Latest / NOBA @ Noon / Matthew 8:28 - 9:2
Transcript
- Canon Justin Murff: The Gospel of Matthew chapter eight twenty eight through chapter nine verse two And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Garadines, two demon possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs so fierce that no one could pass that way. 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? 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. 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. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, They begged him to leave their region. And getting into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own city, and behold, some people brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed, and when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven. The Gospel of the Lord. Jesus arrives in the region of the Garadanes. This Gentile territory on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near what would be considered today the border between the West Bank and modern day Jordan. What he encounters there is deeply disturbing. Two demon possessed men living among the tombs of the dead. Their behavior was so violent that no one could even pass by. This was a place of death, it was a place of defilement, and it was a place of great danger. The very location signals that Jesus had entered enemy territory. Notice though that the demons recognize Jesus immediately. What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? Their question reveals several profound truths. First, they instinctly know who Jesus really is. Jesus is the Son of God. Second, they know that their fate is sealed and that torment awaits them. They know there is an appointed time for judgment, and for them that time is now. So terrified are the demons that they beg to be sent into a nearby herd of pigs rather than face the immediate judgment. And astonishingly Jesus permits it. The entire herd then rushes down the bank, jumps into the sea, and drowns. This destruction of the pigs demonstrates the truly destructive nature of the demonic, which is real. The response of the townspeople, though? That's actually quite troubling. When the whole city comes out to meet Jesus, seeing the formerly possessed men now in their right minds, they beg Jesus to leave their region. They preferred the familiar danger of demoniacs to the disruptive presence of this powerful stranger. The economic loss of the pigs apparently outweighed the spiritual liberation of these two souls now set free. So Jesus gets into his boat and he crosses back over to his own city. The scene now shifts dramatically. Immediately upon his arrival, he's presented with a paralytic lying on a bed brought by friends. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven. This response must have startled everyone. The man was brought for physical healing, yet Jesus addresses the real spiritual need, the root of everything. The friends demonstrated faith by their action, and Jesus responds to the paralytic's deeper condition. Before addressing the body, Jesus healed his soul. This sequence illustrates several really important themes that we see throughout the Gospel of Matthew. The first is that Jesus' authority extends even to Gentile territory and and certainly over demonic powers, there is no place that is beyond the reach of Jesus. Yet people often reject Jesus when his presence threatens their status quo. The Garardine response really haunts in this passage. They're confronted with this undeniable evidence of Jesus's power, of his goodness, and yet the townspeople chose their pigs over his presence. Man, how often do we make similar choices? We want Jesus' blessings, but we may not want his discipline or the disruption that his life may cause in ours. The truth is that no one is beyond Jesus' reach. The demon possessed men represent the extreme of human brokenness, violent, isolated, living amongst the dead. These men weren't just lost, they were completely and utterly abandoned. Hopeless would be the correct word here. Yet Jesus went to them. And he restored them back to life. He restored them back to fellowship. He gave them a hope and a future. The Garadine response serves as a warning to us all. Are there areas in our own lives where we've settled and come to prefer familiar dysfunction to the disruption of Christ's transforming presence? The forgiveness of the paralytic man reminds us that faith and trust in Jesus is our deepest need. We often come to Jesus. Focused on a surface problem. Thankfully, he sees us and he knows the true condition of our hearts. Jesus says to us all, Take heart, my child, your sins are forgiven. That phrase remains the most essential, encouraging word any of us can hear today. So today, ask yourself where have I been asking Jesus to leave my own region? What status quo have I been protecting? Today is a great day to invite him into the territory that you've been keeping off limits from Jesus.