“Victory Over Evil”
June 29, 2008
Me: Ladies in office with computer that talked. Thought it was a demon. The solution for this victory was for the pastor to drive to the church and turn off the computer.
You: Have you ever felt like your life was full of demons?
Two quick points to begin:
1) Demons are very real and very serious.
2) Jesus has authority over all spiritual matters.
God: Today we are going to look at another encounter Jesus had with a demon. This one is a little different in where it takes place, how the demon reacts and how Jesus responds to the demon.
Throughout the book of Mark, we have already seen Jesus cast out demons from people. Mark is painting the picture of the authority of Christ over the spiritual world.
This event happens right after Jesus calmed the storm. That is what we looked at last week. This is what happened once they got to the destination on the other side of the lake.
“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.” Mark 5:1-5
Jesus and his disciples are going into the land of the Gerasenes. This is the first recorded time that Jesus went specifically into Gentile territory. He has certainly had encounters with Gentiles before, but this is the first time that he has gone to the region in which they live.
This man was deeply troubled. He lived in the tombs and was constantly looking to do harm to himself. In those days, it was very common for the tombs to be placed outside of the village and to be cut out of rock. They basically formed “mini caves” where someone who wanted to live among the tombs could go and find shelter. This man had been sent out of the community because of his behavior and they wanted nothing to do with him. The tombs were a natural place for this man to live because the belief in that day was that evil spirits lived in the tombs. No matter how much they tried to bind him and control him, no one was strong enough to handle him. Scholars agree that this man was as scripture says tormented by demons, and he did anything to try to get rid of the pain that he felt.
Today, many people live among the tombs in our world. They feel outcast, they hurt themselves, and they are shunned. They are the kind of people no one knows what to do with.
What are the “tombs” in our world today?
Pornography, drugs, alcohol, infidelity….
The torment we feel today is very real and very powerful.
“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!" For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.” Mark 5:6-10
The demons controlling the man immediately recognized Jesus.
They ran to him and bowed to him. It was not as an act of worship, but an act of respect as one would bow before ones captor.
The demon recognized that he was in the presence of one far superior to himself.
Notice the change in role. The demon, the tormentor, is now the one making deals and trying to escape his fate. Power has shifted from the demonic control to Godly control.
Jesus talks with this demon. He asked his name. The name Legion remains a mystery. A legion was a group of Roman soldiers consisting of over 6,000 men. Many scholars think that it was not one but many demons possessing the man. That is very likely. Whatever the case, the man was unable to act on his own because of the very control the demon had in his life.
Do you ever feel helpless to act on your own? Do you feel like you are under the control of something? It may not be a demon, but the control may be very real.
There are some very real “demons” in my own life that I have battled for years. They are not literal demons, but they are the things that lurk inside of me that I am not able to control on my own.
When faced with a “demon” we need to recognize the authority of Jesus to overcome the control in our lives.
“Though we are not tormented by the devil (I wonder?) yet he holds us as his slaves, until the Son of God delivers us from his tyranny. Naked, torn, and disfigured we wander about, til he restores us to soundness of mind.” John Calvin
“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. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.” Mark 5:11-20
The herd of pigs nearby is one of the evidences we have that this is a Gentile region. Pigs were unclean according to Jewish law. Therefore, Jewish people would not be herding pigs. Jesus allows the demons to possess the herd and they immediately take the herd over the edge of the cliff and into the lake where they drown.
Think of the symbolism here. Jesus has just calmed the storm on the lake. The disciples were terrified because the lake represented the abyss of spirits. Also, the scripture tells us that Jesus went ashore. It appears that the disciples are still trembling in the boat.
Word naturally spreads. When the people came, they found the man who had lived among the tombs, under the control of the evil spirit in his right mind, dressed and talking with Jesus. Naturally they asked Jesus to leave.
The man, naturally wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus tells him to go home and to live there. Why? Jesus leaves the man in the Decapolis, a large region made up of ten cities, to become a living parable to the power of God over evil. When this man told his story, the people were amazed.
We are living parables of the power of Christ.
You: Are you living in the power of Christ or are you still in the tombs? Is your life telling the story that God intends for you to tell?
