Mark 5:1-20
Last week we saw Jesus exercise His authority over His creation. The storm raged and the boat that He and the disciples were in was going down. The waves were crashing over the walls, and the disciples were in a panic. Jesus, awoken from a deep sleep, stood up and commanded the wind and the waves to be “calm,” and immediately they stopped. There was not even the sound of a ripple hitting the side of the boat. Jesus holds complete authority over His creation.
They get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and immediately are confronted by a man who has been infiltrated by thousands of demons. Authority over the physical, and now He’ll prove His authority over the spiritual. And by the end of the this morning, I just want us all to be thinking, wow, look at what God can do.
Mark 5:1-20
Big Idea: Jesus has authority over the spiritual realm, bringing life to the most desperate.
1.. Before Meeting Jesus (2-5)
What do we learn about this man?
A.. Had an Unclean Spirit
We have to start here, because this determines everything else about this man. We learned early on in our study of Mark that every time the term “unclean spirit” is used, it refers to a demonic spirit. This unclean spirit had taken control of this man’s life, which influences everything we learn about him.
B.. Lived Among the Tombs
The tombs were more like natural caves in the side of a hill or a mountain. Burial practices back then involved laying the body in a cave to decay until nothing was left but the bones. They would take the bones and place them in a box. So this man lived in a cave surrounded by dead and decaying bodies. He lived in a place marked by death. He had no friends, no fellowship with his family, was completely alone, disgraced and unclean, living among the dead, all because of the unclean spirit that had overtaken him.
C.. No One Could Bind Him
“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.”
He was so destructive that people tried to chain him up. Chains which were essentially handcuffs, and shackles which were iron clasps that went around his ankles. This demon gave this man supernatural strength. He twisted and bent his arms until the chains were bent and broken apart. He shattered the iron restraints around his ankles. Nobody could subdue him. Nobody could help this man. He was destined to his own destruction and there was nothing anybody could do to save him!
D.. He Was Constantly Screaming and Cutting Himself
Just imagine. This cave is up on the side of a mountain overlooking the Sea. If you were to stand up there and yell, there would be nothing to stop your voice from carrying apart from the distance of the open air. In the quiet of the night, you hear blood curdling shrieking in the distance. I mean it’s terrifying. He is restless. He is terrified. He is angry. He just wants the demons gone, and so he is cutting himself, trying to release them from his body. He is cutting himself frantically, maybe in the hopes of ending it all.
Listen to me closely: Satan wants nothing more than to destroy your life.
John 10:10 begins, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
Revelation 12:4 speaks of Satan as a great dragon, “And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.” The revelation continues in verse 17, “Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
In Ephesians 6:12, Paul says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
This is as true today as it was back then. And while the battle may not manifest itself like it did in the life of this man, it doesn’t change the fact that Satan wants nothing more than to destroy you, and me. One commentator says, “Satan and his minions hate God. They will do anything to attack him. Mankind was created in the image of God and brings glory to Him the more we manifest His image. Satan hates this. Thus, the demonic function is to distort and destroy the image of God in man.”
But praise God we have a Savior who is far more powerful than Satan could ever hope to be.
2.. Encounter with Jesus (6-13)
Most commentators would say that the falling down at Jesus’ feet was not an act of worship, but an act of recognition of authority. He recognizes who Jesus is, and Jesus starts commanding the demon to come out of this man, and the demon responds with a question. “What have you to do with me?” which is basically the demon saying, “just leave me alone, let me be.” And he even starts to implore Jesus. “I am begging you Jesus, don’t torment me, do not bring affliction upon me!”
Jesus responds by asking his name, and this is where the story gets really crazy. “My name is Legion,” he says, “for we are many.” Legion is a military term. It was literally used for an army of 6,000 foot soldiers, 120 horse soldiers, plus any other personnel. Guys, this man was overtaken by thousands of demons. He had an army of Satan’s minions controlling his life. No wonder he was so powerful! No wonder he was so desperate to be rid of them! It was excruciating! And he sees Jesus and he runs to him, and falls at his feet. In that moment a bit of his humanity comes through and we see his desperation, but the words that come out of his mouth are the words of the leader of this demonic army. It’s so heartbreaking to think of this man and his inability to save himself!
The next interaction is very interesting. The demons have to ask Jesus permission to be cast into the pigs, and Jesus has to grant it for it to happen. Let us not overlook this small detail. Jesus had so much authority, and the demons had so much fear, that they had to wait for Jesus to give them permission on where to go next.
Jesus grants their request to be sent into a herd of about 2,000 pigs. They make the transfer, and immediately run down this hill into the Sea of Galilee to their death. And while the power of Jesus is seen here, the true power is found in the man that now sits before Jesus.
3.. After Meeting Jesus (14-20)
The pig herders are terrified, as we all would be, so they run into town and start telling anyone that will listen what happened. They come down, and what do they find? This man who had been maniacal, naked, bloodied with scabs all over, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. Remember, no one had been able to restrain him. No one had been able to control him. And now, here he sits, an undeniable miracle right in front of them. Before we get to the specifics, look real quick at this word in verse 15, “the man who had HAD the legion.” The Greek word for “had” is in the perfect tense which indicates that he had been in a permanent state. It was final… Until Jesus showed up. What do we see first?
A.. Sitting
He isn’t running frantic. He isn’t in a chaotic state of mania. He isn’t frenzied. He is sitting, calmly.
B.. Clothed
He is no longer naked, but had been given a cloak, most likely by one of Jesus’ disciples. His nakedness covered. His wounds, covered. His marks of shame, covered. The filth, covered.
C.. In His Right Mind
He isn’t screaming. He isn’t cutting himself with stones. Where he had been constantly agitated he was now at peace.
He was changed spiritually, physically and mentally by the power of God in Jesus and it terrified the crowds. Like the disciples who had seen Jesus calm the storm were afraid of the man that stood before them, so were the herdsmen and crowds afraid of this man who cast thousands of demons into a herd of pigs, and transformed a man’s life who had been in a perpetual state of insanity.
So they ask Him to leave. He does, and on His way back onto the boat, the man begs Jesus to let him go with him. Instead, Jesus tells him to go and tell all his family and friends about what had happened. And he went about the Decapolis, the ten cities, and proclaimed what Jesus had done. And so the fame and name of Jesus spread.
Application
Had an unclean spirit
Lived among the tombs
No one could bind him
Constantly screaming and cutting himself
Sitting
Clothed
In his right mind
There is an obvious dramatic difference between the two, and the things that happens between them is an encounter with the Son of God. A hopeless man that no one could help, not even himself, left to his own devices would have eventually died in his maniacal state. But, Jesus intervened, and the power that He wielded over His creation is the same power that He wielded over the spiritual forces of Satan.
And like last week, we need to focus our attention on the power of Jesus. We need to recognize that Jesus has authority over the physical world, and He has authority over the spiritual world. His authority goes beyond what can be seen. And why is this good news for us? Remember what I wanted all of us to be saying at the end of this morning? Wow! Look what God can do!
Guys, I am walking testimony to this statement. Wow, look what God can do!
I was 7 years old when I prayed to ask Jesus into my heart. I grew up in church, and learned all the right things to say at the right time. I played the Sunday Christian game better than most, but during the week I was arrogant, made fun of others, and lied more than I told the truth. I was the kid that, when my friends wanted to go out, they would tell their parents they were with me and no matter what, they were in the clear, because all of the other parents thought I was an angel. I went to college for 2 years and failed out because I got in with the wrong crowd. I came home and lived with some high school friends and my life went downhill quicker than you can snap your fingers. If I continued living the way I was living, I know it’s cliche to say, but I would have probably ended up dead or in jail.
But, I woke up one morning after a long night, looked around my house at all these strangers sleeping, and in that moment, the Holy Spirit said to me, this is not what I have planned for you. I moved out of that house that week, and through a series of events I finally allowed Jesus to become Lord of my life. I went to a Christian camp in California to play the drums for a Summer, went back to school, and this time it was different. I graduated with a Youth Min degree in 2008, became a Youth Pastor in 2009, and planted a church in 2022.
Guys, if you knew me then, which some of you did, and you put that person next to the man I am today, you would say, with exclamation, WOW, look what God can do.
But it’s only because Jesus stepped in, and the Holy Spirit shattered the chains of imprisonment, and brought me into freedom. From death to life. If you are a follower of Jesus, this is you. If you are here this morning and you don’t yet know Jesus, this is what He can do for you, and that’s my prayer for you this morning.
