“The Compassion of the Christ”
Mark 5:1-20
Mark 5:19 “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.”
God's Compassion
The word compassion appears 41 times in the Scripture and is almost always used to describe the mercy and sympathetic nature of the Lord. The most common verb used in the Greek New Testament to refer to God's compassion is splanchnizomai. This verb is used twelve times. Once it is used of the Samaritan's compassion for the wounded man (Luke 10:33). The other eleven uses refer to God's compassion. In two separate parables Jesus uses this verb to refer to God's compassion in saving and forgiving sinners (Matt. 18:27 and Luke 15:20). The remainder of the uses of this verb all refer to compassion as the major motivation for Jesus' healing and miracles. So in nine out of eleven occurrences where this verb is used of God's compassion it refers to the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ as his motivation for healing! What is the meaning of splanchnizomai when it refers to God's compassion? The nominal form of this word originally referred to the inner parts of a man, the heart, liver, and so on. It could be used of the inward parts of a sacrificial animal, but it became common to use this word in reference to the lower parts of the abdomen, the intestines, and especially the womb (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, eds. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1971] 7:548).
Some theologians have felt that this term was too rough or graphic to be used in reference to God's compassion. Using the word for 'intestines"" to refer to God's compassion is akin to our using the word 'guts"" for courage in modern English, as when we say, 'He really has guts."" However, I think the New Testament writers meant to do exactly this. They were impressing on the readers the power and the force of God's compassion. They may also have had in mind a physical feeling associated with compassion. Sometimes a sharp pain in the abdomen will accompany intense feelings of compassion or pity for those we love. The choice of such a graphic word served to impress the New Testament Christians that God's compassion for them was rooted in his deep love for them and his sensitivity to their pain.
Psalms 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
Psalms 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Matthew 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Matthew 20:34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.
Luke 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
I. His circumstances
In the third chapter of Mark’s Gospel, our Lord’s miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (verse 22). Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). From this point on, Jesus began to speak to the crowds in parables in order to veil or conceal the gospel from those who had blasphemed the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:lff). At the conclusion of this day of teaching by parables, the Lord had instructed His disciples to cross over the Sea of Galilee to the other side. This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). Sometime after the Lord Jesus miraculously calmed the storm, the ship landed, perhaps late in the evening,111 on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gerasenes.112 If, indeed, it was late at night, the scene must have been an eerie one, with the nerves of the disciples already worn thin by the terrifying experience of the storm.
A. His confrontation v. 1-2 The boat had no sooner touched the shore than out of the tombs rushes a ghastly ghostly figure wearing practically nothing, all disheveled and covered in dirt and filth smelling of rotten putrification from having come in contact with the
dead. From his wrists hang the remnants of ropes and fetters that men have used in vain to bind him but he cannot be bound. When we look at this poor creature we feel that he scarcely even resembles a human being but we have more in common with him than we know. Of course, we are far more sane, far more decent and respectable. The difference is a difference of degree rather than kind.
B. His community v. 3-4 This man who was at war within was also at war with his fellow man. Many times there had been efforts to restrain and restrict his anti-social behavior but to no effect for “no man could tame him.” When we get to fighting within ourselves, we tend to fight with our fellow man. Those torn by inward strife are generally hard to live with.
C. His conduct v. 5 - He was alone, considered incurable and left to wander among the mountains and the tombs, always restless and tormented. He had no hope for himself and nobody had hope for him. He would walk among the dead crying blood curdling screams and frequently cutting himself with sharp stones that he found.
II. His condition
Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms.
(1) Severe personality change. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. It is something like the behavior and personality change in a man who is totally intoxicated. More than this, however, is the fact that the man’s own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. When Jesus asked his name the man answered, “Legion, for we are many” (Mark 5:9). Those who have witnessed demon possession tell us that each demon has its own distinct personality and that the individual possessed begins to manifest the distinct personality of the demon by which he is possessed. If it is a feminine spirit, the voice will be a feminine one, if masculine then very manly.
(2) Anti-social behavior. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization.
(3) Spiritual insight. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. Instantly he recognized the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God (verse 7).116 There was a source of spiritual insight beyond human capabilities here. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, “Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom.117
(4) Super-human strength. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. Acts 19:16). The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. No matter what men attempted to bind him with, he broke loose. No one was strong enough to subdue him (verses 3,4).
(5) Torment. The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. Such was the case with this man (cf. verse 5). His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby.
(6) Tendency towards self-destruction. Another indication of demonic control is the fact that this man was continually doing harm to himself by gashing himself with stones (verse 5). Other demoniacs described in Scripture were bent on self-destruction as well (cf. Mark 9:17-29). The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine.
A. He was a deranged man - Reason was dethroned and he suffered from a divided personality. He was at war with himself or as H. G. Wells said, “He was not so much a personality but a battleground! We often meet and mingle with people like this man. The inner conflicts may be far less pronounced in some than others but all of us know something of the tragedy of a divided and disintegrating personality. B. He was a demon possessed man - Satan was enthroned in this man’s life. A legion was a Roman military term that could mean anywhere from 6,000 or 12,500 men. He was being pulled in a thousand different ways. We could ask the question when does demon possession take place. It happens when a man gives way to a spirit of rebellion, abandons moral restraints and deliberately violates his conscience to the point where he has no defenses. At that point Satan assumes control of him both mind and body.
C. He was a defiled man – For a Jew to touch a dead body would bring uncleanness and defilement.
III. His conversion
A Definition
The decisive act in which a sinner turns away from sin in genuine repentance and accepts the salvation that Christ offers. The imagery in conversion is that of turning. A person is going along a road and realizes that he or she is on the wrong track. They will never reach the destination if they continue in that direction. So the person 'turns,"" or 'is converted."" He or she ceases to go in the wrong direction and begins going in the right one. Conversion changes the direction of one's course of life from the wrong way to the right way, the way that God wants.
A. The place that he had – He is pictured sitting before the Lord. The man that had no place to call home has found a place at the feet of the Master. For years his only home was a graveyard but now Jesus says, “Go home…” can you the see with me the reunion that took place just a little later as this man made his way home and like the prodigal in Luke 15. He has now “come to himself…” and in his return to sanity there is a return to a father and mother who had all but given up on ever seeing their soon again, a return to a wife and children who perhaps bore the brunt of his deepening depravity but this man can now say “Thanks to Calvary, I’m no the man I used to be…”
B. The purity that he had – He is clothed who had no clothes. As soon as he came to himself he found some clothes to cover his nakedness.
There's an old story about a man who tried to save the city of Sodom from destruction by warning the citizens. But the people ignored him. One day someone asked, 'Why bother everyone? You can't change them."" 'Maybe I can't,"" the man replied, 'but I still shout and scream to prevent them from changing me!""
Lot was a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7) who should have done some screaming. The record of his life reminds us of how our sense of moral indignation can be dulled by the world. Lot chose to dwell in cities where there was great wickedness (Gen. 13:12, 13). When Sodom was invaded by hostile kings, he was captured. Even after Abraham rescued Lot, he was still drawn back to that wicked city (Gen. 19:1). And the last chapter of his story is an account of heartache and shame (Gen. 19). What a contrast, this nephew and his uncle! Abraham trusted God, prayed for the righteous, and lived a moral life. But Lot was 'oppressed with the filthy conduct of the wicked"" (2 Peter 2:7). Although the sin of his day bothered him, he apparently said little about it.
Our Daily Bread
C. The peace that he had – His personality is divided no longer. Clovis Chappell writes this, “Right here is one of the sharpest tests of our religion. Does it make us easy to live with? If we are cantankerous and disagreeable, if everybody is sorry when we come and glad when we go, then however Christian we may think ourselves, we have missed the mark…A real Christian will be able to meet this test.
I rest beneath the Almighty's shade,
My griefs expire, my troubles cease;
Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,
Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.
Charles Wesley.
Jane Roe Converted
Most of us were shocked in early August when Flip Benham, national director for Operation Rescue, baptized Norma McCorvey, the woman known as Jane Roe in the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The events leading to the baptism started with an apology. Earlier this year Benham relocated OR's national headquarters next to the abortion clinic where McCorvey worked. That same week Benham spoke to McCorvey. He apologized for an earlier encounter, when he had told McCorvey that she was responsible for millions of abortions. ''I saw that those words really hurt you,' I told her and asked her to forgive me. She said, 'Oh yes, it did hurt.'""
McCorvey forgave Benham and the two struck up a friendship. Even before her conversion, McCorvey spoke freely about the friendship. 'I like Flip,"" McCorvey told a reporter in March of this year. 'He's doing his thing."" The unconditional love Benham and other OR workers showed McCorvey eventually broke through. Though an icon to the pro-abortion movement, McCorvey felt used but as she saw firsthand the love of Christ through her new friends, McCorvey eventually felt more comfortable with them than with her clinic co-workers. She even dropped by OR's offices and sometimes picked up the phone when no one else was available.
That love and acceptance led McCorvey to a Dallas area church, where in late July she put her life in God's hands. 'Jane Roe was who the pro-abortion side cared about most,"" Benham says, 'but God was always concerned with Norma McCorvey."" The non-condemning love continues today. McCorvey has quit her job at the clinic and now works for OR.
McCorvey's conversion reminds all of us that the people who represent our opposition,even those whose actions we find most repulsive,are loved by God and are not beyond his reach. 'It moves this issue from politics to the Gospel. That is where God wanted it any way,"" Benham said.
