Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Matthew 8:28-34), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• For the followers of Jesus (who were mostly Jews at the time), going to a place where there were violent, tomb-dwelling, demon-filled men, and also pig-farming Gentiles with their giant herd (2000 pigs), was like walking into a nightmare. In many ways, this place represented the spiritual uncleanness and death that has characterized the whole world because of our sin. In our sin, we have chosen death (separation from God). It is good for Jesus to take his followers into this place, to reveal what the world is really like, to expose our own choice of death to us. What are some specific ways in which you have sinned recently? How have you essentially chosen death (separation from God) in these sins? Do you often think of your sin as choosing death? Why or why not? What kind of nightmares have come true in the world because of your sins?

• The demons know they are powerless before Jesus. The spirits of fear and death are afraid of him. This is evident from his mere presence—he doesn’t have to say anything, he just shows up and the demons cower and beg. This is because his presence as the one who is God-With-Us (Immanuel) overthrows the power of demons, the power of death (separation from God). The demons thrive off of fear and death, but Jesus is the Lord of life and love, come to defeat them. What does it mean to you, personally, that Jesus is God-With-Us? What difference does it make to your life? to the way you think about God? to your hopes and fears? to the way you relate to others?

• The demons delight to do harm to the local community by destroying their economy (drowning the giant herd of pigs). Jesus didn’t have to allow this to happen, but he did. He is the same Lord who allowed Satan to ruin Job’s life, destroying his livestock and even killing his children. The Lord allowed this in Job’s life to arrange a meeting with Job, and Jesus allowed the demons to destroy the herd of pigs to arrange for a meeting with the townsfolk. They resented the opportunity. Jesus’ presence was distressing to them, as it had been to the demons. The townsfolk begged Jesus to leave them alone, just like the demons had begged. And Jesus gave them what they wanted, just like he did the demons. Jesus presented them with a choice between spiritual life with him and spiritual death in separation from him, and they chose death, preferring a comfortable existence to the fellowship of Jesus. Can you relate to the townsfolk? Have you ever experienced Jesus as distressing? Do you love your earthly comfort and security so much that you’d beg Jesus to leave you alone with it? Or are you thankful for opportunities Jesus arranges for you to meet him and know him? When you encounter loss, do you cherish your fellowship with Jesus there? When he allows good things in your life to come to an end, do you still choose life with him (see Habakkuk 3:17-18)?