Legion Goes Awol Series

Great, you got a new Bible. Now what are you supposed to do with it? Well, you could start by reading it! Someone asked what color a Bible should be. The answer is RED. I think every Bible should be read! There’s no difference between a Bible that’s never read and one that’s been thrown away. Read it!

That’s the 1st thing you do with a Bible. And while you read it, here’s another…

Sometimes we can best understand what we’re supposed to do with the Bible by seeing ourselves in it. You know, like taking Jn 3:16 and saying, “God so loved Sherm Nichols: He gave His one and only Son, so that if Sherm Nichols believes in Him, he will not perish but have eternal life…”

Or maybe you can picture yourself with a boatload of scared disciples out on the stormy sea, and you’re one of them who wakes up Jesus and says to Him, “Master, don’t You care that we’re going to die here?!” And Jesus says to me, “Sherm, why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith?”

So, we arrive on the shores of the other side of the sea – the region of the Gerasenes; Gentile country – into a scene where 3 parties are going to collide. And right away I want you to ask yourself, along with me, “Where are you in this story?”

Mark 5:1-13 (NIV)

1 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.

“Where are you in this story?” I think that’s the way Mark puts this account in front of us in ch 5. We’re continuing to look at the life of Jesus to learn how we’re also supposed to live our lives on purpose. There’s a lot of that going on here, and Mark wants us to see it. Yes, he’s a writer with an agenda. Thankfully it’s one that can be trusted because it was inspired by the HS! I wonder how Brian Williams would have handled the news during the days of Jesus’ ministry…

"... the radical Jewish teacher Jesus is in the news again tonight. This time His disciples report that He allegedly calmed a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee. However, our Galilean correspondents report that there has been no reliable source to confirm the allegations, and Galilean authorities are unwilling to comment.”

Can you imagine newspaper headlines of the “Underworld Register Star” on the day that Jesus cast out the demons from the man of the Gerasenes: “Legion Goes AWOL”...yesterday, an entire company of our supreme commander's loyal troops gave up an important stronghold in our continuing battle to ruin the human race. The troops were strategically located in their hosts and had received orders to remain there, but mobilized and invaded a herd of pigs instead. General Beelzebub is outraged at the legion's disobedience and says, "What are they off chasing pigs for?! We have our orders – the taking of a herd of pigs is no victory. We had two humans right in the palms of our hands. What does their CO think he's doing?" Other underworld authorities are shocked at the mass desertion at what has now come to be known as “Hogwash Hill.” Still, plans are continuing for the all-out offensive at Easter time...