Healing of the Two People from Gedaren (Gergesen) (Matthew 8:23-34)

[Stephan Choe]

April 6, 2026

Key Verse 32: “And he said, ‘Go out!’ So they went out and entered the swine. And behold, the whole flock rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and they drowned in the water.”

Throughout our lives, we often encounter various storms and demonic forces. Often, we are at a loss when faced with such problems. But there is one who can surely help us: Jesus Christ.

Today, we want to learn about the calming of the storm and the healing of the people from Gergesen. Through this, we want to experience who Jesus is and what power he has. We want to personally receive this Jesus into our hearts and experience his power.

Sea of Galilee, from here Tiberias [1]

  1. Jesus Calms the Storm (23-27)  

Jesus got into a boat, and his disciples followed him. The Sea of ​​Galilee, at 212 meters below sea level, is the lowest freshwater lake in the world. It is 21 kilometers long and 13 kilometers wide. After the Dead Sea (around 420 meters below sea level), the Sea of ​​Galilee is the second deepest body of water on Earth.   While Jesus' disciples were rowing the boat across the lake, a violent storm arose, so that their boat was almost completely submerged by waves.

Such storms are not uncommon on the Sea of ​​Galilee. To the north of the lake lies Mount Hermon, which is snow-covered and 2,814 meters high. This mountain is about 100 kilometers from the Sea of Galilee. From this mountain, the cold wind comes along the Jordan Valley and meets the warm wind from the south at the Sea of ​​Galilee. That's why a hurricane often suddenly arises on the Sea of Galilee.

Faced with the storm wind, Jesus' disciples tried their best to control the boat, but in vain. The waves raged, and the boat was soon filled with water. All their skill was exhausted. The boat would soon sink. The disciples were terrified and panicked.   But what was Jesus doing during this time? Despite the raging sea, he was sleeping peacefully (24).

He was exhausted because he had been teaching and healing many sick people all day. Moreover, he had complete trust in his heavenly Father. Jesus was the last hope of the panicked disciples.

They woke him and said, "Lord, help us, we're going to drown!" We can easily understand the disciples' panicked reaction. If I had been one of the disciples, I would have reacted exactly the same way. Jesus woke up and wanted to help them.

How did he help them? He said to them, "You of little faith, why are you afraid?" Why did he speak such a harsh word to them?  

To truly understand Jesus' words, we need to understand what Jesus meant by them. Jesus didn't call his disciples "unbelievers," but rather "people of little faith." According to the Duden dictionary, "people of little faith" means "anxious, doubting people without firm trust."

The disciples' lack of faith contrasted sharply with the great faith of the Roman centurion in Acts 8:10. Jesus had said of the centurion's faith, "I have not found anyone in Israel with such faith!"  

Why did Jesus rebuke his disciples? They believed in him as the Christ, but their faith was still small. Faced with the storm, they became fearful and panicked. Jesus wanted them to overcome their limited faith and develop a great faith. Therefore, he wanted to teach them about great faith through the storm. He wanted them to firmly believe in him as the Son of God, who has power over heaven and earth, death and life. Jesus doesn't want us to remain people of little faith. Rather, he wants us to have a great faith in God and Jesus Christ. He wants us to trust firmly in God despite the storms.  

Let's look at the second part of verse 26. It says, “And he got up and rebuked the wind and the sea, and it was completely calm.” According to the Gospel of Mark, he commanded the sea: “Peace be still!” And the wind died down, and there was a great calm (Mark 4:39). So Jesus used the storm to teach his disciples faith in him.  

Verse 27 tells us the disciples' reaction:

“The people were amazed and said, ‘What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’”  

This story teaches us, first, that Jesus is the Son of God. When Jesus commanded the wind and the storm to be still, they obeyed him. Why did they obey him? Because Jesus is the Son of God and the incarnate Creator God. That is why heaven and earth obeyed his word.

We are to believe in Jesus as the incarnate Creator God and Son of God. God is the Creator of all things. Unfortunately, no one can truly see God. But Jesus Christ revealed God to us, as John 1:18 says: “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Christ, who is God and is in the bosom of the Father, he has revealed God to us.”  

I've already told you that until I was 20 years old, I couldn't believe in God's existence because I couldn't see God. But I was able to believe in God after I came to believe in Jesus Christ as the incarnate God. So: We are to believe in Jesus as the incarnate God, or Son of God. Because Jesus is the incarnate God, he had no sin. But he took all our sins upon himself and became the true atoning sacrifice for all people. And he rose from the dead through the power of God and ascended into heaven.  

The story of Jesus calming the storm teaches us, secondly, that Jesus has God's power. He has the power of God. That is why he created heaven and earth through his word. What he says happens. This God came into the world as a man (John 1:14). He revealed himself as God by speaking a word, and his word was fulfilled. When he said to the wind and the sea, “Peace and be still!” “The wind died down, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39). When he blessed five loaves and two fish, the loaves and fish multiplied so that more than 5,000 people could eat their fill. And when he said to a dead man named Lazarus, who had been dead and buried four days earlier, “Lazarus, come out!” the dead man came out of the tomb alive (John 11:43-44).

Jesus has power over life and death, nature and humanity, and hell and heaven (Revelation 1:18). We are to believe in his omnipotence. Under all circumstances, we are to firmly believe in the power of Christ. It may be that Jesus doesn't always come to our aid immediately, even though we have cried out for his help. But he is not deaf. He hears all our requests and will surely fulfill them in his own time and way.  

The Bible teaches us that Jesus is God incarnate and the Son of God and that he is almighty and merciful. Out of mercy, he helped his disciples in the midst of the storm. Out of mercy, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Through God's omnipotence, he then rose from the dead. We are to believe in and confess Jesus as God incarnate and the Son of God. We are also to believe in his omnipotence and mercy. Jesus Christ will surely help us when we need his help.  

In the course of life, we occasionally encounter life's storms. It might be a serious illness, a financial problem, or a death. But we should remember that Jesus Christ is with us. He will surely help us and give us peace and joy. Every crisis is an opportunity for us to firmly believe in Jesus Christ and experience his help. He is God's power and his comfort. He is life and peace. He gives us victory and the Kingdom of Heaven. Praise God, who gives us victory in Jesus Christ.    

2. Jesus Frees Two Possessed Men from Gergesa (28-34)  

Jesus and his disciples sailed to the eastern shore of the Sea of ​​Galilee. What is the name of the place where Jesus and his disciples landed? In the Luther Bible, the place is called Gadara, as indicated by the heading "The Healing of the Two Possessed Men from Gadarene."

However, in the ancient manuscripts of the three Gospels, the place is called Gadara, Gerasa, or Gergesa, depending on the source. Gadara is located 10 km southeast of the Sea of ​​Galilee, and Gerasa is 60 km south. In 1970, however, excavations in Gergesa (modern-day el-Kursi) uncovered a very old port facility. Gergesa lies directly on the shore of the lake opposite Capernaum. There, the slope descends to the water's edge. Furthermore, there are several caves that most likely served as burial sites. Thus, the site fits the biblical account of the healing of the possessed men perfectly. Therefore, we may believe that Jesus healed the possessed not in Gadara, but in Gergesa.

Thus, the reliability of the biblical account has been confirmed once again by these excavations.

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See Genesareth and Gergesah [2]  

Also, Jesus and his disciple reached Gergesah, the eastern shore of the Sea of ​​Galilee, by boat.

At that time, Greeks, not Jews, lived on the eastern side of the Sea of ​​Galilee. The Jews did not tend pigs because they considered them unclean. But the Greeks loved pork, so they tended herds of pigs there.  

When Jesus came ashore, he encountered two men possessed by demons. These demon-possessed men were living in ancient, half-ruined tombs hewn into the rock. Such tombs were considered unclean by the Jews but good dwellings for the demon-possessed. These demon-possessed men were very dangerous, so no one could pass by on that road (28). People had tried to bind them with shackles and chains. Demonic possession gave them extraordinary strength so that they broke chains and shattered shackles, and no one could control them (see Mark 5:3-5).

Demon possession is, then as now, a reality. But we don't need to dwell too much on this dark power. Instead, we should focus on Jesus Christ. For Jesus is the Son of God and is far stronger than demons or Satan. Let us now learn how much stronger Jesus is against demonic power.  

How did these possessed men react when they saw Jesus? Normally, they shouted to attack others. But this time, they cried out for a different reason: “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” The demons were terrified of Jesus because they knew exactly who Jesus was. He is the Son of God. Here we see that even demons recognized Jesus as the Son of God! They must obey him, but not out of love for him, but out of fear of him.   Many people don't want to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. But demons do believe in Jesus as the Son of God. They simply don't want to obey him. If we don't love Jesus and don't want to obey him, we will easily fall into the devil's trap. We should believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, love him, and obey him wholeheartedly.  

The demons protested against Jesus: "Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?" By this, the demons meant that Jesus wanted to destroy demons before the time appointed by God. For the Bible says that Jesus Christ came into the world to proclaim the Good News to all people. This Christ rose from the dead after his death and ascended into heaven. When he returns, he will judge the world and condemn Satan, demons, and unbelievers to hell. On the other hand, he will welcome all believers into the Kingdom of Heaven. This is called the Second Coming of Christ. Until the Second Coming, Satan and demons have some time to work. The demons in the Gergesenes also protested that Jesus was going against God's established plan. The demons told them to leave them alone. But they knew that Jesus is the Son of God and much more powerful than they were. When Jesus says something, they must obey him.  

There was a large herd of pigs in the pasture (31). The demons begged Jesus, “If you will drive us out, let us go into the herd of pigs.” And Jesus said to them, “Go out!” What happened when Jesus spoke this word? The whole herd of pigs rushed down the bank into the lake, and they died in the water.

The swineherds witnessed this dramatic scene and were terrified. But they saw that the two demon-possessed men had been freed from the demons and had become quite lovely. Before, the two had stripped naked, cried out loudly day and night, and beaten each other with stones (Mark 5; Luke 8). Now they dressed sensibly and were sensible and lovely. The swineherds hurried to their town and told them about the drowning of the herd of pigs and the deliverance of the demon-possessed men.  

This event vividly illustrates that satanic power drives everything toward death, but Jesus Christ frees people from the power of the devil and from the power of death. Then the whole town came to Jesus. Did they want to accept Jesus as their Christ and celebrate the deliverance of the two possessed men? No! They weren't rejoicing over the healing of the possessed men; instead, they were only thinking about the loss of their herd of pigs. For them, pigs were more important than human lives. Therefore, they asked Jesus to leave their territory. So Jesus had to leave their territory and return to Capernaum (9:1).  

Let's assume we were residents of Gergesah. What should we choose now: Jesus or our herd of pigs? Do we want people to be freed from the power of the devil or primarily to avoid losing our possessions? Do we want Jesus to enter our lives, or to remain as old people without Jesus?

Everyone should make a clear decision. If we choose to welcome Jesus Christ, he will cast out all evil powers and restore us as reasonable people and children of God. We can receive heavenly peace and God's Spirit and enjoy the blessings of being children of God. We should not be foolish like the inhabitants of Gergesah. We should be wise and welcome Jesus.    

Jesus' Person and Power  

But why should we choose Jesus? Jesus showed us by calming the sea that he is God incarnate and the Son of God. Therefore, he has the power to calm the raging Sea of ​​Galilee and cast out demons. He has power over life and death, nature and humanity, and hell and heaven (Revelation 1:18). We should believe in his omnipotence. And then, in him, we can enjoy true freedom as children of God. We should praise him and proclaim his name to the whole world. All people should come to know Jesus Christ and accept him. Hallelujah, Amen!

[1] http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/pilgerreise-in-israel-mit-dem-fahrrad-um-den-see-genezareth-fotostrecke-88989-4.html

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[2] http://www.freesundayschoollessons.org/images/map-swine.jpg