The Gaderene Demoniac: Peace
Mark 5:1-20
And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. [2] And when He had come out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, [3] and he 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. [6] And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; [7] and crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!" [8] For He had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit! [9] And He was asking him, "What is your name?" And he said to Him, "My name is Legion; for we are many.” [10] And he began to entreat Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. [11] Now there was a big herd of swine feeding there on the mountain. [12] And the demons entreated Him, saying, "Send us into the swine so that we may enter them." [13] And He gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. [14] And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. [15] And they came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the "legion"; and they became frightened. [16] And those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. [17] And they began to entreat Him to depart from their region. [18] And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was entreating Him that he might accompany Him. [19] And He did not let him, but He said to him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you." [20] And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone marveled.
So far in our study we have seen that Jesus was certainly the GOD-MAN. The GOD-centeredness of His nature reveals One who is never caught of guard because He knows what is going to happen before it happens. He had the ability to see into the heart of men and women and tell them what they needed in order to experience life as God intended. He had the ability to see through the façade of sinful men to know man’s hearts. He knew where people had been in life, their sins, their struggles and their failures. He had the ability to heal physical affliction and spiritual affliction, as well. Our study today gives us a look into a situation that still causes many questions in our day and age, i.e., what really is a demon or evil spirit, who can have them, were they human conditions that would be classified as psychological disorders and were referred to as demons or evil spirits simply because they did not know what they were then, who can exorcize them, how do you exorcise them? Is there a difference in possession and oppression? Can a Christian be possessed?
And when He had come out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, [3] and he 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.
The scriptures have different labels for the condition that we face today…unclean spirits, demons, evil spirits and in our text today we find two of them, “unclean spirits” and “demons.”
I don’t know that we can really identify what a demon is. Have you ever seen one? Neither have I. Have you ever heard one? I have not. There are many accounts of “demon possessions” where the people who were “possessed” spoke in a voice unnatural to the person. This seems to be one of the clarifying issues of possession. And so it was with Jesus’ encounter.
I have heard reports of demon possession where the people have extraordinary strength. Somehow, this man was able to break chains that were used to restrain him. He not only had great strength, but there was also a work of destruction being propagated in him. We know that Satan has always had at the center of his being a longing to rule the universe. Though he is not omniscient, I do believe that he has his purposes and plans to bring as much pain and suffering to human life as possible. The suffering that the man felt was not the only suffering…what about his family. Maybe he was a father. Certainly, he was a mother’s son and what mother is there that does not grieve when her son suffers?
Like the woman at the well, Nicodemus, the blind man, Zaccheus, the woman caught in adultery, Jesus knew about this man. He heard his screams. It was in His plan, at the right time, come to this man and deliver him from his torment. The place where he lived was a place of the dead.
There are some that would say that when you live outside the parameters of God’s will that you open yourself up to evil or demonic spirits. This is an erroneous hypothesis for two reasons. First, who is not living outside the parameters of God’s will before he is born again? The fact is, Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-3,
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, [2] in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. [3] Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Second, if this person were to have been born again, we know that demonic spirits and the Spirit of God cannot indwell a person at the same time. Since, when the Spirit of God indwells a person He never leaves or forsakes him, we can know that a person who has been born again cannot be possessed, or taken over, by demonic, or evil spirits. The Scripture relates the truth of this in Luke 11:14-18.
And He was casting out a demon, and it was dumb; and it came about that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes marveled. [15] But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." [16] And others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. [17] But He knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. [18] "And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
Since the Spirit comes to indwell us who have been born again, not just for a temporary stay, but for eternity, then He is unwilling, by His very nature, to so cohabitate with the demons or spirits associated with Satan or Beelzebub. So, we know that this person had not come to faith in Christ as the Messiah. We also know that he did not have to have done something especially heinous (though it is possible that he did) to have caused him to have been demonized.
There is nothing to indicate that anything other that the overruling nature of God’s grace in this man’s life, as it was said to have been with the blind man’s situation that we studied, that cause Jesus to deliver this man from the evil spirits and to bring redemption to him…except to bring glory to God.
People are more important than earthly possessions.
It takes more than supernatural feats or miracles to cause someone to have faith in God. This event like none other I can think of would have been enough for people to have asked the question, “Who is this man?” This is just another reminder to that it is God that quickens the heart.
Notice the difference that God makes when He “possesses” a person. Perhaps we would not do an injustice to the reality of Christ in a person’s life by calling it a “possession.” We should desire to be possessed by the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that really our intent when we pray that the Holy Spirit “rule and control” us? The Scripture says that we are His possession:
·'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; Exodus 19:5
·"And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; Deut. 26:18
·Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. Micah 7:18
·"And they will be Mine," says the Lord of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." Malachi 3:17
·who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:14
·who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:14
·But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1 Peter 2:9
[6] “And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; [7] and crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!" [8] For He had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" [9] And He was asking him, "What is your name?" And he said to Him, "My name is Legion; for we are many.”
How many people do you know that live among the dead? Jesus told the Pharisees (the ones who tried to define life according to their terms and understanding, apart from the Living Word) that they were nothing more than “whitewashed sepulchers (tombs).” They were not physically dead, but spiritually dead. They looked good on the outside, but inwardly were full of dead men’s bones. You see, a person who is dead, as the Gaderene demoniac was, does not have to be someone who can break metal chains…they will wear spiritual chains that only the Holy One of God can relieve them of. They don’t have to destroy their bodies with stones or sharp objects…they destroy their lives by the way their live, the choices they make, the things they long for or the things they worship. And the sad thing is that they don’t even know they are dead.
It is amazing that people don’t recognize the Lord Jesus Christ, but the spirit world does. Oh, some will say that Jesus was an amazing man, a great teacher, a prophet, yes, a good man, but they will not recognize Him as “Son of the Most High God.”
The spirit world not only recognizes God, but it bows to His authority. Notice, also, that the very presence of Jesus is a torment to them. The third thing to see in this section is that Jesus is more powerful than a legion of the enemy. Jesus told His disciples in John 16:33 “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." Not only has He overcome the world, but because He is in us, He tells us that we can overcome the evil one and that in the end, in the final test of power, the Lamb will FINALLY overcome the power of Satan and his forces. “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” Rev. 17:14
[11] Now there was a big herd of swine feeding there on the mountain. [12] And the demons entreated Him, saying, "Send us into the swine so that we may enter them." [13] And He gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. [14] And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened.
The demon spirits being representatives of their “father, the deceiver and destroyer,” show the Satan has a total disregard for any kind of God-created life. It was not Jesus that suggested that He should send the spirits into the swine, but the spirits themselves. They showed another facet of their father…total self-consumption. I don’t know what would have happened to the spirits, but for some reason…maybe to show that the owners were more concerned about the pigs than the healing of the demoniac.
[15] And they came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the "legion"; and they became frightened. [16] And those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. [17] And they began to entreat Him to depart from their region. [18] And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was entreating Him that he might accompany Him. [19] And He did not let him, but He said to him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you." [20] And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone marveled.
At this point we must not be confused about what is important. It would be easy to focus on the people…their loss, their fear, etc. I am not so calloused to the loss of the owners’ pigs, which was their livelihood. But there was not one word of praise for the “safe return” of one of their own. It is the redemption that should frame our thinking. The once dominated man is not set free…free to become what God intended him to be…an object of for God’s glory and mouth-piece speaking of the grace and mercy of God. Notice his first desire is to be a close follower of Christ…to actually go with Him. Had Jesus allowed him to come with Him, there would have been no living presence of Christ in Decapolis. He became a visible presence and a verbal presence of what Christ had done in his life. The Word says that “they marveled.” We should never be surprised when people marvel at what Christ has done and is doing. The “is doing” in great measure is just as important as what “He did.”
Jesus brings a life into reality…an understanding that life is not defined by what one possesses, but who one is possessed by…not by the absence of difficulty, but the presence of One who walks with us in every circumstance…not the acceptance and approval of others, but the adoption as a son or daughter into the eternal family of God. The man’s life is radically and wonderfully transformed.
Personal Application: