GOSPEL OF MARK: GOD’S SERVANT IN ACTION
JESUS CONFRONTS 6,000 DEMONS
A. Mark 5:1-20 (READ) (“LEGION” = 6,000)
ILLUSTRATION:
One night when I was a kid my little brother Johnny and I were riding with my older brother Alvin and a friend of his down a country road when we came upon an old CEMETERY. Alvin stopped the car and asked his friend, “Isn’t this the CEMETERY that has the blue light that jumps from headstone to headstone?” His friend Jimmy acknowledged that it was. So, Alvin
suggested that we get out of the CAR and check it out.
I don’t know if you’ve been to a CEMETERY at NIGHT, but it’s just a little CREEPY—especially for a KID. There was just the MOONLIGHT. We all got out of the car and started walking a little way into the CEMETERY looking for a BLUE LIGHT jumping around. Then Alvin said to
Johnny and me, “You two go look over on that side, and Jimmy and I will check-out this side.
So, Johnny and I reluctantly took a few steps to the right when suddenly Alvin and Jimmy, who were five-years older than me, took off RUNNING to the CAR. Now, they were hoping to get to the CAR and TAKE OFF before we got there, but let me tell you, in a moment of FRIGHT—a FAT BOY can RUN pretty FAST.
B. Throughout Mark’s GOSPEL we have seen Jesus confronting DEMON-POSSESSION.
1. The first confrontation that Jesus had with a demon-possessed man was in a SYNAGOGUE—a place of WORSHIP (Mark 1:21ff), and here we find Jesus CONFRONTING a demon-possessed man at a
CEMETERY.
a. The Devil doesn’t care WHO you are or WHERE you are, his INFLUENCE is wide-spread.
b. In fact, every time we are TEMPTED, we feel the DEVIL’S INFLUENCE.
COMMENT:
We all STRUGGLE with SIN. Satan is out there trying to DESTROY us, and he will ATTACK us where we are most VULNERABLE. We know that PAINFULLY well.
2. But there are times when Satan moves into one’s LIFE and causes even the most GODLY person to
commit VILE acts.
COMMENT:
Do you think King David, a man after God’s own HEART, ever IMAGINED that he would COMMIT ADULTERY and then CONSPIRE to have his lover’s HUSBAND KILLED so he could
take her for his WIFE?
Do you think the Apostle Peter, one of Jesus’ BEST FRIENDS, ever IMAGINED that he would OPENLY DENY even KNOWING Jesus the night He was TRIED and EXECUTED on the CROSS?
3. Have you ever COMMITTED a SIN of which you are DEEPLY ASHAMED and you just knew that
you, of all people, would never even DREAM of doing anything like that, but you did? (Yea, me, too.)
COMMENT:
In our STUDY this morning, we will see the EFFECTS of Satan’s INFLUENCE in a man’s life. Whether by DEMON POSSESSION or INTENSE TEMPTATION, Satan and his FORCES of
EVIL can INFLUENCE us do some of the most UNGODLY THINGS.
But we will also see that regardless of how POWERFUL Satan is, Jesus Christ is infinitely more POWERFUL John writes, “. . . the One who is in US is more powerful than the one who is in the world”- 1 John 4:4b. This INFINITE TRUTH is seen ever so clearly in our text this morning.
MESSAGE:
ILLUSTRATION:
Dusk was quickly approaching. Jesus and the apostles were in their BOATS crossing the Sea of Galilee. Just moments before, “Jesus had CALMED a FIERCE STORM that had FRIGHTENED the DISCIPLES, some of whom are SEASONED FISHERMEN, who thought
they were going to DROWN”- Mark 4:35-41.
The BOATS sale closer and closer to shore as the SUN sets in the DISTANCE. The water is GLASSY SMOOTH, having just become that way at the spoken WORD of the Son of God. The DISCIPLES are probably deep in their own THOUGHTS, still mulling over the AMAZING
MIRACLE that has just taken place.
Suddenly, the quiet LAPPING of the WATER on the SHORE is interrupted by a PIERCING SCREAM coming from the CEMETERY. It sounds HUMAN and yet, UNEARTHLY. Seemingly, out of nowhere, a WOUNDED, NAKED MAN—HAIR MATTED, EYES WILD, BROKEN CHAINS RATTLING from his WRISTS and ANKLES—runs up to
Jesus on the SHORE and THROWS himself down at His feet.
“What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” He SHOUTED! “Swear to God that you won’t TORTURE me.” “What is your NAME?” Jesus asked. “My name is LEGION,” he replied, “For we are MANY.”
COMMENT:
Here was a man whom had Satan’s DEMONIC FORCES take over his life, causing him to
be an OUTCAST living in the TOMBS outside of TOWN.
What do you think he was like before the DEVIL took over? Jesus talks about his “FAMILY” in v. 19. Could he have been a loving HUSBAND and a caring FATHER at one
time? Maybe he was a RESPECTED citizen of the COMMUNITY at one time.
We really don’t know for sure what his LIFE was LIKE. But we do know for some reason that Satan’s DEMONIC FORCES targeted him. Was he a THREAT to Satan? Did Satan use him to DESTROY the FAITH of others? Whatever the REASON for Satan’s ATTACKS, this
man’s LIFE was DRASTICALLY AFFECTED.
I want us to see how Satan’s INFLUENCE can AFFECT people today and to see how Jesus can set us FREE.
I. AFFECTS OF SATAN’S POWERFUL INFLUENCE
A. This man got so BAD that he was totally ABANDONED by other HUMAN BEINGS.
1. Mark said, “the man had been CHAINED hand and foot but kept BREAKING them, and no
one was strong enough to subdue him”- v. 4
COMMENT:
I don’t think his countrymen CHAINED him to be CRUEL. I think these were ATTEMPTS by his FAMILY and FRIENDS and others to PROTECT him. But no matter what they TRIED,
it couldn’t HELP him. So, they finally QUIT trying.
2. SIN, especially IMPENITENT sin, SEPARATES and ALIENATES.
a. The more a person comes under the INFLUENCE of EVIL, the harder it becomes to LIVE with
him/her until, finally, you can’t stand being around the person and you start PULLING AWAY.
b. During the months that King David refused to ACKNOWLEDGE and REPENT of his sins, he
writes, “My friends and companions avoid me . . . my neighbors stay far away”- Psalm 38:11.
c. SIN often drives people to EXTREME LONELINESS.
B. This man was extremely VIOLENT.
1. Sin often destroys the finer qualities in a person such as LOVE, GENTLENESS, and
TENDERNESS.
2. Satan’s INFLUENCE is seen everywhere.
COMMENT:
WIFE BATTERING, CHILD BEATING, SCHOOL SHOOTINGS, CHURCH SHOOTINGS, BUILDINGS being BLOWN-UP KILLING HUNDREDS and sometimes THOUSANDS, BEHEADINGS of INNOCENT PEOPLE in the name of God—they’re all on the RISE today as men and women, boys and girls DRIFT farther and farther AWAY from the TRUE God and nearer and nearer to Satan.
3. Such VIOLENCE comes as the result of EXTREMES of SIN, and God HATES such VIOLENCE.
a. Proverbs 3:31- “Do not envy a violent man, or choose any of his ways.”
b. Psalm 11:5- “The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence
His soul hates.”
C. This man became his own WORST ENEMY.
1. It wasn’t the constant BLOWS of his COUNTRYMEN that kept this man staggering around, gashed and bleeding—he was CUTTING himself with STONES.
2. Sin does that, too—it makes a person his own WORST ENEMY.
COMMENT:
The ALCOHOLIC, the DRUG ADDICT, the man or woman riddled with a COMMUNICABLE DISEASE or waiting for the HIV VIRUS to become active, DESTROYS him or herself. Sin is SELF-DESTRUCTIVE.
ILLUSTRATION:
But not only does it DESTROY the person caught up in SIN, but their FAMILIES as well. My wife, Brenda along with her younger sister and brothers, were RIPPED apart and PLACED in different HOMES because of her mother’s PROMISCUITY and her father’s ALCOHOLISM.
3. Don’t you see why God says to STAY-AWAY from SIN?
a. God is not just some big “KILL-JOY” who delights taking away the FUN STUFF so that we’ll walk around MISERABLE all the time
ILLUSTRATION:
Have you ever VISITED someone in a DRUNK TANK in a COUNTY JAIL? Have you ever seen a kid who OVERDOSED on DRUGS? Have you ever had to INFORM PARENTS that their daughter was KILLED while riding in a CAR with a FRIEND where they both had DRANK too much at a PARTY?
I have! And I didn’t see any FUN in those ROOMS. I didn’t see any PLEASURE there. All I saw was HEARTACHE.
b. Yes, God’s Word contains DOs and DON’Ts because He CREATED us, and He knows what will bring TRUE JOY to our lives and He knows what will bring DESTRUCTION.
c. God knows what is BEST for us!
4. SIN is PLEASURABLE, but a few moments of PLEASURE are not worth the MISERY it
produces.
a. Even though King David was “a man after God’s own heart,” he undoubtedly ENJOYED the few moments of PASSIONATE, unbridled PLEASURE with Bathsheba, another man’s wife.
b. But he soon learned that his SIN brought him more MISERY than it ever did PLEASURE- Psalm 38:1-11 (READ & COMMENT)
ILLUSTRATION:
Many of us know very well what David was going through, because we have been there. We may not be guilty of the same SINS, but we know the MISERY that our own SINS have PRODUCED. We know the GUILT. We have SHED the TEARS.
We have felt the ANGUISH in our HEARTS and the SEARING PAIN in our BODIES. We have heard the WHISPERS and have seen the LOOKS. We have EXPERIENCED the SLEEPLESS NIGHTS wondering if God really will FORGIVE us.
And while we are CRUSHED by the WEIGHT of our SIN, Satan stands back and LAUGHS and starts PLANNING for the NEXT TIME he can bring MISERY upon us!
II. REGARDLESS OF HOW POWERFUL SATAN IS, JESUS CAN SET US FREE
A. From all indication, it seems like this man is in a HOPELESS condition—he is POSSESSED not by
ONE, but by MANY demons. (Again, a LEGION is equivalent to 6,000.)
1. Undoubtedly, this POOR MAN wanted to be FREE, but he didn’t know HOW—he didn’t know to
whom to TURN.
COMMENT:
When Jesus came on SHORE, the DEMONS recognized Him immediately. I don’t know what the MAN who is POSSESSED UNDERSTANDS, but he is DESPERATE and the POWER to set him FREE is standing right in front of him.
2. At the word of Jesus, the DEMONS were cast out of the MAN and sent into a HERD of PIGS that
ran off a CLIFF and DROWNED in the LAKE.
a. The man was finally SET FREE from the INFLUENCE of Satan.
COMMENT:
Whatever anyone else had TRIED to do to HELP this man, had FAILED. The only answer to our SIN PROBLEM is Jesus. Jesus DELIVERED this man from his INWARD BONDAGE.
The man came to his SENSES and was a NEW PERSON.
The INNER STRUGGLE was gone. His need to ENGAGE in VIOLENT behavior was no longer there. He sat at the feet of Jesus, fully clothed, listening to EVERY WORD, soaking it up
like a SPONGE.
b. Jesus SET him FREE!
B. Jesus Christ can SET us FREE from Satan’s POWERFUL INFLUENCE, as well.
1. When our situation becomes DESPERATE enough to reach out for HELP, if we reach out to Jesus,
we will find the HELP we need.
a. Romans 6:18a- “You have been set free from sin…”
b. John 8:36- “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
2. You are sitting in a room full of people who have been USED and ABUSED by Satan, but have
been SET FREE!
COMMENT:
We may be sitting here looking like we never have any PROBLEMS, especially with SIN, but the fact is God has brought many of us a GREAT DISTANCE. We have all had our
STRUGGLES with SIN, but because of Jesus we are FORGIVEN.
So, if you’re sitting here STRUGGLING today, thinking how OUT OF PLACE you feel because you can’t believe any of us have ever STRUGGLED, think again.
ILLUSTRATION:
I read about a man who was in NEED of Jesus. His WIFE was a Christian, but her husband was a man who DRANK a lot and GAMBLED away his money. He never went to church, with his WIFE and often BELITTLED her for going. But one Sunday morning, out of the clear blue, he got READY and went to church with his wife. There he was, sitting there with all the WELL-DRESSED, seemingly PROBLEM-FREE people. He said he felt so UNCOMFORTABLE, so UNLIKE those around him, that he almost LEFT.
But while he was thinking of leaving, the SERVICE began. When the PREACHER got up, he began his SERMON with these words from 1 Corinthians 6:9-10- “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
The man thought to himself, “Well, I guess that leaves me out.” But then the PREACHER went on to read the following verse, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
And then the preacher did an unusual thing: He looked over his congregation and said, “As I read this list of SINS, I wonder if you would be BOLD enough to STAND as a TESTIMONY of God’s POWER of DELIVERANCE in your life.” He then began READING the LIST: “SEXUALLY IMMORAL.” Not much movement. “IDOLATERS.” One lady stood exclaiming that sometimes her JOB does take the PLACE of God in her LIFE—then others STOOD. “ADULTERERS.” A long pause, then a brave SOUL stood, and then another and another.
And on he went through the LIST—until at the END almost the entire CONGREGATION was standing. The man looked around and said to his WIFE, “Sweetheart, maybe I do belong here after all.”
COMMENT:
You see, the MESSAGE the man heard that day was that although we are full of FAILURE and FRAILTY and SIN, because of Jesus Christ we can be REPENT and be FORGIVEN of SIN and DELIVERED from Satan. Christ can set us FREE, but we have to WANT to be FREE!!
CONCLUSION:
A. HOW HAS SATAN BEEN INFLUENCING YOUR LIFE LATELY?
