RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-10-09	Why The Demons Asked To Be Sent Into The Pigs (Mt.8:28-34)
		Mat 8:28  When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. Mat 8:29  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" Mat 8:30  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. Mat 8:31  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine." Mat 8:32  And He said to them, "Go." So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. Mat 8:33  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Mat 8:34  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region. Let us consider 7 basic concepts from the text. 1. The demons know who Jesus is (v.29). 2. They know He has absolute power over them (v.31). Jesus can choose whether to cast them out or not. And He can choose where they must go. There is no sense in which they are equals at the bargaining table. 3. They know that in the future, they are appointed for final torment (v.29) The demons are wondering whether Jesus has come to start that final judgment. They recognize there is a time coming when they will receive their final judgment. 4. The fact that there was a herd of swine there shows that we are in gentile territory. The Jews considered the pigs as unclean so they did not raise pigs (Du.14:8). This is one of those rare moments when Jesus is reaching out into the gentile world. This event points to the fact that Jesus' ministry ultimately will extend to the whole world (Mt.28:19-20). 5. The number of pigs is not mentioned in Matthew 8 as it is in Mark 5:1-20. There were 2,000 pigs. It was a large number. So when the demons go out of the demonized men into the herd, and they all perish, we get a sense of how serious this man's bondage really was. Even though this man's bondage was very serious, it was no difficulty for Jesus. 6. The fact that the demons pleaded to be sent into the pigs shows how much they hated roaming about in the world without any habitation. This seems to indicate that for them to maximize evil they must be physically present in a body. 7. The demons could not have seen that their new habitation, the pigs, would suddenly run down the hill and all perish. If they knew this would happen, they would not have asked to be sent into them. They were trying to have a new place to live. Jesus knew what would happen to the demons. So what they feared that Jesus came to do, judge them, was in fact true. Jesus did not let them escape in some lesser being for the misery they had brought on these men. Jesus appointed that they depart (v.32, "Go") knowing they would perish in the sea. Thus, their worst fear, being sent to the torment (v.29), may indeed just occurred. The above seems clear. But is there more as to why Jesus would permit the destruction of the pigs? The last two verses have surprises worth considering. Notice two amazing things just happened in this gentile region by the power of Jesus. 1. Two demon possessed men were now free. Their humanity was restored. 2. A large herd of pigs was destroyed. There appears to be several levels of meaning. 1. Jesus is the Son of God. 2. Jesus is triumphant over unclean spirits 3. Jesus gives hope to the captives, even gentile people 4. But Jesus demands a choice. Love Him or your prosperity, namely your pigs. They failed the test. 5. Matthew reports this hoping that we do not fail that test. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

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