Jesus' Deliverance

We're looking at Matthew 8:28-34
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.
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?
30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
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.
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.
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.

Compare with Mark 5:1-20
8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

After pondering this over, I wonder at a few things.

First I wonder at the amazing deliverance Jesus brought these two men (one account only concentrates on one of them, who apparently was the most affected by the whole event, and perhaps the only one who ultimately was converted). The account says they were so fierce that no one could pass by the area they occupied. Think of their condition; however they came to be that way, they were totally devoid of reason and completely at the whim of the evil spirits who dominated them; completely isolated from the rest of society, no one trying to communicate with them. What chance did they have of getting out of their condition? They had no strength for it themselves. Jesus purposely took the initiative to rescue them from their condition.

Next, I am amazed at what Jesus was able to bring them to: a right mind, according to Mark's account. Jesus restored them to a condition where they could respond with their own understanding and will. I am thinking that when Jesus cast out the evil spirits, these men were not yet converted; what understanding did they have right after that? But afterward, I am sure Jesus ministered the Good News to them. One of them obviously responded in an affirmative way.

Also, I wonder at the situation into which Jesus had put the people of the town, and especially the men who took care of the swine. All these swine had rushed into the sea of Galilee to their death. Now you have a group of men who are now without jobs! Not only that, but they will have to explain to the owner(s) of the swine what happened to them, and maybe they would be liable for the loss!

So they come to the owner, perhaps, and it goes something like this: "So, where are my swine? Why did you come back from the pasture without them?" "Well, you see, uh, you know about the two demon-possessed men out in the Gergesene country?" "Don't tell me they killed them all? Or, better yet, let me guess, they ate them all!" "Well, not quite, you know that guy, Jesus of Nazareth? He cast the spirits out of them, and the evil spirits entered into all the swine and they ran into the water and drowned!" "Right. You expect me to believe all this?" "Ask the people of the town; they saw everything, they were uphill from it all!"

Perhaps you recall that when Paul cast the spirit out of that young woman who would predict the outcomes of things, that her masters were out of some good profits! And God rescued Peter from execution, at the expense of 16 Roman soldiers' lives. (Do you think they had time to come to Jesus before they were executed? I would hope some of them did!)

So when Jesus rescues and delivers people from what has enslaved them, it is quite possible that somebody in the worldly realms sustains a loss, small or great. Think of the loss a pimp gets from a prostitute who is able to escape her dire situation because somehow Jesus reaches her.

But let's bring this into today. We see a lot of people around us who are barely able to keep their minds straight with all the troubles, problems, and many times the guilt and other issues they are handling because of their sin. Sometimes they are also victims of other people's sin. Jesus warns us often in the Gospels of how tormenting the power of guilt is over people, not only in this life, but after the judgement. Quite frankly, when we see people go "over the edge" and do insane things, I wonder that it doesn't happen more. I just can't understand how people are able to hang on without knowing the rescuing power of Jesus Christ, and the freedom of forgiveness and a relieved conscience, which only He can give.

There are doubtless many who think they are on the verge of going insane, or a nervous breakdown is close. But they have no idea where to go for relief or an answer. They won't get it from their own dark situation, I think. Who has to bring them answers? We Christians need to. And the only answer is Jesus' rescuing power, all because of what He did on the cross.

I am not saying that there are tons of people who are demon possessed, though I am afraid and sure some are. But many are under the dominion of the Devil because they gave ground to him at some time in their lives. And like these men who had the Legion, they are under a multitude of sins, sprung from lust, love of money, bitterness, self-ambition, pride and more.

Perhaps that's you. You can't recover from that yourself: you are bound. But the power to restore your mind, and then the grace for you to turn away from your sin and follow Jesus is right at Jesus' beck and call. All you need do is turn to Him, and He promises to do it.