Bed Judgment?
Matthew 8:28-34
Sometimes, you wonder, did you do the right thing?
Photo by Justin Wolff on Unsplash
When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. The demons begged him, “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And he said to them, “Go!” So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. - Matthew 8:28-34
I have always been fascinated by this story, because Jesus is led into this problem by demons and not by the individual suffering from them.
It doesn’t even say that the demoniacs were inhabiting humans. They were in the tomb, preventing people from passing.
So, Jesus decided that he could cast them out and make the journey for everyone safer.
How did that work for him?
I don’t mean to sound flippant, but really, what was gained?
The local herdsmen hated him for destroying their pigs, and we have no idea if anyone in the town cared.
Sometimes we think what we are doing is right, and in one sense it is, but in another, it may not be.
The people were living with these demoniacs. It was Jesus who saw the situation as bad, needing to be fixed.
How often do we find ourselves in a similar situation?
I am not sure what the lesson is here. Jesus was almost killed for doing the right thing, because the people saw it as horribly wrong.
That tells me to think twice before acting, which is not what Jesus might have wanted from me.
There are consequences to everything, as we can see today in world politics. Keeping the status quo may keep us in never-ending battles, but it is what people have grown accustomed to.
Ending it all is viewed as disruptive and unwanted.
I’m not making this a political discussion, but I can better understand why people don’t take action.
We don’t want the consequences of upsetting the status quo.
Jesus showed us that he did that. That alone is food for thought.
More to come...