Bible Materials

JESUS SAID TO DEMONS, “GO!”

by   08/20/2010   Matthew 8:28~34

Message


Thank Jesus who controls storms, the winds and the waves. Thank God that he can calm any storms in life. He wants his disciples to put their faith in him so that they can overcome any life situation and do impossible things to fulfill God’s purpose on them. So far we have seen Jesus’ authority over sickness and storms in the natural world. In today’s passage we see Jesus’ authority over demons in the invisible spiritual realm. In this study let’s think about this authority of Jesus and what is related to this authority. First, Jesus’ authority over demons. Look at verse 28. “When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him…” The place Jesus arrived was the predominantly Gentile Region of the Decapolis, which explains why pigs are being raised, an animal unclean to Jews (Lev 11:7; Dt 14:8). “Gadarenes” refers to both the village of Gadara, located about five or six miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, as well as to the surrounding region, which probably included the little village of Gerasa (modern Khersa or Kursi). When we refer to Mark’s gospel, Jesus left the west side of the Sea of Galilee in the evening (Mk 4:35). So Jesus and his disciple sailed through the stormy and then gentle waves of the Sea the whole night and finally arrived at the destination, most probably very early in the morning, 2 or 3 A.M. The word, “arrived” signifies his intentional coming for a purpose (Mt 8:18). At his arrival, who came to meet him? Verse 28 says, “…two demon-possessed men coming from tombs met him.” In the western part of the lake, Jesus was surrounded by the crowd of people who gathered around him. Now in this eastern side two demon-possessed men met him. Humanly speaking, this was not a pleasant meeting. Let’s think about demons and being demon-possessed. Demons are like Satan’s foot soldiers. They carry out Satan’s purpose, which is to destroy the people of the world and make them the enemies of God. We know that bacteria and viruses can cause people to be sick. But there are differences between them. A bacterium is a completely self-contained and self-reproducing unit. A virus, on the other hand, cannot reproduce without a living host. A Virus may lie dormant for thousands of years before finally coming into contact with a suitable host. Bacterium is alive, which means it can be killed by some form of chemical agent (usually antibiotics). Viruses, by comparison, are not considered living creatures. They cannot be ‘killed’ in the same sense as antibiotics kill bacteria. Treatment of viral infection is often no treatment at all. The disease must run its course until the body can mount a successful defense on its own. So we can say that demons work like viruses. Without a living host, they lie inactive and dormant. So they really seek a living host. On one occasion Jesus said about an evil spirit: When it comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it comes back with its friends to live in the former host’s house, when it is empty (Lk 11:24-26). Humans seem to be the best place for demons to live. As for pigs, they were so sensitive to demons that as soon as demons came into them, they could not live with demons even for a moment, so they committed suicide. However, human beings are so insensitive to demon’s coming and indwelling that they seem to get along well with demons at first. So demons really like human hosts as their best residence. When demons find their permanent residence in men, they become active, working powerfully hiding themselves in men. Some may think that there are demon-possessed people, who are a certain category of people, and others have no part with demon-possession. But that’s not true. As no one is born to be sick, so nobody is born to be demon-possessed. As anyone can be sick, so any person can be demon-possessed. We know that those whose immune system is weak can be sick easily. As for demon-possession, it can work in the same way. Small sin can develop into demon-possession. For example, if one tells a lie, one time, two times and continually, ignoring his conscience, then he will be possessed by lying demon. Some are possessed by a lust demon, others, a jealousy demon, a hatred demon, a pride demon, a melancholy demon, etc. In demon-possession people become extreme beyond human understanding. One man, soon after marriage, killed his wife and then confessed that a voice inside told him to do so. We see many other examples in our society. Then how are in the men in the passage described? The two demon-possessed men were coming from the tombs. The “two” shows that demon-possession in people were obvious. They were living in the graveyards. At that time the graveyards were in a remote place from normal residence. Probably, the two men wanted to have human freedom without limitation. They did not like rules and regulations. They disliked people in their community. They may have also suffered from meaninglessness of life and nihilism. As a result, they ended up living in tombs. And verse 28b says, “They were so violent that no one could pass that way.” They were super-violent to harm anyone they met. Their violence was beyond human reason. In demon-possession they were no more of themselves. However, it is surprising that they came to meet Jesus, coming out of the tombs. This tells us about human beings. It seemed that they had gone too far to be normal and lost themselves in demon-possession, suffering unbearably. Yet, they were still human beings, longing for normal human life, which is true and free from demon-possession. So they desperately came to Jesus. This action was their own. But they could not speak for themselves (as a man with leprosy said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean”). The demons in them spoke. These demon-possessed men were split in their personalities. The demons shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” The demons knew that Jesus was the Son of God and really were afraid of him. They knew that they would be destroyed at the appointed time. In Revelation Satan and demons are all to be destroyed and put in the fiery lake of burning sulfer in the end. Demons are afraid of no one but Jesus, the Son of God. They knew that they would not have the men as their living host and reside in them anymore, since the demon-possessed men came to Jesus. At the men’s coming to Jesus, the demons were exposed to the presence of Jesus the Son of God and felt threatened of even their survival. Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” Probably the demons thought that pigs could be their alternative living host like humans. At this Jesus said to the demons, “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. Here we should notice that Matthew clearly wrote Jesus commanded the demons, “Go!” (Mk 5:13; Lk 8:32). When the demon-possessed men came to Jesus, they could not speak for themselves. And Jesus did not speak to them. However, Jesus’ command to the demons, “Go!” was a salvation to the men as the demons obeyed this command. They came out of the men. The men with demon-possession became the men with sound mind and normal humanity in the grace of Jesus. We see that coming to Jesus is truly a blessing and salvation. Jesus said to the demos, “Go!” In human history no one commanded demons. All were so afraid of demons, and did not know how to handle them. But Jesus commanded demons, saying, “Go!” At this the demons lost their power of possessing the men. All people should know that at the authority of Jesus demons become powerless and helpless. When we have Jesus in us through his words and the Spirit, demons cannot even dare to attack us. When we call the name of Jesus through praying, studying his words, or singing the songs of praise, demons go away and cannot approach us. The name of Jesus is complete protection from demons’ power. A Christian home where prayer is offered, song of praise is sung and the word of God is taught, is a blessed and safe place that protects the family from demons, even if demons’ work is rampant in the society. A church where Christ Jesus is present is the most important community to protect people from the power of demons. It is a painful thing to see that young people leave their Christian homes for an independent life, while they still need spiritual support. In doing so they put themselves in a vulnerable situation for the demons’ work. Only demons are happy to see them, while their parents groan and grieve. Also, when Christ’s churches become weak and disappear one by one in a city, the power and work of demons increase in proportion to the decrease of the church. When Jesus came to the region of the Gadarenes, it was a great blessing of God to defeat the fortress of the demons and protect the people from demons’ power. On the contrary when the townspeople pleaded with Jesus to leave their region, it was a tremendous loss. In Revelation Jesus said to the church in Pergamum, “I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives” (Rev 2:13). These words of Jesus teach that Satan’s living is real. In certain cities the power of Satan and demons is stronger than in other places. This is the reason we need to pray earnestly and engage in spiritual battle for our campus and our city, so that the name of Jesus is called and proclaimed and honoured. Its effect is more than any economic or social effect. No financial or military power can save people from demon-possession and protect them from the power of demons. Only Jesus can. So the name of Jesus is really precious and beneficial. We pray that the presence of Jesus may be evident our home, church, and our campus and society. On a personal level, we should not let our hearts empty but the words of God and the Holy Spirit through indwell through active and diligent spiritual life. Second, Jesus’ valuing one soul over materialism. Look at verse 32 again. “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.” At this incident questions arise in our hearts. Why did Jesus save the men from demon-possession this way? Why did Jesus let the innocent pigs die? Why did Jesus hear the demons’ begging? Is it not a compromise? Is Jesus’ power and authority not absolute with no compromise? Despite all these possible questions, Jesus wanted to teach a clear lesson through the way he drove demons out of the people. When a large herd of pigs died in the water, the whole town went to meet Jesus and pleaded with him to leave their region. They were not happy or thankful for what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Rather, there were filled with a sense of loss, seeing their pig-industry ruined. To them pigs were precious because they could make money through pigs. But the demon-possessed men were only burdensome to them. Here we see why the demon’s work was rampant in the town. It was because of their materialism and money-oriented life. Money itself is not evil. We need money for life. However, the Bible says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim 6:10). The two demon-possessed men were representatives of the demon-possessed and revealed the materialistic society. When human souls are abandoned in materialism, demons work diligently and limitlessly having them as their living host. But Jesus saved the pathetic souls and taught the townspeople the value of human beings, although he had to leave their region. Jesus also taught that saving souls requires sacrifice. For the saving of two demon-possessed souls, Jesus sacrificed a large herd of pigs. Later on, he would give himself as a ransom sacrifice for the saving of many souls. May God have mercy on us to overcome materialism and learn to value human souls and to sacrifice for the saving one soul after another. We thank and praise Jesus who has authority over demons in the spiritual realm. May we believe in the authority of Jesus and let his power and authority work through our Bible teaching and prayer in our campuses and society for the protection of human souls from demons. May we value one soul over materialism and serve campus students sacrificially through 1:1 study.



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