Running of the Pigs Matthew 8:28-34
Verse 28, “When he arrived at the other side, in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon possessed men coming from the tombs met him.”
This is one of the places where an understanding of the region and its history helps us to understand the scriptures underlying meaning. This place Jesus has arrived in is Gadara, on the east side of the Jordan River. In the Book of Numbers, chapter 32, the Reubenites and Gadites didn’t want to cross the Jordan with the rest of God’s people. They wanted to stay where they were because they were cattlemen and they herded sheep, the area had good grass and water for their herds and flocks. They were allowed to stay with the promise that if Israel had to fight or go to war, the men would arm themselves and fight alongside the army of Israel.
You can guess what happened. Time and distance caused their promise to the Lord to dimmish in importance and desire to fulfill. Satan had gained a foothold. The people became content where they were, content with what they had, content with their lives as they were. God and their promise to him slipped farther and farther into the recesses of their minds.
Jumping ahead to verse 31, “The demons begged Jesus, ‘If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.’” The people of Gadara had, over time, got out of the cattle and sheep business and became pig farmers. To the people of Israel, pigs were unclean, they couldn’t eat them. Yet over time, Satan encroached little by little until the rules and laws God gave to the people meant little to nothing.
Understand, the people didn’t wake up one day and decide, “we’re going to be godless.” Satan was patient. Over time he maintained a toehold. Then slowly and systematically, he altered attitudes until sin became so entrenched in the Gadites that they immersed themselves in sinful behavior. By understanding what happened, and how it happened to these people, it helps us see how this scripture applies to the world today.
Our world didn’t push God and Christ to the periphery all at once, Satan was patient. Over time the security and dependence on family was replaced by a sense of security in those outside the family unit. Over time the words of God and the lessons of scripture became diluted and replaced by New Age theology, a theology of, “I don’t have to be ‘Christian,’ I just have to try to be good.
As I was going over my notes I thought about when I was growing up. My family had rules, things I could do, things I could not do. Our faith is the same. God tells us things we should do, and things we shouldn’t. Yes, as believers, we are forgiven when we do things we shouldn’t, but the point is, Satan slowly gets us to see following the rules as being restrictive rather than as being taught life lessons and being protected.
As the Gadites slowly went from raising cows and sheep to raising animals that went against God, an action that became natural to them, People now do the same. The Gadites were people of God so this is about people who know God. As our lives become full, church and faith become removed from our priorities. Once we become comfortable with not giving time to God, it becomes natural to us. COVID exposed this clearly, people who were in churches for years had to stop going because of the pandemic. When it was over, many people were now used to not going to services and continued to stay away. Years later, churches are still feeling the results.
“When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon possessed men coming from the tombs met him.”
Why did Jesus go to this region, an area of godless people? Because that is where he is needed. As we’ve seen in scripture before, Jesus will go wherever we are, and in whatever condition we are in, because we need him.
These two men didn’t want to be demon possessed. It happened over time as Satan gained more and more sway over their lives. They lived in a cemetery, again alluding to how we are spiritually dead while under the control of sin.
I believe people don’t want to be sinful. People don’t want to be spiritually dead. But our world has a lot of fears, a lot of prejudices. We live in a time of a million distractions and false promises from every direction. Satan has hundreds of ways of gaining a foothold in one’s life. And once there, he whispers, he encourages, he makes false promises of wealth and power, he falsely testifies who the real enemy is.
These two men were living in a cemetery. They were in the worst condition you could be in. They weren’t just being self-centered. They weren’t just living out their prejudicial ideas. They were possessed by demons. And Jesus went to that cemetery and stood before those men. This is one of the most important truths in our faith and our relationship with God. For believers, no matter our mistakes or sins, Jesus is with us. For non-believers who think God wouldn’t care about them, those who think they’ve been living a lie for too long, those who think God’s not coming to me, I’m in jail, I’m still dependent on alcohol or drugs, those who think, I can’t change; to all of these, you’re wrong. Jesus went to the demon possessed living in a graveyard, Jesus is already with you, just ask him to be a part of your life. And before you think you can’t, see how even the demons couldn’t keep these men from approaching Jesus.
Verse 29, “What do you want with us, Son of God?” The demons knew exactly what Jesus wanted. He wanted to remove them, remove their influence over the lives of these two men, and to restore life to the men before him. Jesus wants the same for every man, woman, and child. He wants to remove Satan’s hold over our lives. He wants to forgive our sins and restore our relationship with God our Father.
Verse 31, “The demons begged Jesus, ‘If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.’”
We’ve seen over the past two weeks Jesus has control over the physical world. Today we see Jesus also has control over the spiritual world. These demons understood this. The men may have invited the demons by their actions and lack of God, but the demons themselves, they couldn’t even enter a pig without Jesus’ permission.
Verse 32, “He said to them, ‘Go! So they came out and went into the pigs…”
God’s word is the most powerful force in the universe. All creation was formed by God’s word, and his word commands everything in the natural and supernatural realms.
Verses 33 and 34, “Those tending the pigs went into town and reported this, including what happened to the demon possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they met him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.”
As we know, this area is under Satan’s direction, these people wanted nothing to do with Jesus. Satan had led them to believe Jesus was someone to fear. There are areas of our world where this is also true. More than this, there are individuals everywhere who Satan has convinced Jesus is someone to fear, or worse, that Jesus is irrelevant. These people need our prayers.
If we look at Chapter 9, verse 1, “Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town.” If you reject Jesus, he will not force himself on you. And I’m sure it hurts him deeply to be rejected after he suffered the indignity and pain of the cross, just so we can be saved.
Over the last few weeks we saw through the crippled man and the Centurian’s servant, Jesus’ dominion over the physical world. Today, Jesus shows us his authority over the supernatural world; over demons and Satan himself. And this authority allows him to protect us from the influence of evil. It allows him to change the course of our lives. It allows him to gift us salvation for all eternity.
Today’s reading shows us we must be diligent, aware of what influences us, and to do our best to prevent Satan to gain a foothold in our lives.
For those in the world still under Satan’s sway, remember his power is limited. He cannot prevent you from welcoming Jesus. Know that Jesus comes to you wherever you are, and in whatever condition you are in. Satan trembles at the name of Jesus, and he can no longer hold you down when you accept Christ.
I pray God lets it be known that this fellowship welcomes everyone no matter their condition. We invite all to come learn with us, and be family with us as God’s children.
Amen