April 3, 2011

Liberation seems to be the cry in many parts of the world just now. We’re seeing in it Egypt, Libya and in other parts of the middle east. The desire for freedom brings upheaval and dissension. The desire for freedom is kindled because the people of these countries have been under the bondage of autocratic rulers. Of course, the main concern is about who or what is going to replace these autocratic leaders. The French Revolution (1789-1799) ended when Napoleon staged a coup in 1799 and set himself up as First Council. Sometimes the desire for freedom only ends in more bondage.

This morning we are looking at Mt.8:28-34. We find two men in a devastating kind of bondage. You yourself may be in bondage this morning. In this passage we see how these men experienced restoration and freedom. We see that Only Jesus can free us from spiritual bondage.

 I. DO YOU SEE YOUR NEED FOR JESUS? Mt.8:28

After a tiring day of ministry, Jesus got in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. We saw the terrible storm that occurred and how Jesus calmed the wind and the sea. Now Jesus has reached the area on the eastern shore known as the Decapolis. Decapolis refers to a region in which there were ten cites that were predominantly gentile in population. Upon his arrival two men who were demon-possessed came to Jesus.

There’s much that could be said about demon possession. I’m not able to spend a great deal of time discussing it. Some suggest that there was an increase in demonic activity when Jesus was born into the world. Here was God in the flesh revealing the power of God to save. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was an upsurge in demonic activity. Today, many reject any idea of demons and evil spirits. It’s not scientific. Do I believe in the demonic realm? I do! I believe Satan exists and that demons are the angels who rebelled against God with him. They make up the satanic forces of evil. Can they possess people? I think so, but I believe they only come to a person as that person yields himself to the demons. I also believe that demons can oppress believers and interfere with the work of God in this world. C.S. Lewis pointed out two dangers when talking about demons. We must be careful that we don’t dismiss them as myth and we must be careful that we don’t become so absorbed by the demonic that we begin to think demons are the cause of every bad thing that happens.

Now the thing we must see is that these two men were in spiritual bondage. They were in bondage to sin and in bondage to the spiritual forces of darkness. They were unable to free themselves and were so violent that no one could go on the road where they were. You might think, “Whew, I glad I’m not like that!” I’m glad you’re not like that also. But let’s not be too quick to exonerate ourselves. The truth is that all of us are or have been in spiritual bondage. The Bible says that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. We have all gone astray and turned to our own way, refusing to follow God’s ways. We are all born with a sin nature that is quick to rebel against God and his good commands. And here’s the thing: While we might think a demon possessed person will certainly end up in Hell, the reality is that it is sinners who end up in Hell. There are many very nice sinners who will be condemned to Hell because of their sin.

Most of us would probably not disagree with the sentiment that men like Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein will be in Hell. But if you think that because you are not as bad as those guys you won’t end up in Hell, you are wrong. We are all bad enough. We are all sinful enough to be condemned to Hell. And while you may not be possessed by a demon, many people are possessed by immorality, anger, resentment, pornography, destructive habits, pride, gossip, envy, deceit, and disobedience to parents. Your public persona may look great while your heart is corrupt. In Jn.8:34 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” You may not feel that you are a slave to sin, but you are, and only Jesus can help you. These two men desperately needed Jesus, and you are just as desperate as they were.

II. HAVE YOU BEEN RESTORED BY JESUS? Mt.8:29-32

The first phrase literally says, “What to us and you.” In other words, “What have we to do with you?” The point is that these men were saying that there was no common ground between them and JC. True, they were each human but that’s about the only thing they had in common. The reason they had nothing more in common is because they realized that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God in the flesh. Thedemons understood what many humans refuse to accept. They knew exactly who Jesus is.

Consider the next statement: “Have you come to torture us before the appointed time?” The appointed time refers to the judgment at the end of the age. What an interesting choice of words. No mind that the demons had been torturing these two men. No mind that the demons so attached themselves to these men that they were outcast from society and completely under the destructive control of the demons. Spiritual bondage leads to judgment and death. Sin never brings about anything good apart from the redeeming work of God. Sin always leads to death. Jesus didn’t come to torture the demons. Rather he came to restore these two men. Jesus was going to deal with the demons before the appointed time so that these men might be saved before the appointed time of judgment. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus didn’t give the demons a chance to be saved from judgment. Why is that? Well, it’s because their fate was sealed. They were cast out of heaven when they rebelled against God. I point this out in order to emphasize that it’s during our life on earth that we have the opportunity to do something about our eternal destiny. Hebrews 9:27-28 says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Once we die there’s only judgment if we don’t know Christ.

Well the demons begged to be allowed to go into a herd of pigs that were some distance away and Jesus just said, “Go. The demons left the men and entered into the pigs. The pigs made a bee-line for the sea and drowned. Death and destruction is the fruit of sin and Satan. What happened to the men? They were set free from spiritual bondage. They were now in their right mind. They had passed from death unto life. Why, because Jesus restored them. Jesus cleansed them. Jesus made them whole. There was no one else who could release them from the demonic power with a word like Jesus. And there’s no one else who can free you from spiritual bondage. In Jn.8:34-36 we read, “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus is God’s Son who can set you free from the bondage of sin.

The question is, have you been restored by Jesus? In Jn.3:3, Jesus calls it being born again, born from above. Only Jesus can give you his new eternal life to live. But have you received it? Many Church goers think they already have it because they got baptized or because they are decent people. But what makes any of us think that our good deeds can remove our sins? I mean, if someone robbed you and then volunteered at a soup kitchen, would you say, “O, okay, I’m good with that?” I don’t think so. Good deeds don’t take away sin. Sin has to be forgiven and only Jesus can forgive sin. In Mt.11:28, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Jesus gave these men rest for their souls. What about you?

III. WHY WOULD YOU REJECT JESUS? Mt.8:33-34

Now surely we are all amazed to read about how Jesus restored the lives of these men. But my hunch is that you are thinking about those pigs. Mark says there were about 2000 pigs. That’s a lot of pigs. That’s a lot of money!. Of course, the PETA people would have been all over Jesus for disrespecting those pigs. I don’t think that was the issue w the owners of the pigs. When those tending the pigs told the whole town what had happened, the townspeople came and pleaded with Jesus to leave their area.

This is pretty significant. Before Jesus restored the lives of these men, no one could walk anywhere near them because they would be overpowered and beaten up. Now these men could actually become an asset in the town. However that’s not how the townspeople saw it. When they went out to meet Jesus, instead of thanking him for the wonderful miracle, they asked him to leave. They were uncomfortable with having Jesus around them. Jesus had a lot of power. Not only that, but the loss of that many pigs was a financial fiasco. Bottom line, they didn’t like what Jesus was doing. They didn’t want the changes Jesus was bringing. Now, I realize 2000 pigs is worth a significant amount of money. How do we justify what Jesus did? Let me give a few observations.

First, let’s point out that Jesus is nature’s master and owner and it is his to do with as he sees fit. I realize that may not be a satisfying answer, but it does help to give us a bigger picture of what is going on. A second observation is that we are forced to consider the relative value of the pigs in light of having two lives made whole by Jesus. We might wonder about these 2000 pigs, but what about the millions of sheep, goats and bulls sacrificed for the sins of the people of Israel? Shouldn’t that bother us as well? And shortly Jesus would give his own life of infinite value for the whole world. Are we bothered more about the loss of the pigs or about the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God? He died for us. A third observation is that, if anything, the loss of the pigs reveals the values of the people. Clearly they were more interested in temporal matters than they were in eternal matters.

They pleaded with Jesus to leave. “Please leave! You are disturbing our life. Please leave! You are hurting our economy. We don’t want what you have to offer, Jesus” So the question is do you want the new eternal life that Jesus has to offer, or do you want to hang on to what you’ve got? If you reject Jesus, it’s because you think your present condition is better than the life Jesus offers. You see, whenever Jesus restores a life to spiritual wholeness there are significant changes. Our values begin to change. We begin to leave the old sinful ways and begin to live according to God’s ways, revealed in the Bible. You cannot turn to Jesus and remain the same. The old, sinful behaviors pass away and new, God honoring behaviors come. If you don’t know Jesus, you need him. O you are free to reject him. But why would you reject Jesus?

That’s the question each of us needs to think about. Why would you reject Jesus? Many of you have not rejected Jesus You have repented of your sin and called upon Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior and Lord. But some of you have not done this. If you don’t turn to Jesus then you must think you have a better way. But what could be better than receiving the gift of eternal life in the kingdom of God? Dear friend, won’t you call upon Jesus and be saved today? Amen.