Title: The All-Encompassing Authority of Jesus Christ 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?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. Matthew 8:28-34 The Authority of Jesus Over the Spiritual And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. Mark 5:3-5 And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed, His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo! his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him. Martin Luther …What He did was give a living demonstration of the deliverance of those two men that no one would ever forget. At the same time, it did demonstrate the destructive nature of demons. For when demons hit those pigs, instantly they were all destroyed. And I believe it gave to the demons a preview of their own coming destruction... I believe that He wanted a living proof that those demons came out of those men. And He sent them into those animals, that those animals might put on a demonstration that nobody would ever forget. John MacArthur The Authority of Jesus Over the Material Realm The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8b