Matthew 8:28 – 34 ESV And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
This passage highlights the different reaction of the two men who were oppressed by demons and the local villagers. The men ran toward Jesus and the villagers pushed Him away. When sinful people encounter the holiness of God, they react in one of two ways. They either acknowledge God’s Lordship and repent of their sin or they try to protect their sin and hide from God.
When Jesus lands on the shore, these men recognize Him and come rushing out to Him. They most likely recognized Jesus because the demons they were hosting knew who He was. We’ll look at the demonic response to Jesus in the next post.
These men were miserable. They were outcasts who lived in caves that served as tombs in that area. Mark’s account of the same story (Mark 5:1-17), only mentions one of these men but tells how he continuously cried out due to his torment and cut Himself with rocks.
The two men lived tortured lives and realized that Jesus was their only hope of salvation. They came to Him and He set them free. Many people who do not have a relationship with God are tortured by their sin. They are burdened with guilt and shame. When God draws them to Himself, they respond by running toward Him and giving their sin to Him and God frees them from the sentence of death.
The response of the two men is in contrast to the reaction of the local population. While the villagers witness the power of God, they choose to keep their lifestyle. The presence of a herd of pigs tells us that this was a gentile enclave in Judea. These were probably pagan descendants of the people settled in Israel during the Babylon captivity.
God’s power and holiness was seen as a threat to their way of life rather than a salvation from it. So they begged Jesus to leave them alone so they could remain in the life they preferred.
There are people who reject God when He calls to them. With respect to my Calvinistic friends, I am convinced that God reveals Himself to some who choose to remain in their sin. They choose their addictions or lifestyles over the freedom God offers.
Jesus freed the two men from their oppression and honored the desires of the villagers to leave them to the life they had chosen. When we confess our sin, God is faithful to forgive. When we refuse to repent, God will honor that choice.
Jesus, in his mercy, did leave a witness to those villagers who rejected Him. The men who were healed stayed behind to testify as to what God had done for them. We are not told what fruit their testimony bore. I hope one day we will meet many people in Heaven who turned to God because of those two men. For other villagers though, their decision that day was a tragedy of eternal proportions.
Lord, You are merciful and just. Thank You for calling me and drawing me into Your kingdom. Allow me to be a witness to many. Please, in Your mercy, do not give up on my family and friends who have rejected You up to this point.