Even the Demons Know Jesus is the Son of God! Matthew 8:28-34

 Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men

So far in chapter 8, Jesus has healed a leper, Peter's mother in law's fever, the Centurion's servant who was paralyzed, and today he heals two demon possessed men, who were spiritually sick. 

28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 

For a Jewish person, dwelling near the tomb of a dead body was abhorrent.  Of course, where there is death, the devil and his demons are always near.  These two men were violent and had been completely overtaken by the demons.  In Luke and Mark's versions, we see the man chains on him which were broken, and he had many cuts indicating he had tried to commit suicide.  

As we learn in John 10:1, "The thief comes to, steal, kill, and destroy."

29 “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

Interestingly the demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God. I find it ironic that many Jewish leaders never recognized Jesus as the Son of God, and these demons do.  The demons know that one day they will be judged permanently, but they are hoping they can stay around and wreak more havoc while they still have time.  It is the only thing that gives them satisfaction.  

30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 

Fittingly swine were considered unclean by the Jews, so most likely these were owned by Gentiles. 

31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”'

Note again that the demons recognized Jesus' power.  They likely knew their fate.  Since they are spiritual beings, they realized a much greater spiritual authority was in their midst.  The worst fate for the demons would was to be cast into the abyss, or into a place like the desert, where they could do no work. 

There is a lot of consideration as to why they would want to be sent into a herd of pigs.  Pigs were filthy, and also by killing the pigs they would ruin the livelihood of the owners. 

32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 

People wonder why Jesus gives in to the demon's request.  For one, by Jesus' casting them out of the man, he is restored.  It is far better for the demons to be in the pigs, than in a child of God.  

Secondly, when the demons drove the swine into the lake, it proved they were bent on destruction.  It showed that they had real power.  The man was not evil; but had evil within him. 

33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 

This was a huge event and it makes sense that the men tending the herd saw Jesus' words, which led to the swine jumping off the cliff.  They had never seen anything like this before and the only explanation of the behavior was the man who said, "Go!"

34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Luke's version adds a few more details...

14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 

One would think these people would be grateful for the demoniac's deliverance from the legion of demons, but such was not the case.  The obvious answer as to why they are not happy is the economic loss due they suffered from the loss of the pigs.  It could also have been why the demons asked Jesus to do this, so he could be sent away by the townspeople.  

Matthew Henry says it well, "There are a great many who prefer their swine before the Saviour, and so come short of Christ and salvation by him. They desire Christ to depart out of their hearts, and will not suffer his word to have place in them, because he and his word would destroy their brutish lusts, those swine which they give themselves up to feed." 

In Mark and Luke's version of the story, the demoniac who has been delivered asks to go with Jesus.  But Jesus tells him to go back to his home and tell all the people what he had done for him.  What a testimony this man had!  All the people were said to be amazed!

Why do three of the gospel writers include this story?  What does it tell us about the reality of the devil and his demons?  Why do we in the church talk so little about the demonic realm and its influence on believers and unbelievers alike?  This story teaches us that just as Jesus had power over evil spirits, we too have His Spirit within us and have the same authority and power within us.  As John says, "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world!"  1 John 4:4