JESUS IS AMAZING: AN AMAZING SAVIOR
Mark 5:1-20
Introduction
If you could bring every broken part of you to Jesus for healing, what would you bring to Him today? This is what we see people doing in the stories about Jesus.He is the One who receives broken hearts … dreams … lives. He is the only one who can bring healing and peace and grace. We have noted this month that Jesus is Amazing! Teacher, Friend, he has an Amazing Mission. Today I simply want to affirm that He is an amazing Savior.
We all need saving - all of us are sinners … imperfect … human. There’s some part of all of us today that needs to be saved. Jesus came to save us so that we can live with him for eternity.
Mark 5 describes a scene of terror and destruction. It’s late in the evening. The disciples had just crossed the Lake of Galilee in a storm. The city of Garasa was one of the ten cities of the Decapolis. Geographically, Jesus has ventured well into Gentile territory. This area is characterized by many caves in the limestone rock, many of which were used as tombs.
Mark 5:2-13 As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him. 3 He lived in the tombs, and no one was able to restrain him anymore—not even with a chain— 4 because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had torn the chains apart and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you before God, don’t torment me!” 8 For he had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9 “What is your name?” he asked him. “My name is Legion,” he answered him, “because we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region. 11 A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. 12 The demons[b] begged him, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there.
1. Jesus Is Our Savior From the Evil of this World
This man was suffering from a powerful demon living in him. I think of demon possession as something that happened in the first century - but I do not discount the work of Satan in this world.
1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Still Satan is very active in our world today. Jesus was able to resist Satan and when he died, he crushed Satan. We are victorious because of Christ - not because of self.
If you are struggling with evil thoughts, activities, or troubles in your life - Jesus is an amazing Savior from the evil of this world.
2. Jesus is Our Savior from the Pain of the Life.
This man endured such physical and emotional pain.
There are many signals that our world lives in great pain. Self-destructive lifestyles and habits. The rise of suicide, murders, crime. Emotional pain of loneliness, disappointment, regret, separation from those we love. Family pain, trauma, abuse, debt, doubt.
Kent Hughes: “Are you deeply scarred? Do you have filthy habits - perhaps a mouth that is totally out of control, that has said little that is clean in years? Perhaps you are dishonest. It is your way of life. Maybe your scar is sexual, whether heterosexual or homosexual, and you feel you are beyond help. Not so! Jesus who calmed the stormy seas also calms the storm-tossed soul. He can do so with a word.”
Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
3. Jesus is Our Savior from the Destruction of Sin
Jesus’ mission was to bring spiritual healing to lost humanity.
John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
After his resurrection the Apostles preached about Him and his message - the truth about the cross, his death, his
resurrection.
Acts 2:37-38 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:4 …We were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.
JESUS is Our Savior from a Life Without Purpose
Mark 5:18-20 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him. 19 Jesus did not let him but told him, “Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.
When Jesus Has brought us healing and salvation we become witnesses for Him in our everyday life.
This man that Jesus healed went into the Ten Cities - the first one to bring the message about Jesus into this Greek territory. When people saw the man who used to run through the woods cutting himself and screaming … is now telling them calmly how Jesus had healed him - the people were all AMAZED. Jesus is Amazing!
For those of us who have experienced the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, it is our joy to tell others what He has done for us.
Conclusion
The well-known and highly feared demoniac of Gadarenes was healed and everyone rejoiced! Right? No.
What was great news for him, was disruptive to others. Obviously the pigs who ran over the cliff (I almost named this sermon Deviled Ham!). The owners of the pigs - who suffered losses I’m certain. They begged Jesus to leave. How much he had to offer them, but they were more focused on their own lives and not what He could do for them.
Today Jesus is our Amazing Teacher, Friend, Savior - Are you begging him to stay or leave? Whenever Jesus is mentioned, or is at work, Some just want Jesus to leave. Jesus will change our lives. Jesus will expose our wickedness. Jesus will cost us. There is no way to stay the same if Jesus is in your heart. You can submit to Him. You can send Him away.
If you could bring every broken part of you to Jesus for healing, what would you bring to Him today? What do I envision Jesus saying to me as I come to Him? Why would you wait any longer to bring Christ your broken life …
He is an amazing teacher, friend, and savior. He’s been on an amazing mission to bring you to Him forever.
LifeGroup Questions
1. How would you respond to a Christian who questions, in this modern day, whether we still need to believe in angels and demons?*
2. The demon possessed man was a frightful sight. People had given up on him. What are some situations where the struggles that people face are frightening to us? How can we overcome our fears of those who are struggling in sin and reach out to them?
3. If you could put yourself in their shoes, what do you imagine are some of the reasons the people of Gadarene begged Jesus to leave?
4. In what ways can someone who has just been saved be a better evangelist than someone who has been a Christian and studied the Bible for a long time?*
5. How does Jesus’ sending out of the man to the Ten Cities give us insight into His mission to save the world? How do we interpret that mission as it applies to our life in the Kingdom?
6. If someone were to ask you how Jesus makes our life whole when we have suffered pain, loss, or self-destructive habits … what would you say to them?
*Questions from Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark by Daniel L. Akin. Holman, 2014
Resources
Akin, Daniel L. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark. Holman, 2014.
Hughes, R. Kent. Mark Volume One: Jesus, Servant, and Savior. Crossway, 1989.
