NOTES for Mat 8:28-34

The incident described by the evangelists, when the residents of an entire city asked the Lord Jesus Christ to leave because His presence frightened them and interfered with their occupations, that is, their "business," could seem exotic. Of course, this is the reaction of pagans, and it is hard to expect anything else from them...

But in essence almost every person experiences something similar at certain moments. Fortunately, we do not always behave as the Gergesenes did, but temptations of this kind hardly pass anyone by. It must be said that history developed in such a way that, after the 3rd century A.D., almost no one dared openly ask the Lord Jesus to leave.

Instead, according to the "pattern" described by the evangelists, "nominal" or "three-time" Christianity is born in us. That is when a person meets God three times: at his baptism, wedding, and funeral service. It is important to keep in mind that nominalism is only secondarily a social and religious phenomenon that afflicts society. First of all, it afflicts the individual person, and the evangelists' account helps us see this not so much in others as in ourselves.