Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Matthew 17-19
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 8:32
Jesus: Very well then, go!
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
The storm ends, the little boat lands in the region of the Gadarenes, and two demon-possessed men who lived by the tombs come out and block the path to the village.
The demons worry that Jesus has come to torture them before the day of judgment and ask a request of the Son of God, “If you drive us out of these men, would you let us go into that herd of pigs over there?” Then we come to Jesus’ words.
So what can we make of it? Is Jesus granting requests from demons? Do they hold any sway over Him? How do we accept this encounter and the ensuing results and make any sense of it? What does all of it mean to us today?
The first important point is God’s word recognizes the spiritual warfare that goes on with demons. Just as we believe His Spirit can inhabit us, Satan’s minions can inhabit us, if we let them. These two men allowed demons to use their bodies as their dwelling place. Once there, they took up residence and weren’t about to let go of him. Some may think it’s just a story. Some may think demons don’t exist today. It’s just some kind of illness or disease process that Jesus healed.
I disagree. God’s words acknowledges demons throughout the scriptures. Those beings that work for Satan just as God’s angels work for Him. Are all the evil things that happen today cause by the demon possessed? Absolutely not. Is it easy to become demon-possessed? I don’t know and frankly, don’t care to find out. But I think it’s possible and easier that some might think. But I think it is a voluntary process just as coming to Christ and asking His Spirit to live in us is a voluntary process.
In whatever way it happened, these two men were demon-possessed and their actions became so disruptive to the community they were driven from their homes, from the village, and forced to live among the tombs by the seashore. The two men scrounged for what food they could find and lived off of what they could find or steal. Their demon-possession caused their behavior to banish them from society and they were more comfortable dwelling among the dead in the tombs than among the living.
So, we have that discussion out of the way, there were and are demons in the world.
Second, the demons had no problem recognizing who Jesus was. They had no blinders on their eyes. No false religions to tell them something was more important than God. They didn’t need to guess about the origin and authenticity of the One who stood before them. They called Jesus by His rightful title, Son of God. Satan and all his demons know Jesus is the Son of God, why do we have such a hard time believing.
Third, the demons didn’t question Jesus’ power. They knew they were doomed. Judgment day was coming and their torment was to begin. They were just a little surprised their judge came early. They knew Jesus would judge them as well as all of humanity. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. That doesn’t leave anyone or anything out. The title encompasses all of creation and that includes the demons. They knew it wouldn’t be a fair fight. In fact, they knew it wouldn’t be a fight at all. When He spoke, they would leave. And that was that. Done.
But the demons made one request, “Can we go into the herd of pigs?”
I sometimes wonder why they asked to do that. Maybe it’s because demons must have a host of some kind and they were afraid to try to find a host with Jesus close by. They knew He would only throw them out again and I expect the exercism involved some kind of pain for them as well as the host in their symbiotic relationship. So maybe they just decided an animal host was one Jesus would accept without trying to make them leave again.
Fourth, I think Jesus knew the outcome. Satan’s demons in those pigs meant disaster for the demons. We think animals are not smart and certainly humans are at the top of the pyramid for intelligent life on the planet. (at least I think we are most of the time, although at times I wonder) As soon as the demons flew into the pigs, the herd killed themselves running over a cliff into the sea. The pigs couldn’t handle the evil that suddenly took residence in their bodies. God made them and they were good, the evil tainted them so badly, they destroyed themselves. It was the only way the pigs knew to get rid of the evil inside them.
It’s interesting to me that the pigs couldn’t tolerate that evil for even a few minutes, but we can live with it for a lifetime. We convince ourselves so well that what we do against God is okay, that we live that evil brewing in us and just no longer see it. Maybe we need to get pig’s eyes for a little while so we can see what we are and realize just how much we need God’s cleansing in our lives. Maybe then, we would fall on our knees and beg His forgiveness and mercy for our sins. Maybe then, we would understand His willingness to make us clean and whole again. To rid us of the filth in our lives and make us new in Him. Maybe we need pig’s eyes for a while.
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