Untitled Sermon (23)

Mark 5:1-20

Mark 5:1–20 HCSB

1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met Him. 3 He lived in the tombs. No one was able to restrain him anymore—even with chains — 4 because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And always, night and day, he was crying out among the tombs and in the mountains and cutting himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do You have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God, don’t torment me!” 8 For He had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 “What is your name?” He asked him. “My name is Legion,” he answered Him, “because we are many.” 10 And he kept begging Him not to send them out of the region. 11 Now a large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. 12 The demons begged Him, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” 13 And He gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs, and the herd of about 2,000 rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there. 14 The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed by the legion, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 The eyewitnesses described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs. 17 Then they began to beg Him to leave their region. 18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him. 19 But He would not let him; instead, He told him, “Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you.” 20 So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.

The stage has thoroughly been set.

Jesus just calmed the storm.

Which for his disciples, is the tipping point for realizing He is God, and learning to fear Him appropriately.

Not safe, but good.

Mark is going to tell us a notable story now.

Remember that this whole gospel starts with the announcement that Jesus is the Son of God.

From the very first sentence of this gospel announcement, Mark has equated Jesus with God,

and he’s been proving it step by step.

The Baptism

The Temptation

And then the last few chapters have highlighting a two things.

Jesus’ Power

Jesus’ Teaching

These two go hand in hand.

The power showcases and confirms the authority required to say the things Jesus is saying.

And what is he saying?

He is announcing the gospel of the kingdom.

He is talking about a kingdom from God that will start small and grow and grow until it’s like a mighty tree.

We should pay careful attention to the words that Jesus has been speaking.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

We live in a time in history where we have benefited massively from 2000 years of people living and dying in the belief and conviction that Jesus of Nazareth is God, and that he rose from the dead.

This notion has touched every civilization and ours in particular could never quantify how the gospel has shaped it.

But we living in 2023 are not sufficiently shocked by the power and message of Jesus.

So we need fresh eyes and ears to see the drama of this moment, and to see the reality of Christ’s kingdom today.

Jesus has shown that he has power and authority over demons before,

but now he is going to do it in a spectacular way.

This will be one man, vs thousands of demons.

Let’s emphasize the humanity of Jesus here.

How can a human take on thousands of demons?

We know He was human.

For goodness sakes He was just on a boat taking a nap because he was tired!

New Testament II: Mark (Revised) The God-Man Beheld

GREGORY NAZIANZEN: Yes, he is recognized by demons, drives out demons,16 drowns deep a legion of spirits and sees the prince of demons falling like lightning.18 He is stoned, yet not hit; he prays yet he hears prayer.20 He weeps, yet he puts an end to weeping.22 He asks where Lazarus is—he was man; yet he raises Lazarus24—he was God

Jesus interaction with the world around him simultaneously proves that He was fully man and fully God.

Mark 5:1–2 HCSB

1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met Him.

So here’s the scene.

This man may have seen the storm dissipate in an instant.

Whether it was the man in control of his body or the demons it matters not here because either would be able to tell that this was the son of God.

And who is this guy?

Mark 5:3–5 HCSB

3 He lived in the tombs. No one was able to restrain him anymore—even with chains — 4 because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And always, night and day, he was crying out among the tombs and in the mountains and cutting himself with stones.

“Perhaps the devil drove him to the tombs, to make people fancy that the souls of the dead were turned into daemons, and did what mischief was done, so to excuse themselves from it. The touch of a grave was polluting, Num. 19:16. The unclean spirit drives people into that company that is defiling, and so keeps possession of them. Christ, by rescuing souls out of Satan’s power, saves the living from among the dead.11” - Matthew Henry

Mental Illness or Demonic Possession?

We live in a day where mental health is held on a very high pedestal. And for good reason. As the mind goes so goes the body.

If your mind is unstable, your body likely will be as well.

Our minds are meant to integrate into everything we do, and so instability with mental health deteriorates our whole lives.

Because of dualism we think of demonic possession as being entirely independent of mental health, and mental health as entirely independent

From the very first moments of creation, we see the Spirit of God interacting with and affecting the physical world. In a way the very first thing we learn in our bibles is that the spiritual interacts with the physical world.

So mental health and demonic oppression need not be mutually exclusive.

What we are not saying is that everyone who struggles with mental health is affected by a demon.

What we are saying is that the demonic is not just a thing we should entertain ourselves with in movies, but is as real as the ground we walk on, and it has real effects on people’s lives.

Main Point: The demonic destroys the soul, body, and mind… Jesus restores the soul, body, and mind.

Demonic:

The demonic takes us farther than we want to go.

Soul - His spiritual condition was evident to the people around him. He was born in sin, a slave to it, and now every other part of him has been dominated by the demonic.

Body - He was not in control of his own body. Fighting people, physically bound with chains, breaking chains, thrown among the dead, crying out in insanity, cutting himself.

The commands and curses of the law are as chains and fetters, to restrain sinners from their wicked courses; but they break those bands in sunder, and it is an evidence of the power of the devil in them. Matthew Henry

Totally Depraved

Mind - He has lost his identity. When His mouth opens, it is the words of a demon.

All 3 of these areas are areas we have a measure of control over, until we don’t.

Our whole world is affected by demonic systems.

Sometimes people are effected by demons without asking for it at all.

CHILUMBO STORY

For this man, whether he opened himself up willingly to the demonic through witchcraft,

or he is just the unhappy victim of a world where demons rule for a time,

it doesn’t matter which,

because God is going to relieve this man’s suffering, and then use it to display His glory and care for the human person.

And it’s important to remember that a human person is the combination of these things dynamically.

Mind, body, and soul.

Jesus knows these things well because He made us, and He dwells among us.

So look how Jesus restores this man totally.

He doesn’t just relieve him of the demons and leave him naked on the shore,

And he also doesn’t clothe him and leave him left with a demon.

When Helping Hurts

Jesus brings about transformative, whole person restoration.

Jesus:

Jesus restores us more than we ever thought possible.

And I wanna pause on that.

I spent the weekend in downtown PHX.

There are people littering the hot pavement, totally brought low from the position of high honor they should have as a image bearer of God.

Can they be restored?

If we trust Jesus, then we should see that their is nothing beyond his power.

He just calmed a natural storm and a spiritual storm in the span of 45 minutes.

When I look at my neighbor who has been dominated by methamphetamines,

they have been pummeled by a natural storm.

Loss of autonomy and sound mind are the natural results when you abuse these drugs.

If I am unwilling to say that the God who calmed a storm is unable to heal the mind of addict,

then my gospel is too small.

When I look at my neighbor who is tormented by the demonic,

they are being pummeled by a spiritual storm.

Terrible fears and slavery to another is the natural results of a spiritual storm.

If I am unwilling to say that the God who rescued a man at the bottom of a multiple thousand demon dogpile cannot rescue them,

then my gospel is too small.

So how does Jesus restore this man?

Mind: This man was suffering from a multiple personality disorder known as being possessed by potentially thousands of demons. Jesus asks him his name. And when the answer is reflective of being buried under sin and demonic oppression, Jesus restores him by HURLING the demons into pigs.

Body: He was naked, bleeding, and living among the dead. Jesus restores him to wearing clothes.

This is the power of basic dignity.

This is the change that Jesus brings about in a person.

New Testament II: Mark (Revised) Transforming the Depths

LACTANTIUS: “Neither could anyone tame him.” Give me a reprobate who is impetuous, foul-mouthed and overbearing. With few words the Lord will render him as gentle as a lamb. Give me one who is covetous, avaricious, grasping. The Lord will restore him to liberality, and he will dispose of his resources bountifully of his own hand. Show me one who trembles at the idea of pain and of death, and soon I will show you one who has learned to disdain crosses, flames and the bull of Perillus.9 Even one who is sensual, adulterous and gluttonous can be made sober, chaste and abstinent.

Soul: Clinging to Jesus. Devoted. Full of faith. An evangelist.

Mark 5:18–20 HCSB

18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him. 19 But He would not let him; instead, He told him, “Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you.” 20 So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.

Why Drowned? Chrysostom: He did this so that you might know that the demons would have done the same thing to human beings and would have drowned them if God had allowed them to do so. But he restrained the demons, stopped them, and allowed them to do no such thing. When their power was transferred to the swine, it became clear to all witnesses what they would have done to persons.

It is a greater good that the swine would be killed to show God’s power and bring about faith in the life of this man.

One man’s soul is worth more than the lives of a millions pigs.

The April 10 fire at South Fork Dairy Farm in Dimmitt, about 66 miles southwest of Amarillo, killed nearly 18,000 cows

6 times as many lives as 9/11

Some of you didn’t even know that happened.

Does that mean animals aren’t important?

Of course not.

Romans 8

The early church fathers warn us,

don’t get hung up on the pigs, or you will miss the point.

Jesus is binding the strong man.

The one who can command a legion of demons is the one who can save your soul.

Has the voice of Jesus pierced your darkened mind?

And if it has?

Have we told others of his power?

We are entering into a time in our culture where spiritual power struggles will be on display.

Our neighbors are deep diving into the New Age and the Occult.

There are two responses you can have.

Retreat and rejection

2. Announcing that Jesus can save us from the things we are enslaved to.

Jesus has defeated the final boss.

Satan is bound.

The kingdom of darkness shrinks and retreats daily.

And all of this has a real effect on our day to day lives.

Cruz Story

We can extend hope to those bound up by demonic oppression,

because our big brother has already tied up the biggest baddest of them all and thousands more.