THE KING’S BUSINESS
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weak mortal to slow self-destruction, but at the same time shivering with fear in the presence of the Son of God—that is the real devil. The wonderful cure brought the whole city out to meet Jesus, but when they saw Him they did not want Him. They besought Him that He would depart from their borders (v. 34). Doubtless they feared that some more hogs might be de stroyed. They cared more for their hogs than they did for their Saviour. They have The power of Jesus is brought out in still another way in this chapter—His power or authority to forgive sins, and His power to open blind eyes and to raise the dead. ■We shall study this incident again when we come to the book of Mark, and there we shall find many significant details which Matthew omits. It was because of just one thing that Jesus granted this man what they sought and more than they sought, and that one thing was their faith. There is infinite fullness in our Lord Jestis, but it is only for those who believe. Their faith was the faith which could receive. It was a faith that manifested itself in their works. Their faith was very simple. It was not a philosophical opinion, but simply an abso lute confidence in the Lord Jesus that He could and would help that led them to bring the helpless case of their friend to Him. Of course, logically that involves faith in the Deity of Jesus Christ Himself, but these men were not theologians, and had metaphysical questions about the Deity of Christ and about the Trinity been asked them, they would have been all at sea; but they did believe in Jesus Himself with all their hearts. Jesus forgave the man’s sin before He healed his palsy. The need of forgiveness was a sorer need and a deeper need than the need of healing. Sin must be gotten rid of before his sickness could. If we would remove misery we must first remove sin. The great defect of modern philanthropy and social service is that it many imitators today. Monday, January 25. Matthew 9:1-8.
Sunday, January 24. Matthew 8:28-34.
Gerasa was a city in a half heathen terri tory. God was dishonored there and there fore we might expect to find the devil do ing his best to torment and debase. To get a complete picture of the degradation and misery of this man we have to go to Mat thew, Mark and Luke. Matthew tells us that by reason of his fierceness he made the way impassable; Luke, that he wore no clothes, and that there had been ineffectual attempts to chain and tame him, and that he made day and night hideous by his cries, as he vented his horrid rage upon himself, cutting himself with stones, and that he dwelt in tombs. This shows how terrible is the dominion of the devil. If he can work such misery upon earth, what will hell be? No man had strength to tame this demoniac (Mark 5:4), but Jesus had. It does not do to conclude that because no man can tame some victim of the devil that therefore he cannot be tamed. There is more power in the word of Jesus than in man’s chains or blows. What a strange commingling of the human and the demoniacal. It was the de mons within them that enabled these two demoniacs to recognize Jesus as the “Son of God” ; it was the human need and long ing that led them to Jesus; and the demons within again that led to the awful cry of rage and despair (v. 29). The souls of these men were in utter and hopeless con fusion of impulses contending now heaven wards, now hellwards. It was a striking illustration of what modern psychologists call a “dual personality,” but most psychol ogists have not arrived at the true explana tion, which is the Biblical one—a human personality controlled by a demon person ality. The demons knew full well, though men less wise doubt, that there is an ap pointed time and place of torment (v. 29, cf. Matt. 25:41). The utmost they dared hope for was to ask for a brief respite. There is here none of the haughty and al most noble pride that Milton pictures in the fallen angels—nothing but foiled, cower ing and contemptible malice, driving a poor,
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