Please Leave!

Matthew 8:32,34 “And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. . . . And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.”

Today we’ll look at two strange men living in a strange place. The story in Matthew begins in a cemetery where two men “possessed with devils” are crying out to Jesus saying, “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (verse 29) These were men that most people were afraid to approach-the devils made them “fierce.” And yet when Jesus approached, the devils were the ones who were in fear. They acknowledged Christ’s power over them, and they knew their end.

(On a side note, we need to remember whenever we hear or read stories involving devils that Christ is the ultimate victor. The devils are afraid of Him. The point of this morning’s devotional is not to make us think of people we know that might be possessed or of bizarre stories we have heard. Think closer to home: is the Devil having his way in any part of your life, though it may be subtle? As a Christian, you don’t have to live in defeat! “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.”)

As the story continues, the devils inside these men were afraid of what Christ would do to them, so they “besought” the Lord to send them into the nearby herd of pigs. Christ’s answer is simple: “Go.” With that, the devils were driven out of the men and into the herd of pigs. The local people watched as the pigs “ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.” (verse 32)

The response of the local people is very revealing: they had learned to live with the demon possessed men. In fact, they had figured out how to contain them and keep them out of the way. But when Christ came and banished the devils into the herd of pigs, they were distraught and angry! They “fled” into the city to tell others what had happened, and together they “besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.” (verse 34) This reveals that they were more concerned with their own pigs than they were for these men who had been tormented by the devils for so long! They were content to let the Devil stay with them, as long as their own pocketbooks were not affected.

There were two parties banished in this story-did you notice who they were? First, Christ banished the devils in verse 32. But then Christ himself was banished by the local people in verse 34! In your life, you will be asking someone to leave. The truth is, Christ and the Devil cannot both have their way at the same time in your life. Either you let the Devil get comfortable while sending the Savior away, or you will submit to the Lord and send the Devil running.

Which is reality in your life today? Does the Devil call the shots in any area of your life? Ephesians 4:27 says, “Neither give place to the devil.” By deciding who will leave, you automatically decide who will stay. Determine to resist the devil today by letting Christ have His way in your life.

On a related note, does it bother you if the devil is having his way with someone else? The local farmers in this story were content to let the devils destroy the lives of those two men, as long as they were not personally affected. We should care enough for those around us to want to see Christ have victory in their lives. Selfishness and service-these two cannot live together either. Which will you ask to leave? Remember, when you decide who will leave, you also decide who will stay!