Going to the Dark Side: Part 2
At the insistence of the demons, Jesus permitted them. By His power, Jesus could have sent them anywhere, even back to the abyss. That fact that He didn’t do that tells us He had a larger purpose to fulfill in this interaction with the demons and the residents. John MacArthur wrote, “By granting permission for these demons to go into the herd of pigs, Jesus was allowing them to put on display the true magnitude of their destructive and deadly force. In so doing, He also highlighted the glorious superiority of His own power.” [1]
What happened next stunned the bystanders! The entire herd of 2,000 pigs went berserk and stampeded down a steep slope and into the Sea of Galilee to their deaths. This was undeniable proof that the demons had left the man and entered the pigs. It also illustrated the damaging power of the demons on a massive scale. Most importantly, it demonstrated Jesus’ absolute authority over them. They had no choice by to comply with His sovereign command!
We have many warnings in Scripture that evil will increase as we approach the end of the age. Jesus and the apostles spoke about how evil behaviors will “come out of the closet” and into the mainstream of culture as Satan realizes that his time for deception is growing short. I have witnessed this in my short lifetime.
For those who follow Christ, confronting evil in society today is much more costly than in the past. But we must not shrink in fear. Instead, we need to “put on the full armor of God so we can stand against the devil’s schemes.” We are not struggling against human beings, but against spiritual forces of evil in this world of darkness working through human beings. We must not retreat in the face of opposition but go boldly forward to confront evil in our time.
Going to the dark side requires us to cross barriers and confront evil.
Another STEP (in going to the dark side) is,
Choosing Sides
Not all demonstrations of Jesus’ power are as dramatic as this one. But one thing is sure; when Jesus shows up you can’t be neutral. You can either accept Him or reject Him, but you can’t ignore Him!
Those who cared for the pigs and witnessed their dramatic destruction didn’t wait around to see what would happen next. They took to their heels in fear and told everyone they saw about what had happened to the herd of pigs. The text isn’t clear about whether they had seen the transformation in the former demoniac. The news spread like wildfire across the whole region. When people heard about what happened they wanted to see it with their own eyes.
So, they came to see if what they’d been told was true. And sure enough, the pigs were floating in the water. Even more astounding was the man who had been possessed by many demons sitting with Jesus. He was fully clothed, and his mind was completely restored. He and Jesus were conversing together. And they were afraid. This was the same kind of fear the disciples experienced after Jesus stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee. It was the realization that they were in the presence of the Holy One.
Imagine those who had witnessed these dramatic events retelling them to the curious crowd that had gathered. I see them imitating the behavior of the demoniac, the calm composure of Jesus, and the violent reaction of the herd of pigs. I picture them pointing to the bodies of all those d...
