Full Sermon Jesus Defeated Evil For Us based on Mark 5:1-13

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Evil in our world. We have evil in our world. Some of the TV shows and movies lately seem to be obsessed with evil things. The more dark things are, the better. The more evil things are, the better. That seems to be the idea portrayed in these shows and movies. Evil things are frightening. No wonder people in our time that watch these kinds of shows are anxious, worried, and depressed. Evil things are supposedly good and good things are supposedly evil. A couple of the more popular movies recently are: “Wicked” and “Wicked For Good” about a wicked witch. Some of the popular shows and movies in the past few years try to make evil seem like a good thing. These movies that are directed mainly at children have to be confusing for children about the difference between what is evil and what is good.

II. Stanza 4 and Mark 5:1-2. Tonight, we continue to look at the hymn, “O Love, How Deep.” In stanza 4, we sang, “For us he prayed, for us he taught,/ For us his daily works he wrought,/ By words, by signs, and actions, thus/ Still seeking not himself, but us.” Mark 5 directs our attention to some amazing words and signs and actions of Jesus. Evil is not called good by Jesus. Mark 5:1–2 tells us, “They (that is, Jesus and His student disciples) came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.” Jesus was up against evil as soon as He stepped on dry land.

III. Read Mark 5:3-5 and comment. Mark 5:3–5 gives us a face for this evil, “He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 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. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.” This man did not live with people in a town. He lived among the tombs. Some people had tried to bind him with a chain. The chain could not control him. No one tried to bind him with a chain any longer. He was too strong for any one to wrestle with. Night and day he walked among the tombs. He yelled and cut himself with stones. No one wanted to be around this man with an unclean spirit. No one wanted to be around this evil.

IV. Read Mark 5:6-7 and comment. Jesus was not afraid of this man. Jesus was not intimidated by evil. Jesus told the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Mark 5:6–7 shows us how Jesus was in control of the situation, “And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’” The man could not stand before Jesus. The man fell down before Jesus. He knew who Jesus was—the Son of the Most High God. He tried to command Jesus not to torment him. Even though he had been tormenting the man who lived among the tombs, he thought he could order the Son of the Most High God, Jesus, to not torment him.

V. Read Mark 5:9-10 and comment. According to Mark 5:9–10, “Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion, for we are many.’ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.” Jesus showed him that Jesus was in control. Jesus found out that his name was Legion and there were many unclean spirits in the man. Legion did not want to be sent out of the country.

VI. Read Mark 5:11-13 and comment. Mark 5:11–13 tells us, “Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, ‘Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.’ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.” Legion was right in saying that there were many unclean spirits in the man. The unclean spirits entered two thousand pigs and the pigs rushed into the sea and drowned.

VII. Reaction of people. The people from the area came to see the man who had been possessed by demons sitting down clothed and in his right mind. The people of the area seemed to be more concerned about the loss of the pigs than about the man who was in his right mind once again. They begged Jesus to leave their area.

VIII. Reaction of man and Mark 5:19-20. The man who had been possessed by demons wanted to get in the boat with Jesus and His student disciples to tell others what Jesus had done for him. Mark 5:19–20 tells us, “And (Jesus) did not permit him but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”

IX. Conclusion. What does this Bible passage have to teach us? We are not possessed by two thousand demons. We are not living among the tombs and breaking chains. We do have evil around us though. Sometimes we are tempted to do what is evil and wrong in God’s sight. Sometimes we give in to temptations and do what the devil wants us to do. The good news for us is that Jesus defeated evil for us. Jesus defeated evil by not only driving out demons and unclean spirits back then, but He defeated evil by living a sin-free life and dying in our place on the cross. Jesus suffered, died, and arose on the third day to free us from our chains of sin, death, and the devil. Since Jesus has done all that for us, we, like the man who no longer was tormented by demons, can tell our family and friends how much the Lord has done for us and how He has had mercy on us. We can call out evil in our world. We can tell those around us the good news that Jesus has defeated evil and will one day take all who believe in Him to our heavenly home where evil will no longer reach us. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.