Matthew 8:34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought [him] that he would depart out of their coasts.
When one reads this incident of Jesus delivering 2 men having a legion of spirits near Gergesenes (meaning ‘reward at the end’), we are amazed at how He did it so coolly. But in the end, we see the city together came out to chase Him away.
The reason one will understand when they realise the similar incident mentioned in Mark 5 in the same place in the same fashion, but happened after 2 years. Then, too, they again pleaded with Jesus not to enter their city.
A historian who traced all the events in the life of Jesus tracked the event of Matthew 8:28-9:1 to AD27. This after He gave the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1-7:29 and healed a leper, Matthew 8:24, followed by His confrontation mentioned in Matthew 8:18-22.
The event mentioned in Mark 5:1-21 happened in 30AD. Since both incidents happened in the same place and in a similar fashion, people think there is an error in recording one and two men having this problem.
The problem was not isolated to a few; this city was suffering demons and was content with them, but when things got out of hand, they tied those people in caves. In both incidents, the men wanted help and approached Jesus, but the city they lived in did not. It is for this reason that Jesus did not enter the city. Jesus helped the men (the 1 and the 2) from legions of spirits, but did not go into the city to help others.
One can be delivered from one’s problem only when one reaches out to the Lord. Most of the time, we suffer our problems because we enjoy having them; we may cry, but deep within, we hold on to them tightly. Without them, we will be lost; we continually worship them (keep bringing them to mind). The other reason is that we want the Lord to address part of the problem and not the whole. We want the Lord to address the elephant while we hold on to its tail.
Let us understand that it is only when we totally surrender and do not hold to any part of it for the Lord will deliver us from it. We need to hate it to be free of it.
[Prayer Starter]
Lord, You are Almighty God. You, Lord, are Merciful God. You, Lord, are our Father, our Creator, Protector and Provider. Many a time, we love our problems, even though we cry about them, yet we hold on to them. It is we who prevent You from delivering us from it. Lord, we pray we understand we need to hate our problems to be set free from them…
This prayer we make in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
[Reference Scriptures]
Matthew 8:28-29
28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
Mark 5:1-4
1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 Who had [his] dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any [man] tame him.
Dated 12 April 2026
Bro Rollwyn