CHARACTER STUDY ~ THE MAN OF GADARA

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Our study shall be on the man of Gadara recorded in Luke 8:26-39 & Matthew 8:28-34. Unfortunately, his real name was never given in the passage except for Legion the demon that lived in him. He encountered Jesus, was delivered from the powers of darkness and was tasked to proclaim what the Lord had done for him. 


Some Characteristics of the Man of Gadara:

✔ The man of Gadara was mad and evil-possessed as well. He wore no clothes, nor lived in a house but in the tombs. In as much as we see the insane physically unclothe and have no regard for it if one is spiritually insane, such a person is no different from this man. We need to ask Christ to clothe us spiritually.   

✔ The demon in the man controls him and decides his fate. It is stated that oftentimes, the demon seized him while he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Failure to allow the power of God to control your life is a direct access for the devil to do so.   

✔ The demon in the man of Gadara showed that demons can speak. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” Dear beloved in the Lord, beware of your engagement with evil spirits lest they ruin your destiny. 

✔ The demons in the man were cast into the herd of swine feeding on the mountain because they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them and He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. We ought to understand that those swine died and so swine have no evil in them to possess anyone who eats them. Not what you eat defiles you but rather the evil words that proceed from your mouth by your heart. 

✔ The man of Gadara whom the demons had departed, sat at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. You cannot encounter Jesus and not have a transformed life. Those who knew him saw it and were afraid.

✔ The people of the city asked Jesus to leave their region. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

✔ A lesson from the delivered man of Gadara is that you do not need to be a pastor or a church leader to proclaim who Christ is. Proclaim Christ with your testimonies. 

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