The Man Who Lived Among The Tombs: The Gospel Hidden In Plain Sight Series

In my hometown growing up there was a main drive you’d go down called Grand Avenue. And as kids we’d often be traveling with the family in the car. And along grand avenue there was this huge grave yard, I mean like 5 blocks long, and we’d always say, hold your breath, as we passed by the graveyard. Because if you didn’t the dead would come to haunt you, because they were jealous you were alive and breathing. Silly kids stuff of course.

But I remember people who would hang out there at night. People drawn to the graveyards. People who felt a connection with the dead. It was strange. Even growing up there were groups of kids very much fascinated with darkness, we called them goths.

I’ll tell you this, for much of my life I was drawn to things related to death. I was drawn to zombies, the undead. I was drawn to darkness. I was drawn to the occult. Many people in our world today are drawn to evil. They wear shirts with skulls and cross bones on them. Have you ever noticed that?

There is this dark thread that runs through humanity. Self-destructiveness. We find something good, and later we seem to self-sabotage. We find a good situation but we implode, and we discover later, many of us do, that I was my biggest problem. I was the problem.

Well, just as people are drawn to horror movies, drawn to evil today, long ago, in the time of Jesus, there was a man who lived in the tombs. He lived in a graveyard. And we’ll see how Jesus changed his story forever. Just as he continues to do for millions in the world today.

From Mark chapter 5, 1-5, “They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.”

Jesus and his disciples had crossed the lake during this storm, which Jesus calmed by an apparent act of will. Astonishing. But now they arrive at the other side of the lake.

And this man who was living the graveyards comes to Jesus.

This guy wandering in this area, I’ve seen people like that even today, in every city in the country, people who wander the city on foot, act strangely, often with mental health issues, struggling, out of control, in fact I was once similar to this man, wandering the city, out of control, and no one could bind me.

This man would wander the area, cry out in madness, and he would cut himself with stones. How little things change, we have people today in our society, who cut themselves, I know some in our church here had done that in the past themselves. I had a close friend in my twenties and she would cut herself.

In many cases that cutting is based around sorrow, pain, an inability to express what they’re feeling inside, and so they cut themselves. In this case in the scriptures, it’s because this man has been possessed and influenced by demons.

What exactly is possession? It’s when a demon has actually entered someone and is exerting a level of control over the person. All of us today have been influenced by demons from time to time. It’s much more rare that any of would’ve actually been possessed by demons. Its rare in the United States for some reason. But in other nations, in non-Christian nations I understand it’s more common. But I’m sure it still does happen even here in our city.

Let’s see how Jesus deals with this situation.

Verses 6-10: “When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.”

Whose in control in this situation? Jesus is. Complete control. It’s not a fair fight between demons and God. God has total authority over demons. Just like in the book of Job, Satan needs permission from God to do anything to Job.