The Man Among the Tombs

Prayer of Adoration and Intercession

Read Mark 5:1-5

Mark 5:1–5 LSB

1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And when He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And constantly, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones.

Themes: Satan; Spiritual Warfare In his preface to The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis writes: •“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence, the other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.” •“Readers are advised to remember that the devil is a liar.”

C. S. Lewis

1. Jesus goes to the Gentiles (v.1)

In the other Gospels the name of the region is also given as Gadera, or Gaderean, referring to a village that is in the general area where Jesus landed.

The likely place of this event is named El-Koursi, a village off the NE coast of the Sea of Galilee, which has a local cemetery close to the shoreline, along the Sea of Galilee.

The point the Holy Spirit is making through John Mark is the breadth of the Gospel message and the redeeming mission of God, the Father, through Jesus Christ, the Son.

John 3:16–21 “16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.””

2. A Demon-possessed Man rushes to meet Jesus. (v. 2)

This man comes from the tombs. The man is spending time in a place where a man or woman is defiled by death, which makes the person unclean according to Jewish law.

From a spiritual point of view, grave yards are the dwelling places of evil spirits (demons), as this are places for the dead, not places where people desire to live everyday life. This man may have been overtaken by darkness through his sinful life and practices

Isaiah 65:2–5 “2 “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, 3 A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks, 4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places, Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of offensive meat is in their pots, 5 Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.”

Notice the action described, as Jesus comes to dry land this man comes to meet Him, similar to fly or mosquito to a light in the darkness.

Deuteronomy 18:9–14 “9 “When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations. 10 “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices soothsaying or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer, 11 or one who is an enchanter or a medium or a spiritist or one who inquires of the dead. 12 “For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh; and because of these abominations Yahweh your God will dispossess them from before you. 13 “You shall be blameless before Yahweh your God. 14 “For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice soothsaying and to diviners, but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do so.”

3. The Demons steal, kill, and destroy like their rebel leader. (v.3-5)

The man is living among the tombs because he is not clean. Similar to a leprosy-ridden man, he is unclean and cannot live in the community. From a pagan perspective, this omen would lead people to fear that the “gods” are punishing this man.

The man is so overpowered by the evil spirits in him, that under their guidance and power, he cannot be restrained from harm to self and to others. Not even chains will work.

In verse four we see that the efforts of the men in the community is lacking in the power to make a difference to restrain, much less, to transform, the man being accosted by evil spirits within his heart, mind, and soul.

Consequently, we see the logical end intended by Lucifer and the spirits that follow him in rebelling against God Almighty. The armies of sin and darkness desire to destroy humanity and creation because it is the handiwork of Almighty God.

John 10:10 “10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

4. Responding to the Man among demoniacs and tombs.

We must remember that just as God exists, so does Lucifer and the angels that rebelled against God.

We must take advantage of the 20/20 vision we have from Scripture, trusting that in Jesus Christ we ave peace, comfort, and life that abounds into eternity.

We must master the spiritual awareness of what influences the world around us. Whether we are led to the light, joy, and life as God influences us. As well as we must be aware of the influences of darkness, in matters, activities, and practices that lead to darkness, pain, suffering, and shame.

We must encourage ourselves with the refrain from the Biblical Hymn:

Turn your eyes to the morning And see Christ the Lion awake What a glorious dawn, fear of death is gone For we carry His life in our veins

Closing Prayer (Confession & Petition)