November 16, 2003
Title: Pleading with Jesus
Text: Mark 5:1-20
Introduction
1. The devil and his demons have become a big joke...
people picture him wearing red long johns...
with horns and a pitchfork...
and it causes people to not take it seriously...
in fact, many people don’t believe that the devil exists...
2. But just like there is a God and good spiritual beings, like angels...
there is a devil and there are demons.
there are numerous stories of demon possession in Scripture...
and I would like for us to look at one this morning.
3. Read Mark 5:1-20
Body
1. Background of City and surrounding area where this miracle took place. (pics from Holylandphotos.org)
A. Before we study this miracle, I would like for us to look at this geographical area...
and as we look at this area, what it looks like today...
and what it would have been like in Jesus day...
I hope that it will give us more insight into this fascinating event from God’s Word
B. The city of Gerasa, also called Gadara, is located about 6 miles from the Sea of Galilee.
Back in Mark 4:35, Jesus says to His disciples, "let us go over to the other side" of the Sea of Galilee.
The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake.
This lake is 12 1/2 miles long, and from 4 to 7 1/2 broad (depending on where you are at)
It is roughly an oval shape.
Jewish historians indicate that about 230 ships would fish this lake regularly in Jesus day.
It is still a good place for fishing even today.
The area that they sailed to was (and is) a rural area,
the area was designated, "the region of the Gerasenes"
because it was "the region where the people in and around Gerasa lived"
The City in that vicinity today is called Kursi.
Because of the evidence of Scripture...
how the geography is described...
with the pigs running down the steep hill into the lake where they drowned.
Also, we know this was a Greek settlement, surrounded by Jewish Settlements.
And since Jews considered pigs unclean, and would never eat them...
obviously they wouldn’t have kept pigs.
So, by that process, they can determine that this is the probable location of this miracle.
In Jesus’ day, there was a harbor with a 10 foot high wall of stones serving as a breakwater---
to protect the fishing boats from the sudden storms on the Sea of Galilee.
in the 5th Century AD, a church and monastery was built here as a service to people who wanted to visit the "Miracle of the Swine".
This monastery was inhabited for 3 centuries, but in the 8th Century AD, it was severely damaged by earthquake and abandoned.
It was only since the 1970’s that this site was found, when bulldozers uncovered archeological evidence of the monastery.
They even found a small chapel near a cave, and tradition ties this cave to the place were the demon-possessed man lived.
This location is now open to the public.
2. The Demon Pleaded with Jesus v. 10, 12
A. As we turn our attention to our Scripture, first of all, I want you to notice that the demon pleaded with Jesus.
Jesus got out of the boat, and this demon-possessed man came to Him.
Even from a distance, the demon recognized the Son of God.
This man, driven by a demon, ran and fell on his knees before Jesus.
Then he shouted at the top of his lungs, "what do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God"?
It is interesting that this demon acknowledged who Jesus is...
when at the same time, the disciples were struggling with that same issue.
They had just seen Jesus calm a storm on the Sea of Galilee on their trip over...
they were probably still shaken up by that event...
and then they see this demon-possessed man acknowledge Christ.
And then the demon says something pretty ironic...
he says, "swear to God that you won’t torture me"
Jesus asked the demon his name...
he said, "Legion, for we are many"
In the Roman army, a "legion" consisted of 6,000 troops.
this man was possessed by many demons, and it made his life a living hell.
In verse 10, the demon pleads with Jesus not to send them out of the area.
In Luke’s version of this miracle, they plead with Jesus not to be thrown into the pit.
They knew where they would be spending eternity...
and they plead with Jesus not to go there yet...
you know it must be pretty bad, if even the demons don’t want to spend their lives there!
B. Jesus was obviously in control.
these demons couldn’t just do what they wanted to do...
they were at the disposal of Christ.
And the same thing is still true today...
demons or the devil are no match for Christ...
in fact, when the demons said, "swear to God..."
they knew that it was by the power of that Name that would determine their destiny...
they begged to be cast into the swine...
instead of into the pit...
and Christ, perhaps aware of the divine plan...
realized that the time for the pit was not yet...
and Christ cast them into the pigs.
and some 2,000 pigs ran down into the Sea of Galilee and drowned.
C. The pleading of the demons...their "prayer" if you will...
led to another prayer.
3. The People Pleaded with Jesus v. 17
A. When the people saw what had happened...
they responded in 2 ways...
1. First of all, they were freaked out!
I mean, what they had just seen isn’t something that you would see every day!
The people who had the care of the pigs ran off..
they told everyone they could what had happened...
and a large crowd began to form.
they saw the demon possessed man...
but for the first time since they could remember,
he was sitting peacefully...
and in his right mind.
"And they were afraid"
Which seems like a strange response to me...
I would have thought they would have been happy for the man...
I would have thought they would have wanted to learn more about Jesus...
the One who freed this man from his demons.
2. The 2nd Response, commentators indicated that they were more concerned about their financial loss...
than they were about the healing of this man.
which, unfortunately, seems like a common concern...
people are more concerned about their financial well-being...
than they are about seeing that the Gospel is spread.
People today will complain about churches...
"all they want is money"...
while they drop .13 into the offering plate...
and run down to Sonny’s and spend $30 on Dinner...
without ever realizing that the money given to the Church goes...
to continue the mission of spreading the Gospel in our local area...
and not only that, but through our missions giving, we are able to spread the Gospel around the world.
People today are just like those people in the area of the Gerasenes...
"If Jesus is going to want us to sacrifice a little bit financially...
well, then maybe Jesus ought to move right on by...
we don’t really want that kind of Gospel in these parts."
B. And these people begged for Jesus to leave...
And you might find this surprizing, but in the very next verse,
we see Jesus getting into the boat to leave...
they PLEADED with Jesus...
NOT that Jesus would stay...
NOT that Jesus might heal others in their town...
but they pleaded with Jesus to leave...
that was their prayer...
and that prayer brings us to another prayer...
4. The Demon Possessed Man Pleaded with Jesus v. 18
A. The demon-possessed man...
we don’t know his name...
but since he is no longer demon possessed...
let’s refer to him has Ted...
Ted has just experienced the most incredible thing in his life...
he has been healed of demon possession.
His life was a real mess...
Our Scripture tells us that he lived in the tombs...
the place of the dead...
He wouldn’t wear clothes...
so he ran around naked all the time...
the people tried to chain him...
to control him...
but under the control of the demons...
he just broke the chains.
he could cut himself with stones...
he was bloody...
and bruised...
he had literally been driven insane by these demons.
B. This is a graphic picture of sin...
Ted lived in the tombs..
when people live in sin...
it is like living with the dead...
the spiritually dead...
Ted was self-destructive...
cutting himself...
when people live in sin...
it is a self destructive life style.
Ted was crazy, insane...
and sin will do that to a person...
it will make you do crazy things...
Ted was controlled by demons...
When people live in sin...
they think they are in control...
but sin actually controls them.
C. Ted’s life was a complete mess...
but then Christ came...
and that made all the difference!
When Christ changed Ted’s life...
Ted suddenly wanted to go with Jesus...
He wanted to spend more time with Him...
He begged Christ to let him go with Him.
He prayed that he could go...
But Jesus wouldn’t let him...
Jesus said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you Mark 5:19 (NIV)
And Scripture tells us that Ted "went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed." Mark 5:20 (NIV)
D. Christians today struggle with the same thing!
when we get saved...
we want to get more and more of Jesus...
and on one hand, that’s a good thing...
but on the other hand...
Our primary goal in life isn’t to pursue greater and greater blessing...
Christ wants us to get out of the church (as it were)...
and into the world...
He wants us to go out into the world and tell them what He has done for us...
If we will simply do what Ted did...
just tell people what Jesus has done for us...
people will be amazed...
Conclusion
1. In this miracle, we see a lot of pleading...
the demons pleading not to be cast into the pit...
the people pleading for Jesus to leave...
and Ted pleading to go with Jesus...
2. We see the same kind of pleading today...
people pleading to be left to their sin...
living with the pigs...
And then Jesus comes and does a miraculous thing...
and people start to get uncomfortable...
When Christ comes and begins to move...
and begins to work...
people will get uncomfortable...
people don’t want to sacrifice...
people don’t want to see that much change take place...
so they tell Jesus..."don’t stop by here...just keep moving...
we don’t want that kind of thing around here".
But some people will respond...
and a great miracle will take place in their lives...
and they will want to just glory in the presence of Christ...
and spend the rest of their lives in that glorious state of continuous blessing...
but that day is not for us yet...
we will enjoy that when we make heaven our home...
in the meantime...
when Christ does a miracle in our lives...
and He makes such a huge difference in our lives...
Then Christ wants us to tell others about what He has done for us...
and if we will do that...
people will be amazed...
and they will respond...
and the miracle will happen in their lives too.
3. Today, maybe you are living a life of sin...
and you are pleading with Christ to just leave you with the pigs...
maybe you are uncomfortable with the movement of Christ in our Church...
and you are pleading for Him to move one...
maybe you are pleading for Him to come...
and give you more blessing...
4. And maybe, Christ wants us to stop pleading...
and start sharing....
