God's Authority Always Wins Series

God’s Authority Always Wins

Mark 5:1-20

Introduction

- Jesus is demonstrated in this book as a “servant”

-- Key verse: Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

- Last time we tackled one of the most difficult chapters of Mark

-- The direction he takes is revealing to us what Jesus’ call to us is

-- Not only the call, but the importance of our obedience to Him alone!

-- It is clear from Mark 4:20 what Jesus tells us what we MUST realize (read)

- Today we see continue to see Jesus teaching to those who’ve come to Him

-- The application of what Christ calls us to do is APPLY what we’ve HEARD

- Let’s take a look at the power of Christ in this message today

-- Keep in mind … something MUST happen when we encounter His authority

-- This is the key to remember and what Mark conveys to us

- Read Mark 5:1-20

∆ Point 1 – Encountering the Demonic (1-10)

- Again Jesus and the disciples are traveling to a new region

-- Constantly going, evangelizing, and showing people the Kingdom (Mark 1:15)

- When Jesus encounters this man (v2) it is obvious he has some real issues

-- We see that those who he’d already encountered dealt with him harshly

-- He has been shunned and put away from their sight

-- He has become such an outcast that he is even violent to others

- v3-5 really shows the state that this man is in and why he is this way

-- He lives in a graveyard on the outskirts of town away from humanity

-- He has a demon possession - (Is demonic possession real? Absolutely!)

-- He has injured himself repeatedly with the stones

-- He has broken his physical chains and is running rampant

-- He is naked and literally, running around outside his mind

-- APP: If there is ever a soul that needed Jesus, this is one of them!

- What this man does when he encounters Jesus (v6) is SPECTACULAR!

-- He falls down to the ground and worships Him

-- His acknowledgement of Jesus is something we need to learn from

- The demon within him knew exactly who he was confronting and how to respond

-- Why? Phil 2:10, “… that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth …”

- The authority we see demonstrated here is a lesson for us all

-- When you encounter Christ, your attitude ought to be the same as well

-- FACT: Jesus has come to undo what the devil has taken from mankind

-- 1 John 3:8, “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

This demon though, even though in a state of submission, tests Jesus

-- How? V7: He tries to get Jesus to commit to doing something (sway Him)

-- He invokes the name of God and then tries to get Jesus to go along with it

-- APP: This would be the WRONG way to sway the Lord in your favor

- (v9) So Jesus asks him point blank, “Identify yourself!”

-- Why I find spectacular here is there is no argument, no hidden games

-- When Jesus calls on someone to respond, there is an instant reaction

-- Jesus forces this demon to confess itself, to admit what it is

-- IMP: Confession releases the shame of an act; brings it to light (Mark 4:22)

- Mark Cole writes, “In the Bible, (the word) name stands for ‘nature’; so the man was virtually asked to confess the nature of the powers of evil to which he was enslaved. His reply is not only a confession of human impotence, but a vivid expression of the might and destructive force of the demonic powers by which he was gripped.”

- The demon that possessed him used the name ‘Legion’

-- Simply meaning this man was SO troubled that many demons lived within him

-- The spokesman identifies themselves as ‘many’ … by using the name Legion

-- And (v10) he begs Jesus to NOT send them away, to not destroy them

TRANS: Now, watch what happens when Jesus gets a hold of this …

∆ Point 2 – God’s Authority Always Wins (11-20)

- Before the power of Jesus, they beg Him to send them into a heard of pigs

-- Two things happen here that we can take careful note of:

-- 1) They were not able to enter the pigs of their own will (no real power)