Pig Lessons Series

The Movie, Braveheart, tells the story of a common man named William Wallace who led Scotland to freedom from English rule.

At the end of the movie, Wallace has been betrayed to the English and sits in prison awaiting execution. The Princess of Wales, who wants to free him, comes to his cell. She asks if there is any way he could recant his rebellion to save his life.

She says, “I come to beg you to confess all and swear allegiance to the king so that he may show you mercy.”

Wallace says, “If I swear to him, all that I am is dead already.”

Weeping, the princess says, “You will die. It will be awful.”

To which Wallace replies, “Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” (Braveheart, 20th Century Fox, 1995, 2:31:40 to 2:32:53, scene 18 on DVD).

Do you want to really live? Then I invite you to turn with me to Mark 5, Mark 5, where Jesus helps a man in a worthless condition find a life truly worth living.

Mark 5:1-5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 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. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. (NIV)

Now, according to the Talmud, which is an ancient commentary on the Old Testament Law, there were four characteristics of madness: walking [outside] at night; spending the night on a grave; tearing one’s clothes; and destroying what one was given. This man demonstrated all four characteristics (Lane, p.182). But he was more than insane, he was demon possessed! This man had allowed Satan’s legions to control his life, and it drove him mad.

Mark 5:6-7 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” (NIV) – Or better, “I implore you BY GOD not to torture me.”

Mark 5:8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!” (NIV)

The demons in this man recognize Jesus’ superior power. He is kneeling before our Lord and begging not to be tortured, not so much the man himself, but the demons in him.

Mark 5:9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” (NIV)

Now, a Roman legion in Jesus’ day was about 6,000 soldiers. In other words, thousands of demons had entered this man and made his life miserable.

Mark 5:10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. (NIV)

They feared not having a definite place to stay.

Mark 5:11-13 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. (NIV)

These pigs teach us a very valuable lesson. They clearly demonstrate that Satan is a destroyer. These demons had already destroyed a man’s dignity, his sanity, and eventually they would have destroyed his life¸ had Jesus not stopped them. Instead, they drive 2,000 pigs over the cliff, killing them all.

To Satan, a man is no different than a pig, just another animal. And if we surrender our lives to Satan and sin, we end up living and dying like animals (Wiersbe). Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). So, if you want a full life, then trust Jesus with your life, and…

DON’T LET SATAN DESTROY YOU.

Don’t let the devil have the least bit of control even over a small part of your life. Don’t give him even one inch, because if you do, he’ll end up taking all nine yards and ruining your life.

We don’t know how this man in Mark 5 ended up having so many demons in him – thousands of them! But we do know that such demonization is no accident. Demons don’t enter a person unless that person deliberately opens himself up to demonic influence.