Let's turn to God's Word again
in this portion that we've just read these verses I'm sure not
unfamiliar to you Luke chapter 8 and we read there from verse
22 through to verse 40 principally we have the record of the healing
of the mad Gadarene and that's really what I want us to consider
tonight the Gadarene And for a text, I direct you to the words
that we have in verse 35. In Luke chapter 8 and verse 35,
Then they went out to see what was done, and came to Jesus,
and found the man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting
at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they
were sore afraid. been reading at home in the Gospels
and how remarkable it is the record that we have and a fourfold
Gospel at that of all that Jesus began both to do and to say and
the evidence that we see in the Gospels concerning just who Jesus
of Nazareth is and of course we have it here this is that
one who is God and how he has to be acknowledged even by the
demons. The Lord gives that instruction
at the end, verse 39, return to thine own house and show how
great things God hath done unto thee. And it struck me just now
as we read the passage. It came to pass, we're told in
verse 40, Rather, I should say there at
the end of verse 39, he went his way and published throughout
the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. The Lord instructs him to say
what great thing God had done, and he speaks of the great things
that Jesus had done. Surely here is a man who is brought
to acknowledge that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Christ,
the Son of the living God. But first of all tonight, I want
to say something with regards to demon possession, as we see
it here. It is of course to be distinguished
from ordinary physical diseases or even mental illness. There is a distinction and there's
a distinction made in God's Word and also quite clearly in the
ministry of the Lord Jesus himself in Matthew chapter 4. There at
the end, verse 24, his fame went throughout all Syria, and they
brought unto him all sick people that were taken with diverse
diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils,
and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy,
and he healed them." And here we see quite clearly a distinction
between demon possession and lunacy. as well as this reference
to diverse diseases and torments. We're not to think, which is
the case with many, that when it speaks in the Gospels of those
who were demon-possessed, it's as if they didn't understand
what mental illness was in those days, so they equated it with
the work of demons. That's not the case at all. It
is something in the scripture that is quite different. to any
sort of physical or mental illness. And sometimes there were those
who were possessed of a demon, and they were also maybe suffering
from some physical or some mental ailments. Again, there in Matthew
12, 22, we read of one possessed with a devil, blind and lame. He was a poor man, he was possessed
of a demon, but he was also a lame man and a man who was blind. these various things might then
come together in certain individuals. But the amazing thing is when
we read through the Gospels and read even through the Acts of
the Apostles and the ministry of those who were the followers
of the Lord Jesus Christ, at that time there was an amazing amount of demon possession. during the whole of the Lord's
ministry and of those who were his immediate followers. How
active it appears that Satan was at that season and it shouldn't
surprise us. We know that Satan is such a
subtle foe and in a sense I would say that at that time we see
the devil imitating the works of God. Imitating even the incarnation
we read about Satan himself is transferred or transformed into
an angel of light. And if the devil can appear as
an angel of light it's not surprising that he might come and possess
humankind, men and women. just as the Lord God himself,
the eternal Son of God, was pleased at that time to take to himself
a human nature. In Christ we see God manifest
in the flesh. Not surprising then, as Satan
is a subtle one who seeks to imitate the works of God that
he should at that season be taking possession of many men and women. And we have the record, of course,
as I say, not only in the Gospels, but I think of one incident in
the Acts there when we have Paul's ministry in Philippi, in Acts
16, and we read of this young woman who is following him and
Silas, There in Acts 16.16, it came to pass, as we went to prayer,
a certain damsel, possessed with the spirit of divination, met
us, which brought her master as much gain by soothsaying.
The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men
are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us
the way of salvation. And this did she many days, but
Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit, I command
in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came
out the same hour." Strange, isn't it? She's possessed of
this demon, and the demon is acknowledging these men as the
apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, though she speaks by
the demons of them showing the way of salvation, yet Paul will
have none of it. He knows that this is a demon
and he rebukes the demon in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
or we read again in Paul when he writes to the Thessalonians
he speaks of the working of Satan with all power and science and
lying wonders. There was a great deal then at
that season of the activity of the devil and here we see the
ministry of the Lord Jesus in the case of this man, the mad
Gadarean, as we often call him. Well, I want to deal with three
headings tonight. First of all, I want to say something
about the demons, and the fear of the demons. Then I want to
say something with regards to the Gadareans, how they were
afraid. And then, finally, to consider
the godly, this man, who is very much the object of the Lord's
mercy. And the Lord doesn't just cast
out the demons, but the man is clearly, evidently one who is
brought to the experience of salvation. First of all, the
fear of these demons. Look at what we're told here
at verse 30 when Jesus asks the man his name. Jesus asked him,
saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion, because
many devils were entered into him. Now, a Roman legion, we
were told, would be a company of several thousand men, probably
as many as five or six thousand men would make up a Roman legion. And this man, then, is possessed.
of a multitude of demons. And now we see the reaction of
this man when he sees Jesus. Verse 28. He cried out and fell
down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do
with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God, Most High? I beseech thee,
torment me not. Oh, the demons are afraid, they
recognize who Jesus of Nazareth is and they confess Him, they
confess His Deity, they confess His eternal Sonship. What have
I to do with Thee, Jesus Thou Son of God Most High? In one of His hymns we'll sing
it presently Isaac Watts says, our devils at thy presence fly. Our devils fly at the presence
of the Lord Jesus. We see it there in Acts chapter
16 when the apostle addresses that young damsel and dismisses
the demons and they fly away, they're gone. And yet, how these
devils are compelled Albeit unwillingly, but they are compelled to bow
down before the Lord Jesus. In Mark's account, Mark 5, 6,
we're told he ran and worshipped Him. When the Gadarene sees the
Lord Jesus, he runs to Him and he bows down before Him. Yes,
but Mark says he worshipped Him. As I said, he acknowledges his
deity, his eternal sonship. We know that the devils also
believe and tremble. Now, what is it that causes these
fallen spirits, these fallen angels, to be so afraid at the
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, two things. Firstly, they
fear Christ in that great work that He had come to accomplish.
He had come to accomplish that wondrous work of redemption. As John tells us there, 1 John
3.8, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He
might destroy the works of the devil. The Lord Jesus has come
to destroy the works of the devil. And we have that work in His
beginnings of course in in the book of Genesis, the temptation
of our first parents, the fall of man, when Adam and Eve transgress
and break the commandment of God, while the Lord Jesus is
that one who has come to destroy all the devil's works, come to
destroy all the sin that the devil has brought into God's
creation. Now the Lord Jesus has done it
And the Apostle speaks of the resurrection of Christ there
in 1 Corinthians 15 and there is the vindication. He had made
the great sacrifice and the Father rises him from the dead, vindicates
him. And what does Paul say at the
end of that great chapter? O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, the
strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God. which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ himself
is the conqueror. He has vanquished sin, and he
has defeated Satan. This is the work that he came
to do. And it's prophesied there in
Old Testament, Hosea 13, 14, God says, I will ransom them
from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. All the works of Satan then. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ
came to accomplish. He's a defeated foe. And so here
they are. You see the Lord appears. And
the demons approach Him. For this man had devils a long
time, it says. When he saw Jesus, he cried out
and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What
have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of David, God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. But as they have cause to be
afraid of Christ at his first coming, when he comes to accomplish
salvation, and to pay the price of the sinner's redemption, the
ransom that the Holy Lord of God demanded. They also fear
Christ in His work of judgment, and that is that work that the
Lord will yet come to fulfill. Oh, we're told, are we not quite
specifically the Father judgeth no man? but hath committed all
judgment into the hands of the Son, and hath given Him authority
to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man." Always
the Son of Man. He is the God-Man, the Savior
of the sinful sons of men, and yet He is that One who will also
come in that great day to judge the living and the dead. And we see it, you see, even
with regards to the demons. In Matthew chapter 8, and there at verse 29, Matthew's
account of the same miracle, he says, And behold, they, that
is the legion, cried out, What have we to do with thee, Jesus,
our Son of God? Art thou come to torment us before
the time? Before the time? Oh, there was
a time. There was a time that God himself
had ordained and the demons seemed to be aware that their day of
judgment would come. Again, in When Christ heals the
man possessed in the synagogue at Capernaum, the demons say
the same again, art thou come to destroy us? This is the work
of the Lord Jesus, and that work will be accomplished ultimately
in that great day. And see what we're told here.
How the Lord dismisses the legion from the man, His name is Legion, because many
devils were entered into him. And it says, verse 31, they besought
him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. It's an interesting expression
here. The deep. We might think the reference
is to the lake. because that's where the demons
finish up. The Lord dismisses them into
the swine, but the swine run down a steep slope into the lake. But the word that's used in verse
31, the deep, literally means the abyss. The deep, it's that
without a bottom. It's a bottomless pit. A literal
rendering of the word would give us that idea, something without
a bottom, bottomless. And that of course we know to
be the abode of the devils. When we come to the book of the
Revelation, you know the language that we have there in Revelation
chapter 20. John says, I saw an angel come
down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit. That's
the very thing that's being spoken of back in Luke 8.31. The key of the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold on the dragon.
that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him
a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and
shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled, and
after that he must be loosed a little Caesar." And then again,
later at verse 10, The devil that deceived them,
it says, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the
beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and
night forever and ever. Now without going into any detail
concerning these things, you know I'm sure that Revelation
20 is a very controversial portion with regards to eschatological
views and postmillennialism and premillennialism and amillennialism. But without going into any of
that, we see quite clearly here where the abode of Satan is. These demons possessing this
poor Gadarene They seem to have some awareness of what their
ultimate fate will be. They besought the Lord that he
would not cast them out into the deep. Or they desire then,
it would seem, some liberty, we might say, for a season. But remember the language of
Jude chapter 6, or Jude verse 6, I should say. Jude verse 6. The fallen angels, we are told,
are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment
of the great day. They're never free spirits. God is sovereign. The mystery
of divine sovereignty is unfolded to us in the Book of Job. The devil is active, but he cannot
act independent of God really, and yet God is not the author
of sin. Now I don't pretend to be able to explain that, but
it is a comforting truth that God's sovereignty is an absolute
sovereignty. No wonder then that the demons
are afraid, and they're afraid here because this is God. manifest
in the flesh, coming to destroy all the works of the devil. But let us turn secondly to say
something with regards to the Gadarenes, those who are the
witnesses of this remarkable miracle that the Lord is performing. Look at what we're told concerning
what Christ does. In verse 32 there was there an
herd of many swine feeding on the mountain and they besought
him that he would suffer them to enter into them. The demons
want to enter into the swine and the Lord acquiesces with
what they desire, he suffered them to enter into the swine. Then went the devils out of the
man and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down
a steep place into the lake and were choked." Now, we might say, why does the Lord
do this? Surely this is going to have
an effect upon the Gadarenes. These swine belong to someone.
And yet, although the man is being delivered, yet the swine
are being destroyed. Will this not turn the Gadarenes
against the Lord Himself? Why does the Lord do such a thing?
Well, I would say what He is doing here, He is trying, He
is testing these Gadarenes, and He is also exposing them. Now,
they're sinners of course, we're all sinners and these are sinners
and they witness a miracle and surely we think if we were there
to witness such a miracle as this it would have such a positive
effect upon us concerning this man who has such great powers. But what do we see here? They're
not so much moved by the miracle, but they're moved more by the
loss of the swine. Verse 34, When they that fed
them saw what was done, they fled and went and told it in
the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what
was done, and came to Jesus, and found the man out of whom
the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed
and in his right mind, and were afraid." But what do they do
ultimately? They want the Lord to depart. That's what they request. They
want Him away. They dismiss Him. And why are
they doing this? Well, we're told, are we not
the effect so often of the Lord's ministry, even His miracles?
Though we have done so many miracles amongst them, yet they believe
not, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet
Isaiah, who hath believed our report. Although they see these
things with their eyes, though they are witnesses to the remarkable
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, they are fearful, these
people, that's evident. There's fear here. It says at
the end of verse 35, when they see this man now healed in his
right mind, they were afraid, it says, and again. This is the
reason why they want the Lord to depart. Verse 37, the whole
multitude of the country that gathered around about besought
him to depart from them for they were taken with great fear. The Lord in all that he does,
in all his actions, is he not testing and trying? He is that one who has come,
remember the language that we have in Matthew chapter 3 where
John who is the forerunner of Christ, speaks of the manner
of his ministry, how he will sift and search men He says there in verse 12 of
Matthew 3, whose fan is in his hand, he will truly purge his
floor, gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn
up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from
Galilee. And the connection between what
John's saying in verse 12 and what follows in verse 13, this
is that one of whom he has spoken. Verse 10, he says, Now also the
axe is laid unto the root of the tree. Therefore every tree
which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into
the fire. The Lord's ministry, we know,
was ever a searching and a sifting ministry. And so the Lord ministers
to this man, but He's also ministering here amongst these Gadareans.
They are those who are ultimately rejecters of the Lord Jesus Christ. They want Him away. They besought
him, it says in verse 37, to depart from them. Then in contrast,
and to conclude on this positive note, the behavior of the Gadarean
himself. What do they say when they come
and witness the consequence of the Lord's ministry? those words
that I said we could take as a text, verse 35, they went out
to see what was done, and came to Jesus, and found the man out
of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus,
clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Oh, but
what of this man himself? He's the archetype, really, of
of that sinner, that sinner who was previously chained but is
now free. If the Son shall make ye free,
ye shall be free indeed. Here he is sitting at the feet
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's clothed, oh he's clothed
surely now in a robe of righteousness. He is wearing garments of salvation. Yes, the reference, of course,
is literally to the fact that he was now in his right mind.
And no more is he running around amongst the tombs naked. But surely, spiritually, this
man is that one who is a justified sinner now. He has about him
the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has a sound
mind. Oh, that blessed spirit of a
sound mind, to think right thoughts, to think right thoughts concerning
God, concerning ourselves, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
what this man has been brought to. The wondrous change has occurred
in the man. We sing the lines of the hymn
sometime, 254. The fear of the Lord is soundness
and health, a treasure well stored with heavenly wealth. How true
it is. If we've got that heavenly wealth,
that wisdom that has come from above, which is first pure. Oh, it is first pure, then peaceable
and gentle and easy to be entreated and full of mercy and good fruits.
all those pleasant things, the treasure well stored, that is
the fear of the Lord. Again, the language of the wise
man in the Proverbs, what does Solomon say? The fear of the
Lord, he says, tendeth to life. And he that hath it shall abide
satisfied. Oh, that's the fear of the Lord
that this man has, so different to that that was in the other
Gadarenes. They were afraid, but they wanted
the Lord away from them. But how different it is with
this man. He desires to be with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Verse 38, The man out of whom
the devils were departed besought him, that he might be with him. He wants to be with the Lord
Jesus Christ. But what of his fellow citizens?
That's what they wanted. You see, devilish fear rejects
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we have in verse
37, "...they besought him to depart, for they were taken with
great fear." This man desires to be where the Lord Jesus is. Or do we have such a fear as
that we want to be where Christ is? We want to be under His Word. We want to be sitting at His
feet. This man doesn't only desire to be where Christ is, how he
submits to the Lord Jesus Christ. What is his posture? Here in
verse 5, sitting at the feet of Jesus. Oh, to sit at the feet
of Jesus, clothed in His right mind. Oh, what a favour, what
a blessing. Godly fear. An unctuous light
to all that's right, a bar to all that's wrong. How it keeps
us. How it makes us to be those who
would bow to the authority of Christ and the authority of His
Word. He desires to be with Christ,
He's submissive to Christ, and He obeys. He's obedient to the
Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to go with Christ, But what does Jesus say to him? Jesus, it said, sent him a wife,
saying, verse 39, Return to thine own house, and show how great
things God hath done unto thee. And he went his wife, and published
throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto
him. He's obedient. He goes and tells
of the works of God. all ye that fear God says the
Psalmist come and I will tell what the Lord hath done for my
soul were to be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asks a reason of the hope that is within us and that's
what this man does he is an obedient follower is truly a disciple
then of the Lord Jesus Christ and this is the fear of the godly
The godly man, the godly woman, they desire to be where Christ
is. They sit submissive before the Lord Jesus, they bow to his
authority, and they obey his commandments. If you love me,
he says, keep my commandments. And we see it here then in this
miracle. May the Lord be pleased to bless
these thoughts to us tonight and to help us as we come to
him in prayer.