Matthew 8, 28-34. And as I read this, I remind you that this is the Word of God, and I charge you to listen to it accordingly. 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. 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? Now, a good way off from there, there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged him, saying, If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine. 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. And then those who kept them fled. And they went away to the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to depart from their region. reading of God's Word and we pray that He would bless it to our hearts. Scary movies generally don't affect me very much, especially ones that are far out, like alien invasions or apocalyptic movies or I have a little, maybe this will work for you if you get scared by scary movies. What I do is to remind myself that this isn't really scary. I always say that the person on the screen actually, there's a cameraman right there, and he's really on a set, and everything's okay. He's not really going through that situation. And that's always worked for me in dealing with scary movies. I'm just a little bit too realistic for them. I'm not very imaginative, and so that helps me. So I never really get too, upset about scary movies. I never lock the door afterward. I'm never afraid of being alone. But a certain kind of scary movie really scares me. And that is movies about demons. You know, there are many of them out there, and many of them you've probably seen. And why do they scare me so much? Because unlike the other types of scary movies, these ones can be real. Well, not in their details, you know, there's theatrical flourish, but we all know that demons do exist, and they at least have possessed people. And so there's an extra weight of fear that that brings, at least to me, because demons are real, and they actually do possess people, and they cause them to do strange things, case in point in our passage this morning. We begin in verse 28, that's the first scene in this little story. Jesus and presumably his disciples, although they're not mentioned, but I'm sure they're there, have reached the other side of the lake. Verse 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 that no one could pass that way. Jesus here comes to the other side of the lake. Remember, in the previous passage, we talked about how Christ has authority over nature. We talked about how Jesus calmed the storm, and that showed that he was the divine Messiah, and how he had authority over nature. Previously, we saw how Jesus had authority over sickness. Remember, in the first parts of chapter 8, Jesus was speaking about how he was healing people, and he was healing them by his word. Matthew made a big point about that. He didn't go through the special incantations or anything that the other healers of the day were doing. It was simply a word, like the centurion realized, do this, and they do it. Come, and they come, remember the centurion. And he recognized Jesus' authority in that sense. And before that, we saw Jesus' authority in his teachings. Remember the Sermon on the Mount, how Jesus, more than any other person in the history of the world, explicated what it was to be a member of God's kingdom. And that beautiful Sermon on the Mount showed his authority as a teacher. Matthew says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that the people were amazed by Jesus' teachings, not because they were spectacular or miraculous or anything like that or made a show, but because he spoke with authority unlike the scribes and the Pharisees. So Jesus has been demonstrating his authority throughout this journey from one side of the lake to the other. From the mount to the lake and now over to the other side. And this verse is, these verses are no different. Jesus is coming over to the other side of the lake and his disciples presumably with him and he is met there by two demon-possessed men. They, as the passage says, were coming out of the tombs and were exceedingly fierce. They were coming out of the tombs. Have you ever been to a graveyard, a grave site, or tombs? I know I had the opportunity of doing a funeral about six months ago, and some of you know this. It was a man I didn't know. He was born Presbyterian. But then he married an Eastern Orthodox lady and he went to that church all of his life for over 50 years, but he never joined. He had theological issues with the church, so he never joined. But so when he died, he had no one to do his funeral because The Eastern Orthodox people wouldn't do it because he never joined. And the Presbyterians wouldn't do it because he had no church. So they asked the closest Presbyterian, and that was me. So I had the opportunity to do this funeral. And it was a good experience, all in all. I was able to preach the gospel and say a few words that the family said about this man. And then we went to the graveyard, the cemetery. And I had an eerie feeling when I went to that cemetery. There's just an eerie feeling when you know there are a carcasses below you and are decaying. And that is just a feeling that we don't like in general. In the ancient Middle Eastern world, it was even worse. Because many of the pagans, and even some of the Jews who had accepted some pagan practices, believed that the graveyard, the cemetery, was a place that was unusually haunted. We get this type of reading in fantasy novels. In T.S. Lewis's novel, The Horse and His Boy, part of the Chronicles of Narnia, the little hero is spent the night by the graveyard and he is just frightened. Every little thing frightens him because he knows that the graveyard is where the demons are and the ghosts and the witches and all these things. And so, in that day, They had this understanding. So, imagine being a disciple there. You're a follower of Jesus. You don't believe that necessarily there are many demons in these graves, but you would be scared. I would be scared. You'd be more scared when you saw two demon-possessed men coming out who were just exceedingly fierce, as it says here. Why does Matthew tell us these things? Well, he's not just recounting a story. He is doing that. He's not just recounting what happened. He's also building suspense. They're at the tombs. That frightens us. These two men are exceedingly fierce, so fierce that no one could pass that way. If anyone were brave enough to go by the tombs anyway, they wouldn't want to, because they couldn't, because these two demon-possessed men were blocking the way. Matthew is building the suspense. There's going to be a showdown coming up. There's going to be an authority battle between Jesus and these two men. And so, the story continues, the second scene. Upon seeing Jesus, the demon-possessed men recognize him and address him. Verse 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? Now let's freeze it right there and let's try to glean some things from the demon's speech. It's the man speaking, but we presume, I think rightly, that it's really the demon who's behind him speaking. First of all, we notice about the demon's speech that he does not want Jesus to be there. What have we to do with you, Jesus? Literally, what to me to you, Jesus? Now that's bad English, and that's bad Greek too, but it's a good Hebrew, it's a Semitism, it's a way of speaking, thinking in Hebrew and speaking in Greek, and that's what's going on here. And the phrase generally means, get out of here, we don't want you here. It's a very strong, what have we to do with you? It's a good way of translating it, but it's even stronger than that. The demon recognizes that Jesus at least is a holy man. And so, when the holy man enters, the demon shudders. Generally, that's true. When a holy man comes in, or someone who represents God comes in, the wicked tremble, or at least become very awkward, and don't want him there anymore. When I was in college, I remember being in a class. It was one of those smaller classes, maybe about 20-some people, taught by a TA. And the TA was discussing things like, who is your authority? And he went around the room asking people who their authority was. It was an interesting question. It was kind of an interesting discussion. And everyone said, most people said, myself. But some people said the government. And it came to me, and I said, God. There was an eerie silence. And the TA said, OK, next subject. Let's go. It wasn't because I was so holy, but because at that point, I represented God. And these people realized that, wait a second, I'm being judged right now without a word. And they're uncomfortable and awkward about it. And the demon here certainly recognizes Jesus. How much more would the demon recognize Christ himself? He's a demon, even worse than a human being. Many of you in your workplaces and in school represent God to people. No, they don't think you actually are God, but they think you're a holy person. And so God's holy presence basically is on you. And so maybe they might be uncomfortable around you. Or perhaps they might call you judgmental. Or perhaps they might think that you're intolerant, even if you don't say a word. But that's because they think that you represent God. And by your very presence, they are judged and they are awkward and uncomfortable. Be encouraged by that. When people call you judgmental, when people think that you are intolerant, even if you don't say a word, recognize that it's not really you they're after, but it's God who judges them because their deeds are wicked and who exposes them as light exposes darkness. Now, that doesn't give you any license to be judgmental or to be unloving. That's not the point. Make sure that their criticisms have no weight. But no matter what you do, even if you don't say a word, you're going to get this. Trust me. So, be warned about that, but also be encouraged, knowing that it isn't you they're really after. Secondly, the demon here recognizes Jesus as the Son of God. What have we to do with you, Jesus, you son of God? Interesting way of speaking there. And we don't know exactly what he means by Son of God here. We're not sure if he means second person of the Trinity or what exactly the demon's understanding is. But it's interesting here how the demon is the first one to recognize Jesus as the Son of God, at least in this gospel. It takes the disciples a while to recognize these things. In chapter 16, Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, as the Messiah. And Jesus bestows on him that new name. But that's not for a while. The demon first recognizes it. That's very interesting. What does that say? Well, it says that the demons know a lot, and it says that sometimes they know right things about who Jesus is. That means that good theology is never enough. We can know all these right things about Jesus, but then if we use it for our own glory, or for our own pride, then it's worthless. Richard Baxter, a Puritan, Theologian once said that, be aware, the devil's a better theologian than you. And he was making a good point. Not to say that theology's bad, not to say that therefore we should say that, okay, no theology, that's just as bad. But our theology should help us to love the person of Christ. That is the whole point of it. What's ultimate is not some system of doctrine, but the person of Christ, God, the Trinity. That is what's ultimate. And our theology only serves to help us know Him and love Him better. That's the point of it. You believe there is one God, good. You do well. Even the demons believe that. They shudder. This speaks to us here. Like I said, it doesn't mean that we throw away theology. All the more we understand what the scripture teaches so that we might be able to love Christ and love our neighbor in better ways. Thirdly, the demon recognizes Christ as the judge. Have you come here to torment us before the time? The time. What is the time? It's the time of judgment. The time when God will come and judge all the wicked people, judge the quick and the dead, or the living and the dead, and make things right. The demons somehow knows that this is going to happen, and they know that Jesus is the one who's going to do it, and they know somehow, we don't know how they know this, but it's not their time at this point. And so, the demons are frightened. Wait a second, I didn't think it was time yet. I remember when our parents used to go out. They used to go out on dinner occasionally, and they'd leave us kids home. And we were old enough to watch ourselves by that point. And so when they went home, all was a free-for-all. We ordered pizza. We played Nintendo the whole time. We trashed everything. And then, 15 minutes, they always called us before they were coming home to let us know. 15 minutes before, we got everything ready. Everything was just beautifully clean when my parents came home. There were a few occasions when they came in unannounced, and I think it was on purpose on their part, and we had this deer-in-the-headlights look when they came in. We started scrambling to get everything ready and get everything good as they came to inspect what we did during that time. And I suppose the demon's look would be like that times 5,000. The demon knows that Jesus is going to judge him. The demon knows that he's going to be condemned. But not just yet. I thought I had some more time here. And so the demon is really scared. He recognizes Jesus as the judge. And he knows that he is going to be judged and condemned. This is true about all the demons and the devil himself. The demons and the devil himself know that they are defeated, that they are conquered, and that they are going to be judged and condemned forever. Their goal right now is to bring down as many people as possible in that time. That's what they're doing, and they get some kind of sick pleasure out of that. Be warned, this is what the demons and the devil are doing. They want you, and they're attacking the church. That's where they're going. They don't care about those who are on their merry way. They care about those who are following the light. in the gospel and they want to bring them down. They love it no more than when a minister is caught in some sin and it's a disgrace to Christ's name. They love that. And each one of us is susceptible to that. We need to be aware of that. And I am too as a pastor. Pray for me, please. The demons are there and they want to get us. Be warned. So that's what we learn about this man's speech, this demon-possessed man who's speaking, the demon presumably speaking. So let's go on to the next scene, the third scene, where the demons beg Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs. Now, a good way off from them, there was a herd of many swine feeding. This is verse 30, and then going into 31. So the demons begged him, saying, if you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine. Let's again press the pause button and say a few things about this. First of all, in verse 30, we see that there is a herd of pigs a far way off, or a good way off, as Matthew says it. And that means that whoever's herding these pigs, first of all, wants to stay away from this place. They're a good way off. And if you know anything about pig herding, you need to move quickly around places. And I'm sure he was skirting around that cemetery, not trying to go near it. And also, remember, these are pigs. What does this mean about the place where Jesus is? It means that he's in Gentile country. There would never be a Jewish farmer with pigs. I mean, that is just disgraceful. And remember in the parable of the prodigal son, the son goes way off and is in Gentile country and he's with the pigs. Pigs are unclean animals. And so we know that these herders are Gentiles, which is interesting to us because we think that Jesus' ministry was to the lost sheep of Israel, and it was for the main part, but he also had some ministry to the Gentiles, and we need to keep that in mind. It's kind of a foreshadowing of the Gentiles in gathering after Jesus had been glorified and sent the Spirit. And the demon, for some reason, wants to go into these pigs. Why would a demon want to go into pigs? Some commentators have speculated that because pigs are unclean and demons are unclean spirits, they feel at home there in the pigs. I don't know, that's getting a little speculative. When I was young, I loved being dirty. I was at home on the ground, rolling around in the dirt. I wasn't quite that bad. But were the demons at home and the unclean pigs? I don't know. Actually, it's kind of a mystery. The Bible, interestingly, doesn't teach us much about the demons. It doesn't tell us much about how they work. Any hierarchy, or we know there's the devil, we know there are the demons, and that's about all the Bible teaches. What does that teach us? Do not speculate about them. There are some people who like speculating about demons, like naming them and saying, oh, this one's more powerful here, and this one's more powerful there. We get thrown off if we continue to do that. Don't speculate about them. And so the demon wants to go into the pigs, and again, we don't know why. So let's move on to the next scene, where Jesus, this is actually the height, this is the climax, where Jesus sends the demons into the pigs in verse 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 this deep place into the sea and perished in the water. Notice what Jesus does here. He just says, go. He doesn't have use any formulas. He doesn't say abracadabra, alakazam, and all of a sudden it works. It's His sheer Word. It's His authority that casts out the demons. Don't miss that. Jesus' authority is shown here over the demonic realm, not only because He will judge them, but because of who He is. And the demon recognizes it. The demon begs Jesus to go into the pigs. You don't do that to someone who's your equal. You do that to someone who is your Lord. Jesus has authority over the demons, and the great proof of that is when he says, go, they go. They are almost compelled to go against their will, and they go right into the pigs and drive them off. We don't know why the pigs are drawn off. Many commentators think that Jesus had flung them out so far that he just, they went off and into the sea, and that's probably what happened. Either that or the demons went wild in them. Jesus' authority is not connected to magic spells or incantations like so many of the exorcists of that time. He had the authority of God over them. He can control them and do what he wills with them. My parents have a dog. His name's Luther. Poor little Luther. He's not very smart. He's actually kind of a bad dog, except for my mom. He listens to my mom. So, a lot of times we'll get him to do things when my mom's gone. Luther, come here. We try all the tricks in the world. We do everything and he just doesn't come. He's just not a very good dog. Then my mom comes and says, come! And he's there. You see, my mom has the authority over him. And when my mom speaks the word, there are no tricks needed. There are no special formulas needed. It's just with a word, and he comes. It's just like with Jesus. All the pretender exorcists, they use all these spells and magic incantations to try to do what they wanted with the demons with little success. Jesus comes, the one with authority, and it's just with a word, and he drives them away. So, the key to understanding the demonic realm is not to minimize their power. They are very powerful. Not to go in arrogantly in ourselves saying, oh, these demons are nothing and not worry about them or that. The key is understanding Christ's authority. He has authority over the demons and the demonic. And they are subject to Him. Do not meddle in the demonic. Don't go to the occult. Don't do things like that. Don't play with fire. But recognize and don't give them more credit than they deserve. They have power, but their day is coming, and they have been conquered already. Do not fear. They will attack you, but they cannot get you. You are in the palm of Christ's hand. You cannot be taken from them. Yeah, they will attack you. They'll make you think that you have no power, that you have to give in. Don't listen to it. It's a lie. Christ has authority. Trust Him. Continue. There's one more sad theme to this story, and it's the villagers afterward. The climax has happened. Jesus has thrown these demons into the pig, showing his great authority. And then at the end, it ends with a fizzle with the villagers' response, verses 33 and 34. Then those who kept them fled, and they went away into the city and told them everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to depart from their region." You can imagine those who were tending the pigs, after seeing this amazing sight, would go tell everyone they knew. And they were telling them about the pigs, of course, But they were also telling them about the demon-possessed men. And we know from the other Gospels that these men were dressed and in their right mind. And they were not like they were before. And they were presumably telling everyone about this in the village. And what is the response of the villagers? It's not, wow, who is this man of authority? Let me trust him. It's, please go. I mean, pigs are our livelihood. Pigs are the way that we live, and that's how we survive. How could you do this to our pigs? Don't stay here! We need these pigs to live!" So, in the end, they cared more about their own stuff and their own livelihood than Christ's grace that had come to this man and his great authority over the demonic. They clung to their livelihood. They did not recognize the grace that came to them, and they sent Him away. What fools! But when we worry about the things of this life, when we cling to the things of this life and not the kingdom of Christ, we're doing the same thing. We forget about Jesus, His authority, His provision, and His presence. when we cling to the things of this life, when our goals, our aims, are defined in terms of the things of this world and not the things of the world to come. When I was in high school, I called myself a Christian, and I believe I was. I had this inner battle going on within me. But what worried me, what gave What were my goals and my aims and what was constantly on my mind were not the things of God, but rather, does this girl like me, or am I going to do well in this football game? And are they going to like me because of that, this or that? God was gracious to me. Jesus never left me like He did these people here, although He had every right to. And He kept showing me over and over and over again on here, I have the authority, my presence is here, my power and provision are here, you need not worry." So finally, he shook me into realizing what I was doing, and I repented. Is that the way you are today? Do you call yourself a Christian, but are worried about the things of this world, about how much money you have, or how much popularity you have, or who likes you? Is that what constantly goes through your mind? Is that how you constantly act? Beware. Don't act like these foolish villagers. Recognize Christ. He has the authority. His presence is always here. And His provision will always take care of you. And when we do that, we recognize Christ's authority. And we wait with great expectation for that King to come and banish forever all of the forces of evil and hell. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we are far too often like these villagers. We far too often care about our own things, about what people think about us, about how much money we have, about where in life we are going and to advance ourselves in our own plans and agendas and not thinking about you and your call on our lives. Please forgive us for this. By your Spirit, cause us to walk in a new way, to be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and to live accordingly. Grant us strength by your Spirit over the forces of darkness who wish to bring us down, who lie to us and say that we can't get away, that we can't get better. Call us by the power of your Spirit into a new way of life. Grant us grace. and give us the desire of our heart that day when Christ will return and say, well done, good and faithful servant. It's in his name we pray. Amen.