Jesus: Master Over Demons Series

Mark 5:1-20

(Also found in MT 8:28-34; LK 8:26-37)

Jesus: Master Over Demons!

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had [his] dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me." For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" Then He asked him, "What [is] your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name [is] Legion; for we are many." Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him [who had been] demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. Mark 5:1-20

Introduction – Accidents

The dictionary defines ‘accident’ as “an unforseen event or one without apparent cause.” Any Christian who understands the sovereignty of God will immediately determine from this definition that there is no such thing as an accident.

It’s like the cowboy who goes to buy some life insurance. The broker asked him if he had had any accidents in the past year, to which the cowboy replied “No. But I was kicked by a horse, chased by a raging bull and bitten by a snake - that laid me up for a while.” The agent said, “Weren’t they accidents?” To which the stockman replied, “No, they did it on purpose.” You see this stockman realized that there are no such thing as accidents.

Through the years, I have had the opportunity to encourage and lead people through the “Experiencing God” study authored by Henry Blackaby. One of the items he discusses are the God-cidents in our lives. There is a reason, although many times unseen, for everything. They are not just coincidences. People will question: Why was the man possessed; why did the pigs have to die; why didn’t Jesus just cast the demons to the netherworld? Simply put, we don’t really know all the answers. That is where faith comes in to play. There are some things we simply won’t know this side of heaven.

The MISERY of a Soul 1-5

He was UNCLEAN

He was probably a gentile living in this area. It appears that he was obviously demonized. We don’t know what led him in this direction and the Bible doesn’t clarify. We just know he was unclean and had sunk to the lowest depths of degradation.

He was UNCIVILIZED

He lived alienated in tombs and roamed all night long. This area was possibly Gerasa on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee where they were near the mountains. He resided within the tombs and roamed with another man of like character. My mom had a saying years ago that “birds of the same feathers always flock together.” This man ran with someone just like him. Aren’t we like that today?