The country of the Gergesenes.
I. THE DEMONIACS.
1. Their description. There were two—one fiercer, more violent, than the other. Satan's power has been broken; the incarnation of the Son of God, the atonement made upon the cross, has weakened his hold upon men. "I beheld Satan like lightning fall from heaven." The times were very evil when the Saviour came. Satan was the prince of this world, the ruler of this world's darkness. His power is still very terrible, but it is not what it was; he has not now the dominion which he once exercised over human spirits. Probably there are cases of demoniac possession still, but they are comparatively few. The characteristic of this possession, as distinguished from that wickedness which is another form of the devil's power over souls, seems to be a divided will. The unhappy demoniac felt that there was another will, a will not his own, ruling over him, driving him into frenzy.
2. Their conduct. The one demoniac mentioned by St. Mark and St. Luke came running to Christ. He fell down before him and worshipped him. He came as the sorrowing and afflicted came to Christ. They sought relief from their troubles; he longed to be delivered from the awful beings which tyrannized over his soul, He was not wholly evil—not like those who hate the light, neither come to the light. There were men more wicked than he, men possessed with devils in another sense, who had yielded up their wills to the evil one, who would not come to Christ that they might have life. This man came, drawn to Christ by the sense of his own misery, by the attraction of the Saviour's love. But there was a strange power that ruled over him; there was another voice, not his own, but so strangely blended with his being that it seemed his voice. And that voice cried, "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" There were two conflicting wills in him; the one sought Christ, the other was separated from Christ by an impassable barrier; the one hoped for mercy, the other looked only for torment. The devils had no part in Christ, nothing in common with him; there was an intense antagonism between them and the holy Son of God. The poor man, amid all the horrors of his miserable condition, felt that his one hope was in Christ. Christ might save him, only Christ could save him, from the horrible tyranny that oppressed his soul. The power of the devil is broken, but he still goeth about like a roaring lion; still there is a conflict in the heart of man; "the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other." The devil tempts us through the lusts of the flesh. He is strong and we are weak; but Christ is stronger than he. If we come to Christ in earnest prayer, he will cast out the devil; God giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The devils recognized the power of Christ; they knew their own impending doom: "Art thou come to torment us before the time?" Christ must reign; all things must be put under him. Satan must be cast into the abyss, the bottomless pit; the kingdom of darkness must give way to the kingdom of light. "The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."
II. THE DEVILS.
1. Their request. The Lord had said, "Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit." They felt his power; they must obey. But they lingered. If they could no longer torment the men who had been so long their victims, they would, if possible, torment other creatures; the lower, if they were driven from the higher; unclean beasts, if the heart of man was to be cleansed from their defiling presence. And there seems to have been another strange, mysterious reason for their entreaty. They must be cast into the abyss if they could not harass men or animals with their cruel presence.
2. The Lord's permission. He utters one word of command, simple in its majesty—"Go." They must obey him now. They were left free to enter into the swine if so they pleased. We know not why; we know not why they had been allowed to torment the two poor men; we are very ignorant of the whole subject. The personality and power of Satan, the very existence of evil, involve dark mysteries into which we cannot penetrate, difficulties with which we cannot grapple.
III. THE EFFECTS OF THE MIRACLE.
1. Upon the keepers of the swine. They fled. They were frightened by the power of our Lord, not touched by his goodness. They had seen it all, but they were simply terrified. Terror does not save the soul; men fear death, they fear the judgment, they fear the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched. But this mere terror is only selfish; it has nothing really religious in it. Sometimes, by God's grace and mercy, it is made the means of drawing men to Christ. But it is love that saves, and not fear; the love of Christ, not the fear of hell.
2. Upon the inhabitants. They listened to the strange story of the keepers of the swine; they came; they saw the man who had been in such grievous bondage, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind. He was their fellow-creature, perhaps their countryman. He was saved, but the swine were lost. And, alas! they thought more of the swine than of their fellow-citizen; more of their loss than of their own souls. It' they were Jews, they had broken the commandment in keeping these unclean animals; but they did not recognize the loss as a punishment—their heart was not softened. The whole city came out to meet Jesus. They all saw the gracious face of the Redeemer; they knew his power and love. But, alas! "they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts." He took them at their word. He departed; they saw him no more. Let us learn to hate selfishness; let us value, above all things, the glimpses of the Saviour's presence which he from time to time vouchsafes. And, oh! let us shrink from the awful danger of driving him from our hearts by worldliness and selfish greed.
LESSONS.
1. The devil is a cruel master: pray to be saved from his power.
2. The demoniacs came to Christ; the keepers of the swine fled from him. Oh that we learn to come and never leave him!
3. How awful to drive Christ away for the sake of worldly gain! Rather let us, like St. Paul, count all things else as dross, that we may win Christ.
HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY