Jesus Does The Inevitable

The shores of the Gadarenes witnessed something unprecedented that day. Two men, so possessed and tormented by demons that they had become legends of terror in their community, encountered the Son of God (Matthew 8: 28-34). What happened next reveals profound truths about God’s intervention in our lives.

The situation was not ordinary. These weren't ordinary troubled individuals. Matthew describes them as "so violent that no one could pass that way." The parallel accounts in Mark and Luke focus on the demoniac whose condition was so severe that chains couldn't hold him, and he lived among the tombs, crying out and cutting himself; and seemingly beyond all hope of restoration.

This mirrors countless situations we face today. Consider the stories that seem impossible: the addict who has been through rehabilitation programs multiple times, the marriage that appears irreparably broken, the chronic illness that has defeated every treatment, or the financial situation that has spiralled completely out of control. Like the townspeople who avoided that road entirely, we often conclude that some situations are simply beyond redemption; we avoid and pretend as though we are not seeing it or not aware of it.

miracles of jesus, impossible, inevitable.

Yet when Jesus steps onto that shore, what was impossible for people becomes inevitable for Jesus. He had to do something, he finds people isolated, bound in chains, and the town’s people go about busy with their business. A deeper look at the event will make us understand that Jesus not just work the impossible, but he did the inevitable.

Perhaps the most disturbing element of this account is the townspeople's misplaced priorities, and lack of response. Faced with an undeniable miracle—two men completely restored to sanity and wholeness—they focus instead on their economic loss and ask Jesus to leave. Their reaction reveals how easily we can value the material over the miraculous, the temporary over the eternal. Though it might look unfair, it was inevitable that Jesus disturbs their priorities, business and livelihood.

Did Jesus’ intervention bear fruit? Yes indeed. In mark 7 Jesus returned back to this region. And what do we see? We don't see people grumbling about their drowned pigs, we don't see demoniacs there, but instead we see faith-filled people. They came to listen to him, they brought to him their sick and challenged people. If you remember, Mark's account (Mark 5) had added a crucial detail often overlooked: when the healed man begged to follow Jesus, Christ told him instead to "go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you." This is the ripple effects: this man became the first missionary to the Decapolis, a region of ten predominantly Gentile cities. The one who had been an object of fear became an agent of hope, preparing the way for Jesus's ministry to expand beyond boundaries.

Some times the pigs, which could be our comfort, option, philosophy, perspective, businesses, and so on are drowned by God that we move on to radical restoration. Miracles for us are what perpetuates our comfort, power, and wealth; but for Jesus they are inevitable interventions into our lives: like the Gadarenes, at times we protest, but Jesus knows what he is doing.

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