This morning I read how Jesus saved two demon possessed men who lived in a cemetery & were so violent that people avoided the area. Mark writes that one of the men was so strong that iron chains couldn’t withstand his strength! When Jesus asks the name of the spirit, they reply, “Legion” because there were so many! A legion in the Roman army is a garrison of 6,000 men!
There were so many demons that when Jesus commands them to move their residence from the men to a nearby herd of 2,000 pigs, they enter ALL of them, leading them over a steep hillside to their death in the sea!
The herdsmen leave the scene & soon return with the entire town! What happens next however, has always been a bit of a conundrum to me.
Upon arrival, they find the men, fully clothed sitting at the feet of Jesus in their right minds! These men that couldn’t be bound with iron shackles & chains now sat silently before their Savior.
The towns response?
They beg Jesus to leave!
He saved the men. He saved the town from the torment of these men. What more could He have done to prove Who He was & yet their desire for Him to go was unanimous.
Was it that they loved their pigs so much that they couldn’t see the blessing of their Savior before them?
What was the source of their fear?
What’s fascinating is that the root definition of fear means to withdraw or avoid.
The demons feared Jesus & begged Him to send them away from Him.
The people begged Him to leave their coastline.
I don’t know the why…but here’s the thing:
The design of Satan is to prejudice people against the Savior.
It happened with Adam & Eve.
It happened with Jonah.
& if we’re honest, it has or could happen with us.
The circumstances we face may not be demon possessed men & the loss of pigs, but that sly serpent hasn’t changed his MO. The enemy will use any circumstance necessary to tempt us to withdraw from The One Who saves!
Father, help us not to love our pigs more than our Provider! Guard us from fear that temps us to see You as a destroyer rather than our Savior. You know the details of our lives & rather than fearing & turning away we turn face-to-face to You & proclaim our trust in You!
GENESIS 24:52-26:16
MATTHEW 8:18-34
PSALM 10:1-15
PROVERBS 3:7-8
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