ESSENTIAL KING JESUS: LEGION OF CHAINS
MARK 5:1-20
#kingjesus
USE AUDIO BIBLE: Mark Chapter 5:1-43 [5:32]
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Mark.5
INTRODUCTION
ILLUSTRATION… https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/4768151/amazing-grace-my-chains-are-gone/viewlyrics
My chains are gone I've been set free; My God my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains; Unending love amazing grace.
ILLUSTRATION… https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/7060031/chain-breaker/viewlyrics
Verse 1
If you've been walking the same old road; For miles and miles
If you've been hearing the same old voice; Tell the same old lies
If you're trying to fill the same old holes inside; There's a better life; There's a better life
Chorus
If you've got pain He's a pain taker; If you feel lost He's a way maker
If you need freedom or saving; He's a prison shaking Savior
If you got chains He's a chain breaker
ILLUSTRATION… https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/5910977/break-every-chain/viewlyrics
Chorus
There is power in the name of Jesus; There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus; To break every chain
Break every chain break every chain
Verse
All sufficient sacrifice; So freely given such a price; Bought our redemption Heaven's gates
Swing wide
Chorus
There is power in the name of Jesus; There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power in the name of Jesus; To break every chain
Break every chain break every chain
ILLUSTRATION… https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/7074690/chains/viewlyrics
Verse 1
Jesus who You are amazes me; You laid Your own life down; To set the captives free
You knew the worst part; Still You chose to die; So in Your resurrection we could come alive
Chorus
There’s no other love like this; No other love that’s breaking chains chains
There’s no other love like this; No other love that’s breaking chains chains
You hear those chains falling falling off of me; And now we’re dancing 'cause were finally free
No other love like this no other love; That’s breaking chains chains
ILLUSTRATION… https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/1773799/remember-your-chains/viewlyrics
(So) remember your chains; Remember the prison that once held you; Before the love of God broke through; Remember the place you were without grace; When you see where you are now
Remember your chains; And remember your chains are gone
ILLUSTRATION… https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/4293808/break-every-chain/viewlyrics
Break every chain; Break every chain; Where Your Spirit is; There is liberty
As You break every chain; Break every chain
Break every chain; Break every chain; Sins that bind; Are stripped away
As You break every chain; Break every chain
Break every chain; Break every chain; Forgiveness flows; And our love grows
As You break every chain; Break every chain
ESSENTIAL KING JESUS
We are in Mark chapter 5 this morning and we are going to look at an absolute amazing passage that describes what happened to Jesus when He entered an area where a demon-possessed man lived. The whole passage teaches us something very important about Jesus that we need to understand and that we definitely need to share with others. This Truth about Jesus speaks to our brokenness and the sinful nature that we all deal with.
We are focusing on the Essential King Jesus. Essential King Jesus from chapter 5 is: Jesus breaks our chains.
RE-READ MARK 5:1-5 (ESV)
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet Him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 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. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
Jesus steps onto land and a man under bondage to evil immediately finds Him. We get a sense of this poor man’s life and it is not good. He had been driven to live in tombs. People had tried to help him by trying to chain him to control what was happening to him, but the evil in him was stronger than all chains and irons. The worst part I think is verse 5. The man was being tortured by the unclean spirits and he not only cried out in pain or anger or anguish, but he hurt himself as well.
What words would we use to describe this man? Deranged. Afflicted. Tormented. Unclean. Hurting. Bloody. Enraged. Miserable. Hostile.
I cannot help but notice that the man has been physically chained hand and foot and is very much chained symbolically to the demons that fill his life. Right away I can’t help but see our lives in this man. This man is chained by demons that infest his life. You and I might deal with chains as well.
Addictions chain us to a substance in order to deal and cope with life.
Apathy chains us to not feeling like we will ever measure up and gives permission for hypocrisy.
Anger chains us to overreactions.
Envy and Greed chains us to material things and the need to have meaning by what we own.
Fear chains us to doubt and inaction.
Labels chain us away from our identity in Christ.
Lies and false beliefs chain us to defeat and a continual loss of worth.
Lust chains us to impure thoughts and ruins relationships.
Memories of the past chain us to mistakes and we can’t see grace.
Pornography is a chain that messes with us sexually.
Resentment chains us to pride which chains us to self-importance.
Social media chains us to the need to be affirmed and liked and celebrated.
Unforgiveness chains us to bitterness and the need to feel justified.
‘Chains’ are any of those sinful habits and attitudes that we feel tied to and we feel weighed down when it comes to life. Chains hold us. Chains bind us. Chains keep us from moving forward. Sinful chains drag us away from God and away from seeing ourselves as God sees us and identifying ourselves as God identifies us. I see this demon-possessed man that Jesus meets and he is chained to hopelessness and self-harm and chaos.
RE-READ MARK 5:6-10 (ESV)
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of Him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
It is very interesting that the demon-possessed man understood that he had nothing in common with Jesus. Jesus was the Son of the Most High God. The man was infested with servants of Satan. One was dedicated to righteousness and goodness and justice and peace. One was dedicated to unrighteousness and sin and perversion and chaos. I also cannot help notice that the demon-possessed man is running and falling and shouting and wild while Jesus seems composed and peaceful.
It is also completely evident that in this conversation and in this interaction that at no point are the demons in charge or have any sort of authority over Jesus. The demons fall before Jesus. The man knows Who Jesus is and knows that He has all power and all authority. When asked to give its name to show His authority, the demons do it and obey. The demon-possessed man does the begging. The demons understand that it is Jesus who can send them to eternal punishment following the last judgement. The demons enter this conversation with Jesus already knowing they are defeated.
I think of some of us in this passage as well. Sometimes when people encounter God they assume that He is angry because of sin or wants to torture them into submission and a life of righteousness. Many people assume God is mad at them. Where do they get that idea? Many times that idea comes from their own guilty conscience. People are aware of God and are aware they do not measure up, but don’t really know what God thinks about them. They also know they don’t want to change.
Other times that idea comes from us. We who are believers are many times more famous for what we disapprove of or cannot tolerate rather than sharing about our gracious loving Father.
RE-READ MARK 5:11-13
A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure 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.
We find in verses 11-13 a potential problem for some as we are reading the Gospel of Mark. Twice in the Gospels, here and when Jesus curses the fig tree (Matthew 21, Mark 11) we see Jesus associated with some kind of destruction. Jesus being associated with destruction does not sit well with some folks and is indeed out of character for Jesus given His life-giving nature. Jesus heals, provides, comforts, and builds… He does not destroy.
If we look quite closely at these verses, however, Jesus did not command the demons to leave the man and enter the pigs… that destructive path was the idea of the demons and Jesus only gave permission. I do not think I am rationalizing anything or splitting hairs or making any excuses.
Yes, Jesus is sovereign.
Yes, the demons wanted to go into the pigs.
Yes, Jesus let them.
The destruction of the pigs shows us that Jesus has complete authority over everything including demons. Jesus can destroy demons and restore, forgive, and make all things right. It is also true that in giving permission, Jesus prioritized the health and well-being of the man over the health and well-being of the pigs.
RE-READ MARK 5:14-17
Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 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. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
The man’s condition had completely changed. His composure and peace now matches Jesus. Where once he was chaotic and wild and hurting, he is now peace-filled and orderly and dressed. I can imagine his whole world changed. His whole outlook changed. It might even feel like a dream to him.
We find a few interesting attitudes with the townsfolk that may or may not surprise us:
First, notice that the people were afraid (verse 15). The man went from demon-possessed and wild to peaceful and that change did not bring gladness to them, but fear. Fear because they could not explain it. Fear because it was change. Fear because it was different. Change, the unknown, and differences brought the townspeople fear.
We are sometimes not so different from them. We fear what we cannot explain. We fear change. We fear what is different. I hope you can see in this passage that their fear is misplaced, unfounded, and got in the way of having a relationship with Jesus. It is the same for us.
Second, notice that the people asked Jesus to leave (verse 17). This is one of the most important verses in all of the passage and the most heartbreaking. Jesus has just worked a true miracle against the actual forces of darkness in this region and all He gets for His effort is a thumbs down and a request to leave. He came, He saw, He conquered, and they did not give Him the t-shirt. It seems like the people feared Jesus more than the demons or loved pigs more than people. The townsfolk rejected what Jesus was offering.
We need to understand that not everyone who encounters Jesus will accept Him. Some people will reject Jesus even though they experience Him. Some want their life the way they want it and they don’t want God playing in their sandbox. Some do not want to submit to Jesus as Lord and Savior.
It is heartbreaking when someone we love rejects Jesus. I think it is even more emotional when they accept Jesus for a while and then the struggles of this life or worry or temptation or doubts left untended steal away their faith and they walk away from God. People have a choice to do that. All of us do. Jesus does not force faith on any of us. Jesus could have demanded respect after He healed this man and helped their entire area, but Jesus let them choose. He lets us choose. He lets the people we love choose.
RE-READ MARK 5:18-20 (ESV)
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with Him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” 20 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.
As the passage closes, we have a stark contrast of begging. Actually, we have had begging the whole time through the passage. The demons begged Jesus not to torture them and asked that they go into pigs. The townspeople beg Jesus to leave their region. Now, in verse 18, the man who had been healed begged to go with Jesus. What a contrast! In response to healing, the town wants Jesus to leave. In response to healing, the man wants to go with Jesus.
We learn several important truths from Jesus’ response:
First, it is the job of every convert to be a disciple that follows Jesus. Our desire as Christians above all else should be to ‘be with Jesus.’ More than one passage in the New Testament commands us to abide in Jesus… to pick up our cross and follow Him… to dwell in His presence… and to follow after Him on the narrow way. That means we deny ourselves and we submit to Jesus as Lord and Savior. That means we spend time with God in prayer, Bible study, discussing Scripture sharpening one another, worshipping, tithing, meditating on God, listening to Christian music, and practicing spiritual disciplines like rest, fasting, and solitude. We should be committed to anything that drives us towards God and allows us and encourages us to spend time with Jesus.
Why spend time with Jesus? Because it is Jesus Who breaks our chains [Essential King Jesus].
Second, it is the job of every convert to be a disciple that tells others what the Lord has done for us and how He has had mercy on us. This means we cannot hide our sins. This means we cannot hide how we have changed. We must share the story of how we once we lost, but in our lost-ness Jesus found us and gave us a clean slate. None of us are pure or sinless. All of us in Christ are forgiven and blameless. If we keep Jesus to ourselves as a private matter, we betray everything Jesus has done. This means we encourage our family members to read the Bible and ask questions about faith. This means we watch carefully for opportunities to pray for our friends and share with them the hope that we have. This means we dig into our faith so that we can explain what we believe and why to others.
Why share Jesus? Because it is Jesus Who can and will break their chains [Essential King Jesus].
ILLUSTRATION… https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/7022191/lift-your-head-weary-sinner-chains/viewlyrics
Lift your head weary sinner; The river's just ahead; Down the path of forgiveness
Salvation's waiting there; You built a mighty fortress; Ten thousand burdens high
Love is here to lift you up; Here to lift you high
If you're lost and wandering; Come stumbling in like a prodigal child
See the walls start crumbling; Let the gates of glory open wide
All who strayed and walked away; Unspeakable things you've done
Fix your eyes on the mountain; Let the past be dead and gone
Come all saints and sinners; You can't outrun God
Whatever you've done can't overcome; The power of the blood
Let the chains fall let the chains fall; Let the chains fall let the chains fall
Let the chains fall let the chains fall; Let the chains the chains the chains
The chains the chains the chains fall
APPLICATION
I do not know what chains you down in life.
Romans 8 tells us that we can “set our minds on the things of the flesh” (verse 5) and those things chain us to that kind of life that is hostile to God (verse 7). Chains of the flesh mean we cannot and do not want to submit to God (verse 7) and do not please God (verse 8).
Galatians 5 lists things like “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” Each of those things in the Apostle Paul’s list in Galatians 5 is a chain to a kind of life that God does not want for us.
Galatians 6 tells us that if we sow into fleshly sinful things that fleshly sinful things is all we will get out of our lives (verse 8). We reap what we sow.
I do not know what chains you down in life, but I do know that King Jesus breaks our chains and offers forgiveness, grace, a way out of temptation, a clean slate, a do-over, a path forward, a new identity, a seal of approval, and so much mire. Jesus breaks all our chains and offers a life lived in Him and for Him.
PRAYER
INVITATION
I want to invite you to submit to Jesus with your life today and choose Him as Lord and Savior if that is not something you have ever done. Come forward and confess that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the Living God and God will respond by the forgiveness of sins in the blood of Jesus and will give you the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let Jesus break your chains.
I want to invite you to re-submit your life to Jesus if you have already chosen Him. As we sing, pray and commit your will and heart to Jesus and thank Jesus for being the One Who break all the chains. Offer Him thanks. Offer Him praise.
