Mark 5:1-17 Demons
Notes
Transcript
Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant Church
Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant Church
From J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
From J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
Pray
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
Mark 5:1-17
Mark 5:1-17
Introduction and Review:
Introduction and Review:
The beginning of Jesus Ministry
The Gospel message
His healing and teaching ministries
Building the kingdom of God - Soils, growth of Christians, growth of Christ’s church -The parable of the mustard seed
Faithbuilding exercises
The storm at Galilee - Jesus controlled the weather
Today:
Mysterious and interesting: casting out a devil
Very detailed account - moreso than other gospels
Mark 5:1-2
They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,
Demons were, and are, real
Demons were, and are, real
Firstly, back in Jesus day, there really were men who were possessed by the devil
It is a hard fact that there are many professing Christians that try to explain away Jesus miracles
they try to explain these miracles as natural, and weren’t worked by any miraculous power
The casting out of devils is one miracle they really try to disprove
They don’t outright deny the work of Satan, they simply explain it as mental illness, or epilepsy - they would have us believe that the idea of the devil possessing someone is crazy
The best answer to this kind of mocking, is the simplest - what do the Gospels say? This one is an excellent example
The facts here cannot be explained by anything other than Satanic possession
This cannot be mental illness, epilepsy, or a panic attack - these certainly cannot be transferred to a herd of pigs
Some would ask us to believe that as soon as this man was healed, 2000 pigs just happened to run down a steep hill into the water. This is crazy
Let’s all beware of those who would try to explain away the works of the devil
Much about demonic possession cannot be explained, but that shouldnt stop us from believing it
I’ve met people from Africa who don’t believe in snow
We may or may not have seen cases of Satanic possession
Unbelief about Satan is often the first step to unbelief about God
Mark 5:3-12
and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.”
Satan is cruel, powerful, and downright mean
Satan is cruel, powerful, and downright mean
The cruelty of Satan is shown in the miserable condition of this unhappy man
He lived in a cemetary
He was uncontrollable
He was screaming day and night and injuring himself
This is what Satan would like for all of us, if he had the power
A life like this gives us an idea of what Hell must be like
The power of Satan shows when Jesus asks: What is your name?
Legion, for we are many
We don’t know how many demons Satan has but there are probably many to do his will
If we could see in the spirit world, we would see them everywhere - in our path, around our bed, watching us
In private and in public, they are always near us
The meanness, or malice of Satan shows when they say “send us into the swine, so we may enter them”
When kicked out of the man, they still want to make trouble - man or animal, it doesn’t matter
If they can’t trouble men, they are happy to torment poor, dumb animals
The nature of Satan: do harm, kill, destroy
Need to be careful when joking about the devil
It shows how ignorant and corrupt people are
Its a bad idea to joke about your executioner
We are better off taking seriously how near this enemy is to us
“No prayer is complete which does not contain a petition to be kept from the devil”
Mark 5:8-13
For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.
Jesus has complete power and authority over the devil
Jesus has complete power and authority over the devil
What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mk 5:7). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
“Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
They obeyed immediately
The man was instantly cured - “sitting and clothed in his right mind
“send us into the swine!” they knew they had to go
Clearly, Jesus was mightier than Satan
Strong as Satan is, Christ is mightier
As many demons as Satan has, they are no match for Christ and His legions of angels
This should give Christians strong confidence
The world is full of difficulties and traps
We are weak in many different ways, minds, bodies, spirits
It is an awful thought that we have a mighty, spiritual enemy so near us, who can destroy our lives
But, we also have a mighty friend, Jesus, who can save us to the uttermost
He has already beaten Satan at the cross
He will beat him in hearts of believers and He will help us when our faith fails
He will beat him completely, when He comes again, when He throws Satan into the bottomless pit
Mark 5:15-17
They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region.
They asked Jesus to leave, and He left
They asked Jesus to leave, and He left
A small but important lesson, if you reject Jesus, He will leave and there is no guarantee He will come back
Bringing it home
Bringing it home
The question we have to ask ourselves is this: Are we out from under Satan’s power?
He still rules in the hearts of those who are disobedient, who are lost in their sins.
Is this you? Satan does not have to remain your master.
Have we, by our faith, broken his control over us?
Do we daily resist his advances - make him run?
Do we wear the armor of God - stand against him?
Eph. 6:10-17 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Let’s never relax until we can give good answers to all these questions.
We’ll finish this account next week.
Prayer
Discussion
Discussion