice he said, ‘what business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” He immediately ran to Jesus and prostrated himself before Jesus, the same word used of the leper in Matthew 8:2, Proskuneo, he prostrated himself, he bowed down before Jesus in an expression of worship. This is a demon, the recognized and declared enemy of God, and their immediate reaction and seeing Jesus is to bow down in a posture of worship.
These demons knew exactly who He is. They are fallen angels, they stood in the presence of God, they knew the second person of the Trinity before they rebelled. No one needed to help them with their Christology. They hate Jesus, they despise Him and yet they worship Him because they are forced to by His divine power, they cannot resist it. They know that He is to be worshiped and are simply showing the principal Philippians 2:10, “that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
They knew that He was their judge, their destroyer, their antagonist. They even knew that it was not their time yet. “What business do we have with each other,” basically what that means is “why are you bothering us, why are you here?” They did not understand, “have you come here to torment us before the time?” They had the right eschatology; they knew how the future was going to work out and this was before the book of Revelation was written. These are beings who are damned for eternity and they know it. They knew that they were standing before the Holy One of God, who has the power to destroy them and who is going to destroy them but they knew that their time was not yet up.
There theology was better than most people sitting in churches across America today. They knew exactly who Jesus Christ is, the Son of the Living God. They recognized His Divinity and Holiness. They knew what His eternal plans are. They knew that they were doomed forever. They knew all of that. They were fully aware that they were destined for the torment of eternal hell and that there was no escaping it in the end because they know the power of God.
But since they also knew that it was not time yet, they were confused. And I think that is why we have this strange request about being sent into the pigs. “Now there was a herd of many swine feeding 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.” They knew He was going to cast them out, they were afraid of the eternal punishment awaiting them, so I think they were looking for an escape, they were trying to bargain with him. “Okay, okay, will leave these men alone and since were going nicely can we do the pigs for now?”
Why the pigs? I do not know. It may be that the demons need something to inhabit, it may be that they were trying to turn the people against Jesus to cause Him harm and that is why they ran the pigs off of the cliff. I do not think Scripture gives any real indication. I think it is possible that Jesus allowed it so that in a way, the people would see a physical sign of the legions of demons having left these two men. Mark says there were 2000 pigs and the implication is that they were all possessed by demons. There was a clear example of just how demon possessed these two men were and how complete their cleansing was.
I have read one person who said their biggest hang up to the Gospels is the story. They said the most unchristian thing Jesus ever did was kill all these pigs. I thought it was particularly funny that the perfect standard they had to apply Jesus to was, “Christian.” The most un-Jesus-y thing Jesus ever did; but does not make any sense. Anyway, if that is what you are getting out of this story then you are missing something truly important. Jesus was not being cruel to the pigs, He was showing an immense amount of compassion toward these two demonized men. He cared far more about them than the pigs.
And how did the people react? “The herdsman ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what happened to the demoniac’s. And behold the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they implored him to leave their region.” Why did they want Jesus to leave? Some people have argued that they were mad Jesus killed all their pigs. He ruined their economy. That may be a part of it but I do not think that is wholly the case.
The whole town came out and Mark tells us they saw the two men who had been demon possessed sitting down, clothed and in their right mind “and they became frightened.” Those who it seen it described to them how it had happened and that is when they wanted him to leave. These people saw the holiness of God, they saw the power of Jesus, and like the disciples who had witnessed Him calm the storm they were more terrified of Jesus than they were the demons. They were mad at Jesus, they were scared of Jesus. They saw His power and they panicked. Instead of falling at His feet and worship, as even the demons did, they said “go away we do not want you here.”
At the end of Mark’s account in verse 19, at least one of the demon possessed men implored Jesus wanting to accompany Him but get this, “and He did not let him, but He said to him, ‘Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.”
Those people who hated Jesus, who wanted him out of their country got their wish, He left. But He still had compassion for them, still had a desire to show them mercy. He left them this missionary and his friend as proof of his power. Even in their sin, even in their rejection of Him we continue to pursue them. What a picture of mercy.