“And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?’” – Matthew 8:28-29
Isn’t it interesting that demons know EXACTLY Who Jesus is? They KNOW beyond a shadow of doubt that He’s the Son of God. They also know the end of their story – that He’ll come in power to utterly defeat all the forces of Satan. That’s what they mean about coming to torment them “before the time”. What surprises them is that God’s Kingdom began to break into the world with the first coming of Jesus. Despite that surprise about His timing, they clearly still know the big picture.
Nonetheless, they can’t bring themselves to obey Jesus, submit to Jesus, or worship Jesus. They have plenty of knowledge about Jesus but won’t follow Him. Unfortunately, there are many people like that today, including in churches. They know plenty of facts about Jesus, but won’t follow Him. They might know what He taught and they might like what He taught. They might think highly of Him as a social reformer or prophet but won’t yield to Him as Lord. Unfortunately, mere knowledge about Jesus doesn’t do anyone any good.
To receive the benefits of knowing Jesus, each person must choose to believe in Him with a faith that produces repentance and obedience. His regular invitation was to truly follow Him. That’s the step the demons wouldn’t take. Have you taken that step? If not, what holds you back? If so, who in your life also needs to take that step? Pray for them and help them to #FollowJesus