Mark 5:1-20
They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
2 And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3 He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; 7 and he shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." 8 For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"
9 Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion;
for we are many." 10 He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
11 Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12 and the unclean spirits begged him, "Send us into the swine; let us enter them." 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.
14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17 Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has
done for you, and what mercy he has shown you." 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
Imagine being consumed with rage, with uncontrollable anger…you are possessed by something possibly beyond your control. Which face looks like you when you lose it? 😊 I love this child’s face. When I send you the message with these images from the powerpoint, try making their faces in a mirror…have a little fun with it. We all lose it sometime. Unless we are like the woman who has steam coming out of her ears but is surely passive aggressive.
Back in Jesus’ day, if you are such a destructive force, your community might put you in a cave or tomb as these are called, and then try to bind you down with chains so that you don’t become a harm to society.
Tombs had dead bodies in them so you can only imagine the stench.
The demoniac’s condition, according to one theologian, is consonant with what modern psychiatry might diagnose as multiple personality disorder. Our society used to put people in the Psych Ward when they didn’t know how to make them well. Oftentimes we see such people among the homeless today as they have no
one to care for them, to come alongside them and help them get the counseling, medicine and relationships they need to be made well.
Most people are not that irrational and uncontrollable with their emotions and actions like the Gerasene Demoniac or a person battling severe mental illness.
These may be extreme cases you may see here. But reality is, more people battle with mental illness in the United States, percentage wise, than ever before.
Whether it is severe or not, it is debilitating. It can take us out.
Many people we encounter every day, are not well. Oftentimes it could be one traumatic experience or a number of them over the course of several months or years, that takes its toll on one’s psyche, mental and physical health, that can lead to major issues of anger, depression, anxiety, fear, and times of total dysfunction. It could have been how we were treated by one parent that has wounded our soul and has stolen our simple happiness.
Some people have some seriously unclean spirits in their soul. Oftentimes such people are filled with anger, rage, passive aggressive behaviors, and can become addicts to medicate their issues. They are labeled demons here in scripture, and believe me, demons are real. I’ve told you this before that I witnessed two teenage girls possessed by demons back in 1986 in Mexico. Yes, Satan is real and has his followers doing the dirty work that keeps people trapped, bound, and burdened.
Other people may have had some serious incident wreak havoc on their life. It could be labeled trauma (define), PSTD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), or any constant abuse of any kind over years can wreck us emotionally, socially,
psychologically and relationally. It can keep us from smiling, from laughing wholeheartedly, from experiencing any kind of meaningful joy. Sometimes we call these things, the demons of our past. And sadly, many of us carry them with us into our marriages and parenting. If we haven’t gone through some in depth counseling and a meticulous healing process, then those chains keep us locked in our jail cell or cave. It’s about time to send those demons, those pigs, over the cliff, and drown them, so that they do not come around no more.
Let’s turn back to this
profound encounter Jesus has with this man possessed by multiple demons. First, we don’t know how these demons got inside him. We don’t know his story. Most of us do not know one another’s stories. We know parts of people’s stories, but we typically do not know what people have been
through. Therefore, we need to be full of grace when people act out with nasty behavior because we do not know what they’ve been through nor the trigger points that lead them to despair or rage. I say, full of grace, knowing full well that when their behavior harms others, it’s not to be tolerated over long periods of time. The behavior needs to be
addressed, the person needs help, and possibly, serious help.
In the case of the “demoniac” as he is unfortunately labeled. He needed serious help. He needed a healer, a savior, a messiah, a deliverer. I pause here because I think we need to reflect on the power of God being our deliverer, the one who rescues you from harm or danger. Let’s listen to Rich Mullins powerful song called My Deliverer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8-NxI_IWd0
That’s the hope we live in today. God can and will deliver you from whatever mess, pain, harm, suffering, rage that consumes you. That’s the good news. You too will be set free.
This past week I watched a movie on Amazon Prime called Ragamuffin which was the life story of Rich Mullins. He had his own demons. His dad was abusive to him and never accepted him as his son because he didn’t live up to the image of being the first born who he expected to run the farm. Instead, as his dad called him, he was the
“piano player”. Though Rich was greatly successful, he never seemed to get the affirmation he needed from his father that he did well with what God had given him. Such harm he experienced led him to a life of addiction to cigarettes and alcohol, often ruining many significant moments of his life. Fortunately, near the
end of his life suddenly turn tragic by an accidental car crash, he made amends with his past and found peace in Christ.
Let’s turn back to the cave and Jesus’ encounter with this man who is consumed by the demons who control his life and behavior.
It’s one thing to have just one demon, one
experience, one nasty encounter, that steals your civility, it’s another when it’s a whole slew of them. To be called Legion, was not some term of endearment.
It’s a term that means an army of 6000 soldiers. That’s a crazy number, 6000!
How do you take on an army!?
That’s when you turn to Jesus, because only God can handle such an extraordinary task.
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus is a man on a mission…to preach, teach, cure people of diseases, and to set the captives free. To cast out demons was like releasing people of their chains. So, this one who proclaims forgiveness of sins, that only God can do, that is Jesus, he comes face to face with this Legion of demons, and calls them out. And they are feisty little buggers that talk back at you like we read, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." 8 For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" 9 Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many."
Some of the demons and wounds you carry were induced on you, by no fault of your own. But left unattended to, they can kill those around you. Your rage, your out of control behavior, can lead to them fearing you and wanting to put you in a cave, far away, so no one gets hurt by you every again. Hurt people hurt people.
If you are saying “ENOUGH!”, you want these chains off, I’d be glad to meet with you, listen to your story, pray with you and refer you to a great Christian counselor. Jesus can heal you. The question is, “Do you want to be healed…do you want to be made well?” I know you do. Be not afraid. Make the next step.
When Jesus does make you well, and he can, be sure to be grateful. It was a bit disheartening to think that the crowd wanted Jesus to get out of the
neighborhood and still feared the man who had been healed. But Jesus still sent this once sick man, to GO and share what had happened. To be a witness to his neighborhood,
community, family and friends…that was Jesus command or commission for the man whose chains are gone and has been set free of the hell he had been going through. Listen again to Jesus’ words, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you." 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
That’s what we call God’s amazing grace…This hymn, I believe, is the most powerful hymn of all times. As you may know the story, John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, was a slave trader.
He made his wealth by capturing people in Africa and selling them. Most did not survive the voyage and died below deck in the stench of their own vomit and excrement. He lied, and cheated, and was as far away from God as one could be. God rescued him, delivered him from a storm that took his ship. Newton vowed a life of poverty and turned his life over to serve God’s church. He helped abolish slavery by consulting William Wilburforce in Parliament. Even a man so wretched as a slave trader could be redeemed by the grace of God. So you can as well.
Imagine the sin, the hurt, the suffering you’ve gone through and have possibly put others through, and like the author, you recognize how wretched you really are but also know that YOU ARE FORGIVEN. In Jesus name’ your sins are gone, the new has come. If you know that God completely loves you, then you can’t help but sing with passion, “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free, my God my Savior has rescued me, and like a flood His mercy rains unending love, Amazing grace.
Let’s sing this passionate song and prayer with all of our heart and soul. [watch, listen, and sing to this] Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-4NFvI5U9w
