Preaching Of The Cross Campus Ministry

Word for Every Day, June 25, 2026

And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when He went forth to land, there met Him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs (Lk. 8:26-27).

As stated in other accounts, every miracle of healing that Jesus performed was not only for the person or persons involved, but also was meant to teach a great spiritual truth. The deliverance of the maniac of Gadara presents an excellent example.

Matthew mentions two demoniacs; but, Mark and Luke, mention one. If there were two, there certainly was one. He is here individualized as being probably both the fiercer and better known of the two; he also alone asked to be permitted to remain with the Lord, becoming an effective Preacher. The other demoniac presented no such peculiar interests and is, therefore, not mentioned by Mark or Luke.

The man described by Luke was demon-possessed, so controlled by demons, in fact, that he could no longer function in society. He wore no clothes, cut himself with stones (Mk. 5:5), and dwelt in tombs among the dead bodies. Spiritually speaking, this is a perfect description of much of the world. They are controlled by demon spirits; death, in many and varied ways, is the result, i.e., all unredeemed, in a sense, are dead while they live (I Tim. 5:6).

According to the Scripture, when the demoniac saw Jesus, he ran and worshipped Him (Mk. 5:6). This tells us that demon spirits worship the Lord more than many who call themselves “Christians." When Jesus questioned him, asking him his name, he answered, "Legion." This means that a host of demon spirits occupied this man, at least 2,000 (Mk. 5:13).

The demons asked if they could go into the swine which were nearby, and Jesus permitted them to do so. Upon the entrance of the demons, the swine immediately ran into the lake and were drowned.

The only answer for possessed, dissipated, disconcerted, displaced humanity is the Lord Jesus Christ. To be sure, humanistic psychology holds no answer whatsoever.

Jesus Alone holds the answer; but, regrettably, psychology is preached in most Churches, and Jesus little, if at all!

The Gadarenes took no interest in the Salvation from Satan's power of a fellow human being, but they viewed the loss of their property, i.e., the hogs, with deep concern.

They have many successors today the deliverance of people from the powers of darkness, be it alcohol, drugs, etc., excites no one in the world, but the destruction of a distillery by fire causes much excitement.

The delivered man wanted to come and be with Jesus, which is easy to understand; however, Jesus told him to go and “Show what great things God has done for you." The young ruler was commanded to follow Christ (Mk. 10:21); the l***r was forbidden to speak of Christ (Mk. 1:43); but the former demoniac was ordered to publish what great things Jesus had done for him.

The Expositor's Word for Every Day. Baton Rouge, LA: World Evangelism Press, 2005