Jesus Vs. Legion - Mark 5:1-13 Series

Mark 5:1-20 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, 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. 6 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? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8 For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil 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. 11 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 evil 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.

Introduction

We are in a section of Mark that is all about the power of the word of Christ. In ch.4 Jesus told some parables about how his word is like a seed that has the power to bring in the glorious, eternal, kingdom of God. It’s an awesome, universe-transforming power. It’s a power that will be able to reverse the curse, bring the creation under control, and eliminate all evil, suffering, and death forever. All that power is in his word … but, like a seed. For now, it’s hidden and slow and the results won’t be seen for a long time, like a seed in the ground. That’s Jesus’ point in the parables in ch.4. The problem with that is, if it’s hidden and slow and the results are far off, how do we know for sure that it’s real? How do we know Jesus really has that much power in all 4 of those categories—enough to control the creation, eliminate evil, eliminate disease, and eliminate death? If the power is hidden like a seed, how can we be sure it even exists? That’s where ch.5 comes in (and the last bit of ch.4). In ch.5, Jesus performs 4 miracles—one in each one of those 4 categories, just by speaking a word. So Jesus says, “My word has long-term, hidden power; and let me prove that by showing you immediate, visible power.”

Who Is This?

The first miracle shows Jesus has the power to subdue the creation—he stilled the storm with a word. I said last week that everyone always complains about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it, except for Jesus, who finally did something about it. What about evil? Everyone complains about evil in the world, and a lot of folks try to do something about it, but the fact is, not only do we lack the power to eliminate evil, but we are all constantly contributing to the problem of evil. The very people who complain about evil generate more of it every single day! Does Jesus really have the power to eradicate evil? That’s what we’re about to see.

We left off with a boat full of men soaked to the skin, dumbfounded over the stilling of the storm, and scared to death of this awesome being in the boat with them. So have they figured out, finally, that he’s the Son of God? No. Their response is to say, who is this? And Jesus says: 4:40 …Do you still have no faith? You just shout into the text and tell them, “What do you mean “who is this?” You still don’t get it? He’s the Son of God!” They aren’t rejecting Jesus, but they aren’t accepting the truth either. They are reserving judgment, which is unacceptable. It is not acceptable to be confronted with evidence of who Jesus is and walk away thinking, I don’t know what to make of that. Postponed faith is still unbelief.

An Unclean Setting

Ok, so the storm has been silenced, and now they are making their way across the quiet sea over toward the eastern side.

Mark 5:1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.