Tuesday, June 5, 2012

SIH’s Think On These Things: Healing the Gadarene Demoniacs

The next miracle in our series is Jesus healing the Gadarene demoniacs…This miracle is recorded for us in Matt 8:28-32, Mark 5:1-13, Luke 8:26-33. 



This miracle of our Lord involves 2 men possessed with demons that Christ comes upon as He enters the twin city region of Gergesa and Gadara.  These two demon possessed men ran free in the midst of the tombs, unable to be restrained by chains and fetters. The demons affects in the lives of these men are detailed for us…. the demons possession of these men resulted in great harm to them…

1.    becoming “extremely fierce” ; 2. possessing extraordinary strength;  3. self-harm by cutting with stones;  4. wearing no clothes;  5. driven into wilderness to live among the tombs



The demons within these men sensed that Jesus, the Son of God, had come into their midst.  They approach Christ and say, “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.”  From their response, we can see the demons understood that Christ possessed authority over them and could do with them as He pleased. 



Christ’s response helps us to understand Christ’s intentions, as well as the demons identities…. “Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.  And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. “



The miracle is completed as the demons make a request of Christ, which He then fulfills….“ Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.  And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.”



In this wonderful miracle we see on display the effects of the demon in stark contrast to the effects of Christ’s intervention in the lives of these two men. We previously saw the demons’ work of havoc and harm into the lives of these men.   However, with Christ’s intervention, we find the demons depart leaving these men physically and spiritually whole.  These principles are emphasized for us in the Word… 

1Pe 5:8 …Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Joh 10:10 … I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

When Christ intervenes in our Life there is so much to gain and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to lose. If the Lord is a living part of our life we need to praise Him today for all He has done for us. If He has never intervened in our life, we need to repent of our disobedience and trust in Him and His work for the forgiveness of our sins. He will never cast out those who come to Him in Godly repentance exercising saving faith in Him.

(Just a quick note… The account in Matthew tells us there were two demon possessed men… in the other accounts of Mark and Luke we read of only one demon possessed man.  This is not a contradiction.  There are two possible explanations: Some believe that we are looking at two different events. However, I have covered these as one event because, I believe it is possible that there were two men present during this miracle.   One of the men was doing all the speaking for them both.  Please note neither Mark or Luke tells us there was ONLY one man.  I believe they are simply describing the man who was taking the lead and doing all the speaking to Christ. )



 May the Lord bless each one of us as we “Think On These Things”.








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