Suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"

 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city cam out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

- Matthew 8:28-34

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

  When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city cam out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.  My study bible says, "The demons, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Though the malice of the demons is great, they can do nothing against the will of God, and thus can only enter the swine at Christ's command.  The immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men had been protected by God's care; otherwise, they would have perished under the demonic influence.  Further, it reinforces that swineherding was not lawful for the Jews, and shows the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice."

Today's reading has so many elements to it, and also this story appears in slightly different form in other gospels.  One thing we take note of here in Matthew's reporting of the story is this seemingly God-forsaken place that Jesus has come to, on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, away from home territory.  Jesus has led His disciples through a frightening storm to this place, among the tombs, so symbolic of death and the underworld, the place of the dead.  Two demoniacs who live among the tombs, away from the city, because they are so fierce and wild, are the ones who meet Jesus and the disciples in this place so far away, so wild, so far apart from what is considered civilized by God's word in the sight of the Jews.  But Jesus has come here to save them.  And another element is introduced here.  Almost shockingly, the demons recognize Jesus, they know who He is.  There is something quite familiar about this place, after all.  They know Jesus, they know His spiritual Kingdom, they know about the Judgment to come.  Here in a place so far away from anything familiar to the disciples, so seemingly God-forsaken, there is a mysterious presence that speaks of understanding, even if it is from the demons, those who expect to be cast out at the time of the Judgment.  There is no place that Jesus can go where there isn't an element familiar with Him, with who He is, with His work -- even if it is that place of abandonment, where these demons occupy the poor men who must live among the tombs.  So Matthew's Gospel introduces us to this spiritual reality, in this place, where we are to understand Jesus has come to establish His order, to save human beings no matter where they are or who they are among or what their lives are like.  There is no place He doesn't go.  In today's Epistle reading, St. Paul writes:  "To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  Therefore He says:  'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.'  (Now this, 'He ascended'—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?  He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)" -- Ephesians 4:7-10 NKJV.  (St. Paul quotes from Psalm 68:18.)  This image of Jesus coming among the tombs, to these demon-possessed men, in a place so foreign to the Jews, so seemingly "without God," is a picture of what St. Paul writes about here:  that He has both ascended and descended, He has gone everywhere to everyone, even the seemingly God-forsaken, to "lead captivity captive" in St. Paul's words.  This is the element we take away for today, that Christ will go anywhere and everywhere, even to this place among the tombs, among a people who keep swine (to the Jews, unclean animals) and who wish only for Jesus to leave after this miraculous healing, this example of what He does in "leading captivity captive."   Let us remember this always.  Not only is He with us, but when we face a seeming adversity that we can't name nor understand, He is there to help us to be set free, wherever we may find ourselves -- even among people who care more for swine than human beings.  Let us remember that He is the one who gives commands, even to that which may torment us.