Demon Pig Pool Party
Notes
Transcript
Matt 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-21
Jesus delivers two men, one named Legion, from demonization… and 2000 pigs are drowned. Demons are real, and they have real affect on the world and people in. Jesus display his absolute authority over them. Jesus displays his compassion, valuing the freedom for Legion over the economic loss of 2000 drowned pigs. While there is “drama” in the aftermath, there is no “drama” in deliverance… and Jesus gives us the same authority in His name. We set captives free.
Legion and Friend
Legion and Friend
We are going to jump right in, because we have a a lot to cover.
This is my 2nd favorite story about a demon in the Bible. That’s a weird sentence. If that raises a whole lot of questions for you… good, me too.
If that maybe makes you a bit nervous because this could get weird, yeah. I pray for wisdom and guidance, that He reveals His Word to us, that the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit would lead us through this.
This is one of those stories that has caught the popular imagination, it has a scent of the magical, of the occult, and people latch on. So “Legion” is either, well that’s basically a picture of me with wings. Uncanny, really ;). Or this whole multiple personality, different people living in one body thing. Good book, though.
Recap
Recap
So Jesus told the disciples to get in the boat. Maybe he knew the storm was coming, but he gets in the boat and goes to sleep.
The disciples panic a bit at the storm, but Jesus wakes up, puts the storm on snooze, and they cross the lake safely.
Demon-Possession in the Bible
Demon-Possession in the Bible
So Matthew tells this story:
And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
Two men, blocking the road, living in tombs. They are in Gentile territory now, but even in Gentile territory, living in the graveyard is bad news. These are forsaken men, desperate and destitute… and it says they are “demon-possessed.”
Mark tells this story as well and gives some details on at least one of the men:
He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,
for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
There’s a brutal human story here. We can miss that with all the focus on the demons. But let’s talk for a minute about the demons.
Demonology
Demonology
Demon - supernatural power or being. Used in Homer and others to describe spirits and sometimes the gods.
It has roots all throughout the Old Testament, and the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the OT, uses the word “demon” to describe evil spirits… so this isn’t new with the New Testament. In particular, the false gods the Israelites were tempted to worship, they are sacrificing babies to “demons” aka Molech.
The intertestamental books have all sorts of stories about demons, heavily influenced by their time in Babylon. There has always been a fascination with these spiritual beings, giving them names and attention and worship.
The Biblical worldview is alive with spiritual beings, different powers and different forms. It never says that other gods aren’t real… only that they aren’t worthy. They are all forever and fundamentally LESSER than YHWH. They are either obey and worship him or are in rebellion against him.
And those spiritual beings interact with the physical and with humans… and they always have.
Demon-Possessed
Demon-Possessed
So… here’s why I don’t like the word “possession.” … but it’s not a crazy translation of the word used here. A more literal, or transliteration really, would be demonize.
The issue is not ownership but control.
Without question, spiritual beings can affect physical reality. They can affect human beings. They have, through Scripture, influenced or seemingly controlled the actions and words of people.
Case in point, these two men. So they are victims of these spiritual powers. And we have NO idea of the backstory here. Perhaps they gave the demons power, perhaps they asked for relationship, perhaps they are completely oblivious and innocent.
But the demons don’t “own” them. It isn’t about ownership, it is about control.
The most important thing is not the details of what the demons can and can’t do.
And the MOST important thing is what Jesus does for them.
And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
They see Jesus, and they recognize him immediately as the Son of God. Spiritual beings, they have no trouble recognize spiritual truth.
And they immediately recognize Jesus as the Son of God, one who has power of over them, and that a time is coming that they fear. It seems natural that is their future destruction coming when this world passes, lake of fire and all that.
Now when Mark tell sthe story, the man throws himself on his knees, they begged
Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them.
And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.”
They “begged” him. There’s no question of the power structure here.
In Mark we learn two more things. Jesus asks the man his name and he says:
And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
And there are two thousand pigs. So many, many.
But in the movie version we might get the scary voice “I am LEGION!!!” That isn’t the tone here. This is a man who “fell down before Jesus” and is begging him for mercy.
Legion is a literal Greek word, it means a troop of thousands, maybe six thousand, but it didn’t have spiritual connotations at the time. It’s like saying “bunches of bunches.” That’s less intimidating than “I AM LEGION.” “I AM BUNCHES!”
The demons are begging Jesus.
Now, I have questions. Why is going into pigs and drowning better than what will happen if Jesus simply casts them out?
What does it mean to go “out of the country?”
Why does Jesus allow this? Is it empathy, compassion of any kind? Or is there some lesson to be learned by those watching? Either way, he says one word.
Go.
And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters.
Again, two thousand pigs! Dead and drowned.
Whole pig at Costco, that’s around $250. 2000 pigs takes us to half a million dollars! This a HUGE economic loss.
The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
Mark adds the details “AND the pigs!” What happened to the men… and the pigs!
And they were afraid.
And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
Wrong answer! Not celebration for the deliverance of these men, who have been afflicted and oppressed if not possessed. I suspect they are more motivated by what happened to the pigs, by the loss of income and food.
Jews don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for people raising pigs, by the way. But you have a man living in the MOST unclean of circumstances, afflicted by unclean and evil spirits, maybe thousands… and he is set free and in his right mind for the first time in years!
Jesus makes that trade with a word. “Go.” And the demons flee.
This is all about authority.
Gonda
Gonda
Arabelle bought a car.
The dude wanted cash. So we set about gathering a briefcase (or envelope) full of cash.
If I told her to “get the money from the bank” and she showed up with a squad, guns, safe cracker, dynamite maybe, a getaway driver.
That would be terrifying. Scary. Risky. You’d have to study the bank, understand deeply the nature of the bank, the security forces, the weaknesses. All of it.
But we walked in and walked out with the money. Why?
Arabelle had her card, she had her password, she was who she said she was.
And she needed my money too, but I was with her, and I had my card, and my password, and I was who I said I was. And I said “do you know who I am???!”
And they told me to quiet down… but they handed us the money and we got away scot-free!
Why?
Because we had the authority!!!
We have the authority of Christ.
It isn’t about “knowing the enemy.” It’s about knowing the King, the Conqueror, the Victor, it’s all his.
And he gives us this authority. To his disciples then, to his disciples now.
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Awesome. HOW do we do it?
Exorcisms 101
Exorcisms 101
This was a bit of a trap for me.
I love all this spiritual stuff, the powers and principalities. How does it work, how is it structured, what are the forces, what are the names. How does it works with countries and powers and principalities. Fascinating.
And it can be a “secret knowledge” and the “real super-mature” Christians have this secret knowledge. This was intoxicating and destructive to me as a young adult.
I read books like those by Charles Kraft, and he talks about talking to the demons, and finding out how they got in, and all sorts of stuff. The way that at least took root in me was secret knowledge that made me a more powerful Christian than others. Better. Wiser.
Where is that here? Jesus does ask one of the names… but is that a part of establishing authority over him? Doesn’t seem to be at all! Matthew doesn’t even mention it, and he doesn’t ask the other guy. In fact, in Matthew’s telling of this story there is one word in Red. Jesus says? “Go!”
No holy water. He doesn’t speak in Latin. There’s no drama. There’s drama afterwords in the pigs and the drowning… but the actual casting out of demons? He says “Go” and they go.
That is the authority Jesus has.
That is the authority he gives us. We aren’t robbing banks. We are cashing checks signed by Jesus.
And every spiritual power and authority knows who Jesus is, and that they are on borrowed time.
Even the “militant” language of Scripture, when it talks about spiritual warfare, this is how it tells us to prepare:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
And we take up the armor. But the armor isn’t “study your enemy” or “dramatic deliverance” or any such thing.
It is peace, and faith, and righteousness. It is salvation and the Word of God, prayer in the Spirit.
It is discipleship and spiritual disciplines.
All of those are about growing in your relationship with Jesus, Resting in him, trusting him, faith in Him. Because He gives the authority.
And the demons recognize him and tremble. They beg. And then he says “Go...” and demons flee.
And that’s your guy! You’re with Him!
This story with Legion and the pigs, that’s my 2nd favorite demon story in the Bible. My first is the Sons of Sceva in Acts 19, where the dude literally beats the pants off all seven of them. “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
The demons recognize the authority Jesus has given you, by the Holy Spirit in you. And I believe you are given this power and authority, and at times in your life, you will be called to the ministry of deliverance.
Pay attention to the leading of the Spirit, you go where and wherever He leads. Be dressed in the full armor of God, all of that.
But go, always, fearlessly. Yes, there is a spiritual reality, and there are powerful spiritual beings at work in the world around us, seen and unseen.
But you go in the name of the Son of God. And in the presence of Jesus, demons beg… and at the word of Jesus, demons flee.
And we can see people set free.
Amen.
