Matthew 8:28-34 - Jesus has absolute authority

Having crossed the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and His disciples now arrived at Gadarenes. Here He was greeted by two persons who were with boisterous wind and threatening storm within. Whatever was happening, we know that the turmoil within them, the forces that caused them to behave and act in ways they did, had to be more than meets the eye. Matthew tells us that they were possessed by demons. They were extremely violent, and people dared not go by where they were. This indicates to us that demons have a very violent nature. But when they saw Jesus, they immediately recognized Him.

The question, that left the disciples baffled, was, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” From the demons they found their answers. Jesus is indeed the Son of God. And for us, knowing who He is and having a relationship with Him makes us triumphant in life. No matter what life may throw at us, we know that He will take us through victoriously.

Though the time for the demons to be sent to their ultimate damnation had not arrived, they knew they couldn’t remain any longer in the two men they had possessed. Jesus was about to use them to demonstrate the authority He has. This account tells us that there were many pigs feeding nearby. Why did the demons choose to be sent to the herd of swine? Here are a few observations. The many pigs that the demons chose to go to, suggests to us the number of demons that had been dwelling in those two men. The swine tells us that demons only choose to stay in unclean vessels. The violet manner in which those pigs plunged to their death in the ravine, suggests to us that demons only have one aim for people they possessed – their total destruction. Just imagine what would have happened to those two men, if not for the intervention of Jesus.

On seeing what happened, the herdsmen ran into the city and reported what had taken place. They whole city came out in droves to see for themselves what was reported. The fact that they implored Jesus to leave their region is puzzling. Elsewhere we read wherever Jesus went, He was welcomed. But why are they sending Him away in this instance? Perhaps having Him around would be too demanding for people who refused to give up what they knew was not right. Why were these Jews raising unclean swine which were stipulated as unclean animals? Think of it, if they would not eat pork, why were they rearing pigs? We really don’t know.

What we do know is that Jesus possesses full authority. He showed it with the leper, the centurion’s servant and Peter’s mother-in-law. He has authority whether one is near or away from Him. We get to see His authority over the forces of nature, the stilling of the storm. And with the demons, we know that He has total authority over unseen evil forces of wickedness. 

What’s important is this: when we know Jesus, we can be in awe of Him or we can be terrified by the demands it will require to truly follow Him. Each one of us needs to make the decision one way or the other.