Mark 5 - 6

Power Over Demons

Mark 5 begins with a demon possessed man meeting Jesus as He and the disciples land at Gerasenes (some translations use Gadarenes or Gergesenes). The description of the man is telling. He was demon possessed (v. 2) with many demons (v. 9). He lived among the dead (v.2 and 3). He was violent to the point of being incapable of restraint even with chains (v. 3). He made strange noises and harmed himself (v. 5). He feared Jesus (v. 6). He was at least partially unclothed (v. 15).

This is a near perfect picture of the sinner today. Possessed with all types of evil (cursing, blaspheming any thing righteous or holy), obsessed with death, reckless and violent, with no self restraint and afraid of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These type howl at anything good and continually engage in self-defacing and harmful activities (homosexuality, fornication, smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug  use).  They dress in as little as possible (especially women) to provoke a sexual response from others.  Drive by any public high-school or a college campus, or walk through the mall and see if this is not a picture of today's sinner.  What is even sadder is that in the time of  Jesus this man was socially isolated, but today a freak like this stars in a movie or has their own rock band or hosts a television program and actually holds a place of "honor" in the American psyche.

The cure then is the same as the cure now.  All the demons have to be exorcised by the power of Jesus Christ.  It does not take a ritual or some liturgical process in a formal church to do this, it takes one Word from the Lord to rid even the vilest sinner of all their demons. The change in the man was remarkable.  In verse 15 the Bible states, "He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane..."  So complete was the change that he wanted to accompany Jesus and His disciples, but the Lord had another job for him - go and tell others, his family, his friends, and all the people in the ten towns (Decapolis) that were in that region. His testimony must have been effective because verse 20 states "...and everyone was amazed at what he told them."

May God bless you and bless the reading of His Word.