What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?

 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 came 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 (in Capernaum), 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 came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.  My study bible says that the demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God, and are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Typically, the demons show great malice, but even they can do nothing against the will of God.  They 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; such destructive forces would have resulted in their deaths under the demonic influence.  We should keep in mind that for the Jews, these are unclean and unlawful animals.   These swineherds and the people who begged Jesus to depart their region are likely Jews who are unlawfully raising swine for money in this region mixed with Gentiles.  They care much more about the loss of the swine than the healing of these formerly demon-possessed men.  My study bible says the suicidal destruction of the swine emphasizes the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice.  Indeed, Jesus and the disciples have crossed a frighteningly stormy sea to come here.

Jesus has traveled across the Sea of Galilee to come to this place.  It's seemingly a God-forsaken place, and these men are perhaps like some in the world we can see who are tormented by circumstances, by the things that plague and ail, by demons we don't see.  But perhaps what's important here is that Jesus comes to this place.  It's a sign of the Incarnation, an image we're given that Jesus will go to the far off ends of the earth, away from what we know as civilized, even into the realm of the dead here among the tombs, to reclaim life and to heal human beings.  In becoming a human being, Jesus is able to come and to be with us, to influence our communities, to come to the places where we live regardless of how far off they may seem from something appropriate to Christ, to redeem and to set things right.  It's a picture of a world dominated by malice, by things that cause destruction and harm, people tormented and fears that challenge us -- but He's here to put those problems in their place and render appropriate judgment, to let us know what is right and to teach us how we may be healed, even to wake us out of complacency with what is surely harmful.  The people of the town, we note, have their say.  They beg Jesus to leave.  They prefer their livelihood of the swine to the awesome change and healing in the formerly demon-possessed men.  Perhaps that was what they were used to, and leaving the men in the tombs to live a life of destruction was just acceptable.  But Christ comes to give us new ideals and values and to wake us from what is just acceptable.  Evangelization, in this image, is bringing the good news to all for each one to choose which version of life they prefer.  This is the purpose of the apostolic mission that will come and is ongoing, and we still have that choice, along with the plagues that ail and torment human beings and the violence of the world that denies that there is more to life than what we do for livelihood and material prosperity or property.  Let us make careful consideration before we dismiss this strange, even unusual, story, and consider how many elements here resemble the world in which we live today.  We still have the choice with which He presents us, and the good news He brings, whether others around us accept it, relish it, desire it, or not.  So much depends on where we choose to take our security and place our trust.