And they are impossible as for as man is concerned. For example, in Mark chapters 4 and 5, we read of situations that only the Lord Jesus could deal with.
• In Mark 4:38, Jesus and His disciples were sailing on the Sea of Galilee when a tremendous storm overwhelmed their boat. The storm was so severe it seemed like all of His disciples were going down to a watery grave. While that storm far exceeded their abilities, it posed no problem for the Master of the Sea. He calmed the storm and He calmed His men.
• Also in this chapter, Jesus encountered a man possessed by thousands of demons. This poor, demon possessed man was in a desperate situation. He was unable help himself; no one else could help him. NO ONE!
• After this incident, Jesus will deal with a diseased woman that no doctor could help.
• After this situation, the Lord dealt with a dead girl, and again no man could help her.
All four of these situations were hopeless from a human perspective. Yet, in each of these cases, Jesus proved that He was the Master of them all.
For example:
• If that demon possessed man were alive today, he would be sent to live in a mental institution.
• That diseased woman would be sent to terminal care ward.
• The dead girl would be sent to the cemetery.
This passage teaches us that whether He is faced with storms, demons, disease, or death, Jesus is able to handle whatever comes His way.
Sometimes we know someone that seems to be in such bad shape spiritually that no one can help them. I mean no one! (Husbands, this is not a good time to be looking at your wives.) We all know people that seem to be beyond help, so we just leave them alone to die and go to a Christ-less eternity.
As far as mankind is concerned, in all four situations they are hopeless. For example, we see how hopeless this man that was demon possessed was. Everyone around him had done everything they possibly could to help him, but no one could help him. He lived his life in:
• Isolation
• Desperation
• Devastation
We can all be thankful that God reveals the life of this man in the scriptures, because many times we find ourselves in the same situation.
Notice, his only companions were the dead bodies in the cemetery and the demons that dwelt within him. But when Jesus Christ walked into this hopeless situation, HE CHANGED EVERYTHING!
We see . . .
I. THE SAVAGE
Now, I know it is not nice to call someone a savage, but this is the only way this man can be described.
In Mark 5:1-5, we read, “And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.”
Illus: When Dr. Odell Belger was in Bible College, he worked at a local hospital on the afternoon shift. One day when he went to work they assigned him to go to the Psychiatric ward to sit in a patient’s room and watch this large man who some thought was demon possessed. They had his hands and his feet tied down to a bed. The only job that Dr. Belger had on that shift was to sit in that room and make sure he did not break out of those leather straps that had him tied to the bed. For eight hours this man looked at him and he looked back at the man. He was thrilled when it was quitting time and he could go home. The next night they put Dr. Belger on one of the regular floors to work at the hospital next door. During that that shift, they announced on the intercom for all the orderlies to rush to six West, because this man had broken the straps and he was now in the hospital. When Dr. Belger reached the man, he saw 10 or 12 had showed up already. Some were on the floor where this large fellow had put them and he had two more orderlies in his clutches. One was hanging on one arm and the other one was on the other arm and this big old man must have thought he was a helicopter, swinging them around and bouncing them off the walls. The supervisors told Dr. Belger to get in there and help them and Dr. Belger told her, “Listen, you do not pay me enough to get in that situation.”
This demon possessed man in the scriptures was like this; he had to be tied up like you would tie up a vicious animal. After reading these verses, we all can say we have never met anyone that was in any worst shape this man. Look at-
A. HIS PROBLEM
Look at verse 2-4, we read, “And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.”
This man is demon possessed. The Devil is his master, and this man is in a state of utter hopelessness and absolute helplessness. HE IS UNDER THE CONTROL OF SATAN.
We are told that he has, “an unclean spirit”! Then, we find out that he is not just the home to one foul spirit, but he is possessed by “a legion” of demons. Look at verse 9 we read, “And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.” A legion in the Roman army could be anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 men.
In v. 13, we are told that when the demons were forced to leave this man’s body, they entered into a herd of swine that numbered around 2,000! And once they entered them, they all ran into the water and committed HOG-A-CIDE!
This poor, pitiful individual was totally under the control of the devil! Listen, we all would be surprised today that many of the people we come into contact with are controlled by Satan as well.
• I have heard people say, “He has one filthy mouth. I do not know why he or she uses such foul language all the time.” Why? It could be because he is filled with a cursing demon.
• The other day, a Christian lady said, “I have a grown niece” and she said, “Preacher, this niece of mine will tell one lie after the other. She has been that way all her life. I do not know why she is that way.”
I would just remind you that this man’s situation is no different from that of every lost soul in the world today.
In John 8:44, we read, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
THE PROBLEM of this man in our text was thousands of demons that had totally taken over his life.
B. HIS PAIN
This man had brought a lot of misery into the life of those who knew him. But he also brought a lot of misery into his own life.
Look at verses 3-4, “Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.”
Two words describe this man’s condition. Those words are, “TOMBS” and “CHAINS.” Those words reveal the truth that this man had his dwelling among the dead.
Illus: In those days, people were not usually buried in the ground. Tombs were carved into the hillsides and the bodies were placed there. Because of the demons within this man, he spent his time with the bones and the decaying corpses of the dead.
Again, we are told in verse 4, that the people around him tried their best to restrain him from hurting himself and others.
• They would catch him and bind him with “fetters and chains”.
• “Fetters” would have been attached to his feet. “Chains” would have bound his hands, his arms and his torso.
But, these man-made devices could not hold him. He broke them apart as easily as a child tears a piece of paper.
When we look at this poor soul, it isn’t hard to make the leap from his condition to the condition of the lost around us. They are trapped in the same state of pitiful depravity.
The sin that possesses the heart of the lost sinner drives him to spend his days and waste his years with those who are dead in sin. Death and the works of deadness are all they care about!
• The lost hate things that pertain to life in Christ.
• They hate everything that has to do with God and His work in the world.
Illus: This is why you have to literally beg them to attend church. They have a thousand excuses for why they do not come to church. Notice, I said they have many excuses, but they have no reasons why they do not come. They would rather sit home and watch television with those who live in the darkness of sin. The lost folks act like they act because they are sinners!
But look at the POWERLESSNESS of this demon-possessed man. Look at verse 5, “And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.”
• He is living among those tombs
• He is naked
• He runs around like a wild man day and night
• He cuts himself with rocks
• His body is covered with blood and scars
• He is filthy
• He smells
• He is terrifying to all who see him
• He screams and yells in his torment
He lives this lifestyle because he is under the control of Satan. He is in a desperate situation and he needs help! Whether you are lost and bound in sin or whether you are saved and out of God’s will, there is only one cure for your condition!
• You do not need a pill
• You do not need a psychiatrist
• You do not need a priest
• You do not need a twelve step program
You need Jesus!
• He is the antidote for the poison of sin
• He is the cure for your condition
• He is the solution to your problem
Such is this man’s desperate, wretched condition! It is horrible! This man’s life could be laid like a template over billions of others. There are people in this room, this city and county who are defiled, depraved and desperate! There are billions in this world just like this poor man.
They might not be as wild and as wicked as this man, but they need help. They need someone far more powerful than they are to set them free. There is only one place where they can find the help they need. This text tells us about Him and His name is Jesus!
We see THE SAVAGE and . . .
II. THE SAVIOR
Look at Mark 5:6-13, we read, “But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.”
In verses 6-13 we see some hope for this man. Let me show you some things about THIS SAVIOR.
A. HIS COMPASSION
Look at verse 6, we read, “But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,”
Everyone in that region feared this man. They fled in terror when he came near. Everyone else feared, avoided and despised this man; Jesus had compassion on him! Jesus cared about the condition he was in and Jesus was moved to do something about it!
We see people and sometimes we think that some are a lost cause. There may be some who thought this about you before you gave your heart to the Lord.
No one is beyond the compassionate touch of the Master!
• Not Zacchaeus in his tree
• Not Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road
• Not the Ethiopian eunuch with his religious confusion
There is a compassionate Savior waiting to set you free!
Jesus sees people with a different set of eyes than we do!
• We see their sins; He sees what He can make of their lives
• We see a drunk; He sees a deacon
• We see a drug addict; He sees a preacher
• We see a harlot: He sees a Sunday school teacher
He will take what you give Him and He will give you something much more precious in return!
• Give Jesus your crabapple; He'll give you back a golden delicious
• Give Jesus your thorn; He'll give you back an American rose
• Give Jesus your acorn; He'll give you back a mighty oak
B. HIS CONFRONTATION
In verses 6-13, this man who ran FROM everyone else, ran TO the Lord Jesus and fell at His feet. The demons that drove this man away from all human relationships drove him to the feet of Jesus.
These demons did not fall down before Jesus:
• To worship Him as Lord;
• They fell down in acknowledgement of His deity
They were bowing in subjection to the Lord of Lords!
• In verse 8, Jesus confronts the demons, ordering them to release the man.
• In verse 7, the demons acknowledge the deity and authority of Jesus, and they beg Him not to “torment” them. That is, they beg Him not to send them to Hell. Luke 8:31
• In verses 11-12, the demons requested that they might be allowed to enter into a herd of swine that was feeding nearby
• In verse 13, Jesus gives them permission and they leave the body of the man and enter the swine.
This passage also teaches us that man is the most depraved creature in existence. Notice, this one man could tolerate a “legion” of demons, v. 9.
Illus: A Roman legion consisted of around 6,000 soldiers! If you do the math, there were 2,000 swine in that herd. That comes out to three demons per pig. They couldn’t tolerate the presence of the devil and they committed “suey-cide”. Those pigs couldn’t stand just a few demons, yet this man was able to live with thousands. This just illustrates the human capacity for evil!
B. HIS COMMAND
We see in verse 13, every human effort had failed to deliver this poor soul from his bondage. But, one word from Jesus and He was free! That is the glory of God’s salvation!
• Man can try his religious works, but they will all fail to save him, Ephesians 2:8-9.
• Man can try his psychological shenanigans, but they will never convert the sinner’s heart.
• Man can try his pills, his potions, his programs, and his practices, but they will never save a single soul from Hell.
There is one solution to the problem of sin and His name is Jesus!
Conclusion:
We see THE SAVAGE and THE SAVIOR as they meet.
We see what the Lord does! You cannot meet Jesus and remain the same. He changes all those who come to Him.
• In verse 15, JESUS CLOTHED HIM - No longer is this man naked, now he has clothes!
• In verse 15, JESUS CALMED HIM - We are told that he is in his right mind! Where there had been turmoil and agitation, there is now perfect peace! He has been changed spiritually, physically and mentally!
What a picture of the total change that salvation brings to the converted sinner! Jesus literally gives everyone He saves a brand new life! Jesus easily took care of this hopeless situation, and He can do the same for you! He is the Master of the hopeless! With Him, there are No Hard Cases, there are only powerful solutions!
We see . . .
I. THE SAVAGE
II. THE SAVIOR
