When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.

Have you ever been face-to-face with pure evil? How about around it? I will never forget the time I sensed, almost smelled, an evil presence at a camp for inner city kids. I was a counselor and as I walked around a building, I could tangibly sense an evil presence. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I prayed.

In this passage, Jesus is presented with evil, and so strong was his relationship with God, his power was recognizable to them from a distance. The hair on the back of these demon’s necks was standing up!

They knew he would cast them out and, in a panic, they asked to be cast out into some pigs. I think they were trying to find the least worst place he could command them to flee to. Maybe they wanted their report back to Satan to be a little bit more palatable?

But unlike these demons, Jesus had compassion. He had compassion for these two men who had been haunted by these demons for a significant time now. So he freed them. He also allowed the demons’ request to be cast into the pigs. For the demons, this might have been the least worst place to be cast. For Jesus, he had another reason for casting them into the pigs, which we shall find out tomorrow.

This passage is very motivating to me. I want to have a close, strong relationship to the Lord at all times, so I can be ready, when evil presents itself, to be full of his Spirit and to cast it away. This allows me to help save people. This is not done by wordy prayers, or repeating certain words over and over again, or naming and claiming certain things from God. It is done with a sincere heart, that has humble confidence and is full of faith, and seeks God‘s power to do the miraculous through a broken vessel.

Lord, I thank you for your compassion for these men. It means you have compassion for me too, when I find myself in a tough spot. It also means you can give me the same kind of power and compassion that Jesus had, to help others who are tormented by evil. You are great and I love serving you!