Matthew 4:25

Decapolis] i.e. 'ten towns,' a region beyond Jordan, containing originally ten allied or federated cities, among which were Gadara, Pella, Gerasa, and Damascus. It was part of Peræa, and its inhabitants were mainly Greeks.

Note on Diabolical Possession

In the NT. disease, except when it is a special visitation from God (Hebrews 12:6), is regarded as the work of Satan (Matthew 9:32; Matthew 12:22; Luke 11:14; Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38, etc.). In particular, nervous diseases and insanity are represented as due to diabolical possession. This was the universal belief of the time, and our Lord, in using language which implies it, need not be regarded as teaching dogmatically that there is such a thing as possession. There were strong reasons why He should seek to 'accommodate' His language to the popular theory. (1) The insane persons whom He wished to heal, were firmly convinced that they were possessed by devils. This was the form assumed by the insane delusion, and to argue against it was useless. The only wise course was to assume that the unclean spirit was there, and to command it to come forth. (2) It was our Lord's method not rashly or unnecessarily to interfere with the settled beliefs of His time, or to anticipate the discoveries of modern science. The belief in demonic possession, though probably erroneous, was so near the truth, that for most purposes of practical religion it might be regarded as true. He, therefore, did not think fit to disturb it. Believing, as He did, that most of the evil in the universe, including disease, though permitted by God, is the work of Satan, He tolerated a belief which had the merit of emphasising this fundamental truth, and left it to the advance of knowledge in future ages to correct the extravagances connected with it. See also on Matthew 8:28; Mark 1:21.

Note on Satan

Although from the earliest times the Hebrews believed in various kinds of evil spirits, it was not till the time of the captivity that the idea of a supreme evil spirit, exercising lordship over all orders of demons, emerged into prominence. In the OT. Satan appears only in the prologue to Job (Matthew 1:2), where he ranks with the angels or 'sons of God'; in Zechariah 3:1, where he is the adversary of Joshua the high priest; and in 1 Chronicles 21:1, where he tempts David to number Israel. All these passages are subsequent to the captivity. In the NT. Satan is a much more prominent character. His influence is represented as allpervading. He disposes of earthly kingdoms as he wills. He has an organised kingdom of darkness which cannot be overthrown even by the Christ without a fearful struggle, in which the conqueror tastes the bitterness of death. Physical evil is mainly due to him, for he and his ministers are the direct authors of pain, sorrow, disease, and death. The NT. writers indeed recognise that pain and disease are sometimes inflicted by God Himself for disciplinary purposes, but, upon the whole, they ascribe the universal prevalence of physical evil to the malignant activity of Satan. The moral evil of the world is also ascribed in the main to him. He goes about the world like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, and never ceases from his insidious attempts to detach mankind from their allegiance to their Creator.

That our Lord many times expressed belief in Satan as a personal being, is admitted on all hands. The only question is whether He may not in this matter have accommodated his language to the beliefs of His contemporaries, or perhaps have personified evil in order to express more vividly its pervasive activity. Both suppositions are, on the whole, improbable. The allusions to Satan and his angels as persons are too frequent and emphatic, to make it easy to suppose that our Lord did not believe in their personality; and, moreover, belief in an impersonal, de vil presents greater difficulties to faith than belief in a personal one. That evil should exist at all in a world created and governed by a good and all-powerful Being, is a serious moral and intellectual difficulty. But that difficulty is reduced to a minimum if we suppose that it is due to the activity of a hostile personality. Opposition to God's will on the part of a personal selfdetermining agent, though mysterious, is conceivable. Opposition to it on the part of any impersonal evil influence or physical force is (to most modern minds) inconceivable.