Jesus and the Devils

Matthew 8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. Matthew 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Matthew 8:30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. Matthew 8:31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. Matthew 8:32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. Matthew 8:33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. Matthew 8:34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. This passage of Scripture falls directly on the tail end of our previous blog post. Jesus had rescued his disciples on the Sea of Galilee by speaking to the storm and causing peace to ensue. As the ship reached the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the disciples were going to be astonished once again at the power of Jesus Christ. When the ship reached the land of the Gadarenes. Gadara was one of ten cities that made up the Decapolis. When Jesus and the disciples arrived at the land two men, possessed with devils, came out of the tombs to meet them. The Bible declares that these two men were inhabited with demonic spirits. The demonic spirits that inhabited these men made them exceedingly fierce. So much so, that people were afraid to pass by the tombs. It's interesting to notice that the demons in these men instantly recognized Jesus Christ as the Son of God. They recognized that they were face to face with God. The question the demons asked Jesus reveals to us that the demons knew that their ultimate end was punishment by God. They understood that Jesus would carry out that punishment one day. John 5:22 "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:" The devils wanted to negotiate with Jesus revealing their desire to inhabit the bodies of the living. These demonic spirits didn't want to be disembodied, they wanted to dwell in living creatures. This should reveal something of their nature to us today. Jesus gave them their wish and caused them to leave the men and go into the herd of swine feeding on the hillside. The demonic spirits thought they had earned a victory, but the herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea and perished. The demonic spirits were ultimately disembodied as the pigs perished. The keepers of the swine fled into the city and told everything that had happened. The people of the city got scared and actually asked Jesus to depart out of their coasts. This passage of the Scripture teaches us that Jesus not only has command of the wind and waves, but also over demonic spirits, (devils). Jesus will ultimately judge them all as they are cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity. Are you being oppressed by demonic forces in your life today? Jesus has the power to help. Call on his name in prayer and allow him to help. He stands willing and ready!