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READ: Mark 5:1
CHALLENGE: Find Hope in Christ
This is one of the most fascinating stories in the Bible. It such a great snapshot of complete transformation and what change looks like.
- HOPELESSNESS OF EVIL
Mark 5:1-5 – They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
After the vicious storm, they reach the other shore. Jesus gets out of the boat and a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. “Impure”. It sounds nasty. Like a dirty diaper for the soul that shouldn’t stay in there and needs taken out!
The impure spirit is like that! It’s infecting the him and destroying his life. I quote, “having an impure spirit refers to being possessed by a demon, which is considered morally unclean and spiritually harmful. This condition often resulted in the person exhibiting extreme behaviors and being isolated from society, as seen in the case of the man who lived among the tombs”.
Morally unclean and spiritually harmful. Sin hurts. Sin separates. And as we see in this picture, it can completely unravel your life. Thus, this man was in a humanly hopeless situation. God had been displaced with a thousand facets of pure evil! And whenever you take God out of the equation, it leaves room for all kinds of spiritual monsters to wreak havoc.
What did this man ever do to get into this predicament? He must have opened his life to it at one point, little by little. A collapsed barn doesn’t start collapsed. It is most likely the result of a neglected leak in the roof that leads to rot which ultimately leads to collapse. This man’s life fell beneath the weight of evil – it’s so sad.
Evil takes far more than it gives and that is always true. It drains you. Steals from you. You may derive some short-term happiness, but it will lead to long term pain. Adam and Eve lost the Garden of Eden. Cain lost his beloved fields. Sampson lost the Spirit, his strength, and his sight. Saul lost the kingdom for his children. Judas lost his respect and life.
What did this man lose? Let’s check out in vv3-5
- Lost His Home
Where was the man living? He came FROM THE TOMBS! The tombs were often caves or places carved into the rocks where they laid their dead. This was often considered a haunt for demons.
These tombs were always isolated and away from the town. This is not where living people lived; it’s where you took the dead! A perfect picture of a life coming to a dead end. It’s the picture of where evil is taking you.
- Lost Friends – He is Alone and Antisocial
According to Luke 8:29, it was a solitary place. He was isolated and antisocial. A predator has a lot easier time attacking a sheep separated from the flock than dealing with the entire herd. We’re going to do better when connected with good people than when in isolation. Don’t allow your important relationships to fade.
Evil wants you to feel very much alone. I bet he’s not being invited over to many birthday parties. He’s alone. You think of the fictional story of the Grinch, a creature with the bitter and hard heart. Where is he? He’s a recluse up on the mountain, all alone.
You think of Scrooge and his heartless ways. Where did he live? In a shadowy old place and all alone. He had no friends. He’s insulated from caring for the world around him.
When sin is leading you to isolation, you’re in a bad place. And you will lose friends as you give into the bitterness and rage and immorality, etc.
- He Lost Control
Luke 8:27 says that he was “naked”.
His life had become unmanageable. They have tried to subdue the guy, but the evil was too strong. And no matter what safeguard or shackle society put into place, evil broke it. He even discarded the norm of clothing. He had become completely unmanageable. It’s like the first step on the road to recovery. Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.
This raving lunatic is running around naked – completely gone. Even though they chained him, he’s breaking free and howling at the moon anyway. Evil likes to break constraints. Including the constraints of God’s guidelines.
When people are trying to help you get clean, but you find ways to get drugs, that’s bad. Even the road-block of jail is not enough at times. You go to a sober house and that constraint is not enough. Evil wants to smash through it. Evil wants NO constraints at all.
We live in a world that is getting more lawless as some are trying to throw off all restraints. Y
You keep throwing off restraints and you’re not living in any kind of manageable world.
- He Lost Love
Matthew 8:28 – violent
I don’t know that people tried to help him because they were being altruistic or because they were trying to protect themselves. Clearly he was dangerous to be around. So, people binding him were not binding him for his benefit but for theirs.
You might tie up a dog not for the dog’s benefit but so that the dog doesn’t jump on everyone else. Such is the case here.
Our world has become increasingly violent and that’s sad. It used to be that we didn’t lock our doors at night. When I was a child, you could leave your home for a week and not lock the door. Probably because we didn’t have much worth stealing but also because people weren’t stealing. Now you lock your doors AND put cameras up in your house. This is where we’ve gotten in life.
Pushing God out of society is a terrible idea! You don’t gain, you lose!
- He Lost His PEACE – Spiritual and Emotional Pain
Night and day, he would cry out and cut himself with stones. It’s sad to me that this is how it is for him. He’s in so much pain day and night. He’s harming himself and has no peace at all. It’s perpetual unrest. When Cain was sent from the presence of God it said that he became a “restless wanderer”. That’s the influence of evil.
Evil doesn’t leave you praising God. It leaves you crying out in pain. Evil doesn’t want what’s best for you, it wants to destroy you.
(trans.) Here’s the good news not matter how far from God you have drifted.
B. HOPE IS FOUND IN THE POWER OF JESUS
Luke 8:30-31– Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
Mark 5:6-9 – When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” 9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”
Notice how this legion of demons falls before Jesus and acknowledges his divine title of “Son of the Most Hight God”.
This demon possessed man saw Jesus from a distance and chooses to run to Him, why? The demons understand they are being confronted by a much higher power and they are afraid of what Jesus is about to do to them. They have nowhere to run and they are begging for mercy as they plead to not be tortured. This would mean to be examined or harassed. In another passage they ask not to be thrown into the abyss. The abyss is a prison for disobedient spirits. They know that Jesus is not there to give them a “time out” – they might have just met their end.
- Jesus Is Powerful Enough to Save the Worst
This is a full scale invasion of light. The kind of light that only comes from God who is doing what the person could never do by themselves. Jesus has sought this man out, right? There is no way that He can contact Jesus. Let’s face it, the bulk of the ministry of Jesus Christ was around Capernaum on the other side. How does Jesus know about this man who was so many miles away? He didn’t make the evening news. There is no social media.
Did the man put a message in a bottle pleading for help? Did the message just happened to fall at Jesus’ feet while he was collecting beach glass? Did the man send someone? Not at all. God knew of his plight so this action of salvation is completely initiated by a mercify God.
Could the man possessed by demons have said a prayer in a cogent moment? Were the townspeople praying for him. It’s possible that someone was praying for this man and prayers are powerful. But the action of God is not dependent on the action of the sinner. He can save someone completely twisted by evil.
- Jesus Overpowers Evil
Here’s a demon asking not to be tortured even though it’s what they were doing to the demoniac. Evil is the golden rule in reverse. Don’t treat me the way I’ve treated others. Don’t do to me what I’ve done to them. If you’re not OK with it being done to you then don’t do it to someone else.
But in the request they show that they have no power or authority over Jesus Christ. And if no evil has authority over Jesus then no evil could possibly have authority over you. This should be comforting. As John said, greater is the one who is in you, than the one in the world. Remember that John saw this unfold because he witnessed it. So, when He says what’s in us is stronger than what’s against us, that’s powerful and hopeful.
He tells the impure spirit – come out of that man. He also asks the demon his name. This is how you gain power over them. The name was Legion for we are many. A roman legion consisted of 6,000 soldiers – wow! This man was a barracks for evil! Jesus throws out thousands of demons and has the power to do it.
Jesus can remove stubborn evil. Dominating evil. Long term evil. Destructive evil. He says to come out and the evil does come out. If evil can see how powerful Jesus is, how about us? There are many evils in the world; can’t God give us the strength to overcome? Addiction. Pornography. Hatred. Worry. Deceit. All fall beneath the power of Jesus.
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God – And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has 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.
Jesus Had Power Over Their Future – They are literally begging Jesus not torture them or throw them into the abyss. He could decide what their future is. My life is in His hands. Some teach that we are the masters of our own destiny. That we can figure out everything by reason. We’re the center of our own universe so our life is in our own hands. That’s bad theology!
We need one truth. A truth that organizes all other ideas. And that is Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus will orchestrate the world. Jesus holds power over our future so come to him and bow the knee now.
Philippians 2:9-11 – Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We are all going to bow some day. Might as well do it now.
- Jesus is Merciful
10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Who are you begging mercy from? Jesus! The demons actually believe! Demons believe and they tremble. They know they are no match with the power of God.
James 2:18-19 – But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Perhaps James had this story in mind! The shuddering of the legion of demons who encountered Jesus. They also must believe that Jesus is merciful. And what happens then? Nearly 2000 pigs run in mass into the Sea of Galilee. Did the demons cause this or did Jesus do it? I’ve often wondered about that. There is a verse that says that demons go through dry and waterless places. There is a verse that says that seas give up the dead that is in them. Was the water a prison for these evil spirits? The world would not be bothered with these creatures any longer. One way or another.
The truth is that Jesus’ true mercy wasn’t over the demons, it was over the man tortured by them. This is the true miracle of mercy. And I’m sure we have some miracles of mercy in this room today!
- C. HOPE OF TRUE CHANGE
Vv14-20 – Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
The man was the opposite over everything he had been before. He was sitting rather than running. He was dressed rather than naked. He was with people rather than alone. He was in his right mind.
And what’s the response. They were afraid. This is a sad response to the work of God. Instead of rejoicing, they were afraid of what they had experienced.
This is so stunning. I remember a man came to Jesus Christ and he changed so much that his family thought he was sick. Like that there was something desperately wrong with him. You’re not smoking weed. You’re not drinking. You’re not swearing. What’s wrong with you! It’s kind of backwards, right? He wasn’t sick … he was saved!
This is the hope for change and the hope that Christ brings. Praise the Lord. Part of our testimony is what God has done for us.
At the end of the story the man is walking and living proof of the power of God. I hope that we are as well. Perhaps today could be the day you connect with God.