Matthew
8:28-9:8: “Jesus Heals A Demon-possessed
Man Who Is Both Blind And Dumb, And A Crippled Man Brought To Him By Four
Friends”
by
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In this next
section (which actually goes to through the first eight verses of the next
chapter) of the gospel of Matthew we will study a couple of miracles which
Jesus performed and learn some great lessons from them
1.1.1. Jesus heals a demon-possessed man who is both blind
and dumb
1.1.1.1.Satan has the utmost of control over this man’s life
1.1.2. Jesus heals a crippled man who is brought to Him by
the man’s four friends
1.1.2.1.These four men then become to us examples of good and
faithful friends and evangelists
2.
VS 8:28-33 - “28 And when He had come 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 exceedingly violent that no one could
pass by that road. 29 And behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to
do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” 30
Now there was at a distance from them a herd of many swine feeding. 31 And the
demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us
into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Begone!” And they came out,
and went into the swine, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank
into the sea and perished in the waters. 33 And the herdsmen ran away, and went
to the city, and reported everything, including the incident of the demoniacs” - Jesus casts demons out of two men
2.1.
The Treasury of
Scripture Knowledge has the following entry concerning where this incident
occured, “Gergesenes. Some are of opinion that Gergasa was the country of
the ancient Girgashites; but it is more probable the Gergesenes was introduced
by Origen upon mere conjecture; as before him most copies seem to have read
Gadarenes, agreeable to the Parallel Passages and the ancient Syriac version. Gadara, says Josephus, was the metropolis of
Peraea, or the region beyond Jordan; and he also observes that it was sixty
furlongs, or about eight miles from Tiberias.
It is therefore rightly placed opposite Tiberias, at the southeast end
of the lake. Pliny says it was called
Hippodion, was one of the cities of Decapolis, and had the river Hieromax, or
Jarmouk, flowing before it. It was of
heathen jurisdiction; whence perhaps it was destroyed by the Jews; but was
rebuilt by Pompey, and joined to the
2.2.
Other gospels
give us more info about this story:
2.2.1. In Mark chapter 5, Mark records the same incident, yet
he writes of just one man, not that there could not have been two. Mark also writes that this man had often been
bound with chains and shackles yet he would always be able to break them. He also notes that the man would often cut
himself with stones.
2.2.2. Luke’s account, found in Luke chapter 8, is also of
one man who would often break the chains and shackles which they would try to
bind him with, and he records that the man had not worn clothes for a very long
time
2.2.2.1.This man could break the chains of this world, but not
those of the spirit world which bound him
2.2.2.1.1.There are many in the occult today who are playing
around in the spirit realm and thinking that through various incantations that
they can influence angelic beings, however this is very foolish and dangerous
because only Jesus has power over the devil, and only through Him can we have
authority over demons and cast them out of people
2.2.2.1.2.Jesus is the answer to all of our problems, not just
those in the spiritual realm, and He is our sufficiency if we will look to Him
2.2.2.1.2.1.The Word of God promises us peace that passes
comprehension (Phil. 4:6-7) and that we are to take everything to the Lord in
prayer, yet today so many Christians are looking to other sources in their time
of need. If they go to doctors they
usually get anti-psychotic drugs to take, and these drugs only dull their pain
as well as their senses, and they don’t solve anyone’s problems
2.3.
In the New
Testament we read often of people whom are described as being
“demon-possessed”, but we need to think a moment about what this term actually
means:
2.3.1. Interestingly, it has been pointed out that these incidents
always seemed to occur in the rural areas in
2.3.2. The word translated ‘demon possessed’ here means “to
be demonized”, and it is not extremely clear as to where the line can be drawn
between when a person who is influenced by a demon and when he is possessed by
one, for there appear to be degrees of influence over which a demon may have
control over a person
2.3.2.1.We see in the New Testament incidents where a person
is mildly troubled by a demon, sometimes even made ill by a demon, and other
incidents when a person is taken over and completely controlled by a demon
2.3.2.2.In the New Testament we never see a Christian over
whom satan influences a high degree of influence or possesses, however we do
see where the devil tempts believers and leads them into signficant and very
damaging sin over which there are always severe consequences that are felt for
a good deal of time
2.3.2.3.In this story before us we see a man over whom satan
has had the highest degree of influence (complete control), for from Mark 5:9
we read that there is not one demon within this man but a ‘legion’ of them (and
we know that a legion of Roman soldiers consisted of 12,500)
2.3.2.3.1.On a scale of one to ten of people over whom satan has
a great amount of influence this man ranks an 18, for he is completely off of
the scale
2.4.
Can you just
image this story, it must have been one of the most incredible of incidents
ever to occur on earth? This man is a
raving lunatic hanging out in the tombs naked and cutting himself all of the
time, and then if anyone traveled upon that road they would be attacked and
demonized by this man. Yet, this is
exactly where Jesus heads, for He wants to reveal His greatness and power to
deliver and heal
2.5.
A pastor friend
of mine in
2.6.
Notice what the
demons within these men reveal to us about Jesus and theology
2.6.1. These demons at this point in time know more about
Jesus than the apostles do, for they address Him as ‘Son of God’, and it is not
until later when asked by Jesus as to whom He is that Simon Peter blurts out
his new found revelation, “Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”
2.6.2. Not only do the demons know who Jesus is, but they
also know eschatology and what their fate is destined to be in the
2.7.
The demons beg
Jesus to allow them to enter a herd of 2,000 swine who are nearby when they
leave the man, and thus we gain a glimpse here of the fact that demons prefer
to have a host within which to live, and the hearts and attitudes of those who
are not God’s people provide a home for demons to live
2.8.
We don’t know for
sure why Jesus granted the request of these demons to be allowed to enter the
herd of swine nearby, but many have given us their theories as to why He
allowed this request:
2.8.1. Certainly Jesus revealed His glory and power by
allowing these demons this request, for by their entering the swine and then the
swine jumping into the water and drowning this gave evidence to what Jesus’
power and authority in casting them out
2.8.2. Some have surmised that these men who owned these
swine were Jews and being such they were sinning and breaking God’s Laws by
having this herd of swine, for this reason then Jesus allowed the demons to
enter the swine knowing they would drown and their owners suffer loss and thus
be punished for their sin
2.8.3. These herdsmen suddenly became evangelists for they
run into the city and declare what Jesus had done, so it has been suggested
that Jesus allowed this request of these demons in order to win the souls of
the people to whom these herdsmen would be sent as witnesses
2.8.4. He wanted to invent ‘deviled ham’
2.9.
We see from this
story that satan and demons have only one agenda in people’s lives and that is
to hurt and destroy them
2.10. In Mark 5:15-20, we read that the people came and saw
the man out of whom Jesus had cast the demons and that they were therefore
afraid and asked Jesus to leave them, and that the man himself subsequently
asked Jesus if he might follow Him, however Jesus sent this man back to his
people to be an evangelist to them, “15 And 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 And 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 entreat Him
to depart from their region. 18 And as He was getting into the boat, the man
who had been demon-possessed was entreating 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.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in
2.10.1.It is always wonderful when Jesus brings healing and a
sound mind to a person who is tormented and under the tyranny of their own sin
2.10.1.1.Jesus can reach the hardest of sinners, even those
most under the devil’s control
2.10.2.As happened in this story, it is truly a sad thing
when people ask Jesus to leave them, for when they do so He being the gentleman
that He is, complies
1. By way of
introduction here, it is worthy of note that all of the healings that are
mentioned in chapter 9 are healings where either the person being healed, or
the person who brings a request for another to Christ, are examples of people
who persevered in seeking Him out for the healings.
2. VS 9:1 - “9:1 And getting into a boat, He crossed
over, and came to a{a Matt. 4:13; Mark 5:21
}His own city” - Jesus
crossed over the Sea of Galilee to
2.1.
We know from Mark’s account (Mark 2:1) of the men carrying the man with
Palsy to be healed that it was to Capernaum that they went, and thus Jesus
counted Capernaum as His ‘own’ city, not Bethlehem where He was born nor
Nazareth where He grew up
2.1.1. In
3. VS 9:2-3 - “2 And behold, they were bringing to Him
a paralytic, lying on a bed; and Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic,
“Take courage, My son, your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the
scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.”” - Men bring to Jesus a paralytic on a stretcher to be
healed
3.1.
The two other synoptic gospels also include this story: see Mark 2:3-12 and Luke 5:18:26
3.2.
Mark 2:3 tells us that four men brought the paralytic to Jesus
3.3.
We see much in the character of these four men for they are examples to
us of true friends and of effective evangelists
3.3.1. We see how much they
genuinely cared for this man that they would carry him to Jesus since being
paralyzed he couldn’t get to Jesus himself
3.3.2. We see their tenacity
3.3.2.1. Mark 3:4 tells us that the
men could not get the paralytic to Jesus because of the crowds, so they went up
on the roof and dug an opening in it and lowered the man down before Jesus so
that He could heal him
3.3.3. We see their faith
3.3.3.1. In Mark 2:5, Mark includes
that when Jesus saw the faith of these men in bringing this man to Him for
healing, that He healed their paralyzed friend
3.3.3.2. We don’t know if the
paralyzed man himself had faith, but Jesus definitely recognized the faith of
the four men
3.4.
As we have seen throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus’ miracles all paint
a picture of the deliverance from sin that each of us can have, and this
incident illustrates for us the very important lesson of the fact that the lost
people of this world are powerless on their own to seek God and to be healed of
their sin, being in the bondage of their sin
3.4.1. Sin cripples people and
places them in bondage
3.4.1.1. Jesus taught this in John
8:34, “34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who
commits sin is the slave of sin”
3.4.1.2. Paul wrote about this in
Rom. 6:16, “16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone
as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin
resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”
3.4.2. The only way out of being
enslaved to sin is to become enslaved to God, as Paul writes about in Rom.
6:22, “22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive
your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life”
3.4.2.1. As Bob Dylan once wrote in a
song, ‘Your gonna have to serve somebody.
It may be the devil and it may be God, but your gonna have to serve somebody”
3.4.3. THE
INCREDIBLE APPLICATION FOR US:
Since sin cripples, we must personalize this lesson and be people who
are always going out and finding needy
people and bringing them to Jesus
3.4.4. Jesus will likewise
recognize and reward our faith and bring to salvation those we bring to Him
3.5.
Before healing the man, Jesus tells him that his sins are forgiven
because Jesus realized that much more important than a person’s physical health
is his spiritual health
3.5.1. Whether or not he is in
fellowship with God
3.5.2. Whether or not he has
unrepentant sin in their life
3.5.3. Whether or not he is bound
for heaven or hell after this life
4. VS 9:4-7 - “4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said,
“Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 “For which is easier, to say,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, and walk’? 6 “But in order that you
may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He
*said to the paralytic—“Rise, take up your bed, and go home.” 7 And he rose,
and went home” - Jesus
answered the thoughts of the Pharisee’s hearts
4.1.
Being God, Jesus supernaturally always knew the thoughts of all men, and
so often in the gospels we see Him answer the unspoken thoughts of men, or
speaking to groups because He had divine knowledge of what they had been
discussing amongst themselves
4.2.
The Pharisees were thinking that Jesus must be a blasphemer because He
told this man that His sins were forgiven
4.2.1. Actually, the Pharisees were
dead right in their thinking, for only God can forgive sins, however because of
the Pharisee’s blindness they were not able to consider for a moment that Jesus
might actually be God in the flesh and thus not be blaspheming God at all
4.3.
Jesus miracles are called in the scriptures ‘attesting signs’ because
they attest to the fact that He is who He claimed to be, namely God
4.3.1. In this case Jesus sought to
show the Pharisees that He was God by healing this man of his palsy
4.3.2. Jesus also wanted to
demonstrate to all that He had the power to forgive sin, so He first told the
man that His sins were forgiven
4.3.2.1. By healing the man Jesus
sought to challenge them to consider His claims
5. VS 9:8 - “8 But when the multitudes saw this,
they were filled with awe, and glorified God, who had given such authority to
men.” - We see the reaction of the multitudes to
Jesus’ healing of this man
5.1.
They were filled with ‘awe’, or as some translations say, they were
filled with ‘fear’
5.2.
The multitudes recognized that only God could have done this wonderful
miracle through Jesus
5.3. It is sad that the blindness
of the Pharisees kept them from learning anything from the things that Jesus
said and did, and it only allowed them to become angry, hateful, and jealous of
Him