This event was recorded in three of the four gospels, and each writer brought out a few different and significant points. Interestingly, Matthew mentioned that there were two men, while the other two writers only focused on the one man.
In order to include all points of interest pertaining to our topic, I'm going to piecemeal verses from all three books...
(Matthew 8:28) When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.
(Luke 8:27b) ...a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.
(Mark 5:3b-5) ...no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.
(Mark 5:6a) Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up...
(Luke 8:28b-29) ...he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.
(Matthew 8:29) “...Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
(Luke 8:30) And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.
(Matthew 8:10) And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
(Luke 8:31-32) They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss. 32 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.
(Mark 5:13) Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.
(Mark 5:13-19) Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. 17 And they began to implore Him to leave their region. 18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”
(Luke 8:39) “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
(Mark 5:20b) ...and everyone was amazed.
While the one man (or both men) had been possessed and delivered from about 2,000 demons, Mary Magdalene had been possessed by seven demons. After being delivered, she followed Jesus and served in whatever way she was able...
(Luke 8:1-3) Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.
As Jesus described the state of sinful people, He used the spiritual realm as an illustration, which actually gives us some insight into how demons work.
More importantly, it gives us insight into how a person can be protected and guaranteed never to be possessed by any demons! The only answer is - become a believer - because then the Holy Spirit will be indwelling and filling our souls! The person's soul will no longer be "unoccupied"...
(Matthew 12:43-45) “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
From this we see:
- demons look for people to possess (Matthew 12:43-45)
- demons will bring along others to possess a person (Matthew 12:43-45)
- many demons can possess one person, in this case there were about 2,000 (Mark 5:13)
- demons name themselves, "Legion" was the name of their "group" (Luke 8:30)
- demons can have a spokesperson in their group and in their hierarchy (Mark 5:9)
- demons can make a person violent (Matthew 8:28)
- demons can make a person extremely strong, empowering them somehow (Mark 5:3-4, Luke 8:29)
- demons can make a person crazy, not caring about being naked or living outside (Mark 5:15, Luke 8:27, 35)
- demons can make a person crazy, causing them to scream and/or hurting themselves (Mark 5:5)
- demons can make a person have seizures (Luke 8:29)
- demons recognize Jesus and who He is (Matthew 8:29, Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28)
- demons are tormented when they are near God (Matthew 8:29, Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28)
- demons know that there is a time limit before they will be sent to the abyss (Matthew 8:29)
- demons do not want to go to the abyss (Luke 8:31)
- demons have to ask God permission to be in specific locations (Mark 5:10)
- demons have to ask God for permission to possess animals (Matthew 8:31, Mark 5:12, Luke 8:32)
- demons are able to possess animals (Matthew 8:32, Mark 5:13, Luke 8:33)
- demons can cause animals to act crazy (Matthew 8:32, Mark 5:13, Luke 8:33)
- the only way to avoid being possessed, or being possessed again, is to become a believer (Matthew 12:43-45)
Personal experience: I can't remember if I shared my cat story or not. But when one of our cats had a litter, one of the new born kittens was crazy-vicious. If I got anywhere near it, it would hiss with a fierceness of??? I've never seen anything like it. And I have been around many cats and kittens in my life. I've even had the chance to be in a big cage filled with bigger lion cubs, and allowed to pet them! But with this tiny kitten, I had to use leather construction gloves in order to get anywhere near it.
I have no idea why I didn't think to pray over this poor little thing, even though I had an idea that it could possibly be possessed. There was enough demonic activity around our household because of my younger brother.
Now, I would say that my brother was not possessed, but he was definitely oppressed. There were times he was practically foaming at the mouth, and acting scary-crazy-out-of-his-mind. And for his size, he could be crazy-strong. Fortunately, that is in the past and he has since then become a Christian.
Today's takeaway: this may not at all seem connected with what we all just read, but what really struck me was when the man begged to go along with Jesus - and Jesus told him that he should stay and go share his experiences with the people in his household and in his hometown.
It's not wrong to desire to share the gospel message with people in distant lands, but sometimes God wants us right where we are! Especially if we only want to get away in order to escape possible ramifications of our own actions.
When the demons that were in this one man left him and entered into the swine - a huge herd was destroyed. This would have been the livelihood of many people in this community. Perhaps the people asked Jesus to leave, partly because they didn't want anything else to be taken away from them. What they needed to realize was - salvation is more important than any earthly thing.
By encouraging the man to stay behind, he would have been a living example of how God works in our lives. When people can see an obvious change in us, and a continuous spiritual growth and maturity, this can have the biggest impact for God's kingdom...
(Matthew 5:13-16) “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
(John 13:34-35) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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