Power Over Demons
Text: Mark 5:1-20
Core Idea: Jesus has the power to set us free from evil. He will break the chains and deliver us with His life-giving Word if we would just come to Him. Then as recipients of Jesus’ liberating grace and power, let us earnestly follow Him and passionately tell others about Him.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse. It’s so good to see more of you here in-person. And welcome to those who are joining us online as well. We miss you. We hope to see you sooner than later. But regardless of where you are, I pray that the Holy Spirit will powerfully minister to you through His Word.
We’re faithfully plowing through the Gospel of Mark. Last week, we learned that Jesus is the Lord of the storm, and we were invited to see our lives and all that happens in light of His power and loving commitment for us. If you remember, this story ended rather abruptly with the disciples’ question, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” (Mk. 4:41). Well, we’re about to find out the answer but it’ll come from an unlikely source. So, if you have your Bibles, please turn to Mark 5:1-20. Let me read this for us.
1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet Him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, 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? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure 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 impure 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. 14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man – and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with Him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
This is the longest and most detailed account of exorcism in the whole Bible. Now, if we’re honest, many of us don’t really know what to make of passages like this for various reasons. Some believe that it’s absolutely irrational and illogical to believe in demons today. They say things like, “It’s so primitive to believe in the existence of demons. This is another reason why Christianity is so archaic – so out of touch with reality. These people attributed the things that they couldn’t explain, like diseases or mental illness, to demons – but we know way more than that now.” If this is you, I want you to see that the Bible’s understanding of evil and suffering is much more complex than you think. Listen to what Matthew 4:24 says, “News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and He healed them.” It’s clear that the Bible doesn’t attribute all diseases to demon possession; in fact, the Bible clearly distinguishes one from the other. But there’s another reason why people have a difficult time interacting with passages like this – it may be because they’ve never seen anything like this in their lives. This idea of spiritual oppression and physical torment is completely foreign to them. If this is you, before you dismiss it because it’s unfamiliar to you, I invite you to submit yourself to the Word of God. Maybe you could pray something like this: “Lord, honestly, I don’t know what to do with passages like this. But I choose to believe that it’s true simply because it’s here in the Word. Help me understand it so that this truth can illuminate my mind and heart.” I hope that this is the kind of heart we have as we dig deeper into this passage. There are three things I want us to see here:
THE BONDAGE
THE ENCOUNTER
THE TRANSFORMATION
1) THE BONDAGE
Let’s look at verse 1. Mark tells us that Jesus and His disciples arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, which was a gentile territory. When Jesus stepped out of the boat, immediately, He encountered a man with an impure spirit who came from the tombs to meet Him. Now, the description that Mark gives of this man is uncomfortably disturbing and frightening. We see three things. First, he lived in the tombs, which meant that he was isolated from the outside world – disconnected from human relationships. He was living in a place of death – surrounding himself with things that reinforced that despair he felt inside. Second, he had this superhuman strength. Mark tells us that many have tried to bind him with chains and shackles (possibly because they were scared of him and didn’t know what to do with him) but he broke out of them over and over again – no one was able to subdue him. But at the same time, he was also a slave. He might be free from shackles but was possessed, enslaved by demons. Nobody was able to control him, but sadly, he couldn’t even control himself. Third, he was constantly crying out as he cut himself with stones. Some argued that this was part of demon worship while others reasoned that it was a failed attempt to drive out the demons. But I think this was to show that evil is always destructive – there’s no such thing as constructive evil; there’s no such thing as an evil that will lead you to something good because it always brings destruction. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” That’s what the demons want to accomplish. And this is exactly what we see if we skip ahead to verse 13. What these demons couldn’t get the man to do was easily accomplished in a large herd of pigs. The pigs couldn’t withstand the demons, and they all plunged to their death. This is a man whose body was totally controlled by demons. Surely, he didn’t want to live this way; but he was being oppressed, imprisoned, tortured against his will.
Now, if we’re not careful, we can look at this vivid example of demon possession and think it has nothing to do with us. Brothers and sisters, I don’t want you to be deceived – demons are real. It’s true that if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, you cannot be possessed by demons because our bodies are now the Temple of God. But we must recognize that demons are still actively working against all of us, possibly even right now by distracting us from hearing the Word because they know that the Word has the power to breathe life into us. When I went to India, we witnessed a number of demon-possession. There was a boy who became incredibly violent and out of control – and literally, it took four grown men to restrain him. A few times, we saw people suddenly screaming and rolling around while I was preaching that I had to stop and spend time praying for them. And I remember one of the team members commenting that the spiritual warfare is fierce, scary here – and how she was beginning to see demon-possession stories like the one that we just read today in a completely different light. But I reminded them that the spiritual warfare back home is as fierce as here in India – possibly even more insidious and dangerous because it’s not as dramatic and visible as physical oppression. For example, the Bible reminds us that one of the main ways the devil works is through his lies as he is called “the father of lies” (Jn. 8:44). We see a clear example of this in Genesis 3, where the serpent doesn’t come with a direct assault – he doesn’t tell Adam and Eve, “Don’t trust God! Worship me!” or threaten them by saying, “Don’t you dare worship God! I’m going to destroy you if you do!” No, he simply sows a seed of doubt in them: “Did God really say…?” (Gen. 3:1). Thomas Brooke writes, “Satan doesn’t leave fang marks on your flesh; he leaves lies in your hearts.”
Friends, this narrative is a graphic warning to us that we have an enemy who wants to destroy us. He wants us to be in despair. He wants to destroy our faith and prevent us from bearing fruit. He wants to ruin what God is doing in us. He wants to corrupt our worship, spoil our marriage, mislead our children, and poison our workplace. Then it’s vital for us to recognize that we are at war. Unfortunately, too many of us forget this reality; we live as if we’re in peacetime. Many of us have become consumed and distracted by the busyness or demands of life that we let our guards down. We’re not really shaken by the fact that our relationship with God is being neglected or that we’ve become too comfortable with our sin. But Christians, make no mistake: this negligence will ultimately prove itself to be detrimental because it will inevitably cripple our Christian discipleship. It’s imperative that we know we’re at war.
But look at verse 6. When this man got into the presence of Jesus, he was immediately on his knees. Do you see that? The demons might have been strong enough to enslave this man, but Jesus is stronger. This is the reason why we can be confident – our victory is found in the person of Jesus Christ, His cross, and His grace. Friends, Jesus came to bring us victory, and the devil has no chance against Him. The devil doesn’t have the ultimate authority; Jesus does. The devil is not almighty; Jesus is. Then let’s take a closer look at His encounter with this man.
2) THE ENCOUNTER
Verse 7. “He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!’ For Jesus had said to him, ‘Come out of this man, you impure spirit!’” Now, if you think about it, this is strange because if the demons are truly at war with Jesus, we expect them to say something like, “Don’t you dare come into my territory! This is my prisoner!” But that’s not what we see here; in fact, it sounds like the demons were actually panicking, trembling, begging Jesus. What’s going on here? This interaction shows us three things about the demons’ relationship to Jesus. First, they knew who Jesus was. The demons didn’t ask who Jesus was; as soon as they saw Him, they seemed to know exactly who He was – that He was the Son of the most high God. Second, they knew that Jesus came to oppose them. They weren’t under the illusion that Jesus came to be their friend; no, they knew that He came to bring the Kingdom of God and that He came to do away with evil. Third, they also knew that Jesus was more powerful than them. Look at verse 9. A legion referred to the largest unit of troops in the Roman army, which was usually about 5,000-6,000 soldiers. In other words, there were possibly thousands of demons inhabiting this man, which explains his superhuman strength and the intensity of dominion they had over this man – and yet they pleaded for mercy. Thousands of demons were no match for Jesus. And this was precisely the reason why there were no incantations or complicated rituals – Jesus simply told them to come out, and they had no choice but to obey. This wasn’t an epic battle. Jesus wasn’t pushed to the brink of His defeat. It’s remarkably comforting to see that all Jesus had to do was speak. Mark was reminding us once again that there’s power in Jesus’ Word. The Word that can calm the storm is the same Word that conquers a whole army of demons. His Word is powerful. His Word is our only hope.
Let’s continue with the story. We see something absolutely bizarre in verse 11. “A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.’ He gave them permission, and the impure 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.” What in the world is going on here? Actually, there’s a lot of speculation among the scholars but no one’s really sure. But let me share what I learned that helped me to make sense of this strange detail. First, it shows us that this is not made up. There’s nothing like this anywhere in the Bible or other ancient literature, which means that there’s absolutely no reason for Mark to put this here unless it really happened. Second, the parallel story from the Gospel of Matthew shows us that the time for their final judgment had not yet come. In Matthew 8:29, the demons say, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” One day, Jesus is going to bind Satan and all demonic powers forever. He will bring that final judgment; but not yet. So, Jesus allowed the demons to continue their destructive work, but not on this man – which is why He permitted them to go into the pigs. Lastly, it shows us that the deliverance of one man was worth more than 2,000 pigs. 2,000 pigs were a lot of pigs – it was their livelihood; it represented their wealth. But Jesus shows us that the life of one individual who has been made in the image of God is worth more than all the riches of this world. So, even though Jesus knew that it would cause tension with those who were tending the pigs, He intervened because of His compassion for the man. Isn’t that amazing? Let this truth sink in. You and I are worth more to Jesus than anything in this world.
Jesus’ encounter with this demon-possessed man is truly life-giving for us. Let me explain why. Jesus was in an unclean place (a gentile region), surrounded by unclean animals (pigs), in the midst of unclean tombs, face to face with an unclean man (a gentile) inhabited by thousands of unclean spirits. Unclean means contaminated – hence, anything unclean cannot be in the presence of God. Then the point is this: this is a place where you don’t expect the presence of God to be. And the reality is that all of us are unclean according to God’s standard. We all have violated His will and have been contaminated by sin. We’re no longer fit to be in the presence of God. We’re destined for His wrath, His judgment. But the gospel tells us that Jesus Christ entered unclean places to rescue unclean people like you and me (Mk. 3:27). The presence of God in flesh came to us and said, “I’ve come to set you free. I’ve come to make you clean.” Jesus doesn’t just forgive us of our sin; He also frees us from the bondage and dominion of sin and evil. He makes us clean again – to be fit to enter the presence of God. And He did this by dying on the cross for us – paying the price for our sin. In one sense, Jesus switched places with this man just like He did for us. Here, the man was crying out; at the end, Jesus was crying out on the cross. Here, the man lived in the tombs; at the end, Jesus was placed in a tomb. Here, the demons were celebrating their dominion over this man; at the end, the demons were celebrating the death of Jesus Christ, which of course lasted for only three days – because after those three days, Jesus the Son of the most high God rose from the grave, conquered death, disarmed the demonic powers, and made salvation possible for us.
Then how do we receive this freedom, this life? Verse 2, “When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet Him.” It starts with a simple step of coming to Jesus. We must come out of our hiding. We have to fight the lies and our pride that keep us from being honest about our sin and struggles. We have to let Jesus shine His light upon us and expose our darkness so that He can free us from the shackles that bind us. Remember that we are accepted, saved not because of any loveliness in us but because of His loving heart for us. This is why we can, and we should come out from our hiding. Dane Ortlund writes, “In the darkness, your sins fester and grow in strength. In the light, they wither and die.” Friends, does it feel like your darkness is getting darker? Your marriage is being torn apart. Your addiction is getting out of control. Your loneliness is growing. And no one knows about it. Your hidden sin’s grip over you is getting stronger. If this is you, just as this man did, come out from the tombs to meet Jesus. Run to Jesus because He alone has the power to set us free.
3) THE TRANSFORMATION
Let’s turn to verse 15. The last time the townspeople saw this man, he was cutting himself, crying out, and out of control. Here, they see him sitting there, dressed and in his right mind. That’s what happens when someone has a real encounter with Jesus Christ – He changes everything. Now, after hearing about what happened to the man and the pigs, these people respond in an unexpected way: they were afraid. They didn’t rejoice at the deliverance of this man or welcome him back to the town. They didn’t praise or thank Jesus for eliminating the danger that came from this man. They didn’t bring others who were sick or demon-possessed to be healed. Verse 17 – they pleaded with Jesus to leave their region. Why? Possibly because they were angry with what He did to the pigs, maybe they didn’t want to lose more pigs, or maybe they felt like Jesus was too unpredictable. Whatever the reason was, Jesus made them uncomfortable. Think about that for a moment. They felt like His act of mercy and grace was bad for their business. The material things, their success, their pleasure mattered more than the deliverance of this man. Friends, this is a warning to us because we too get tempted to make our desires come before Christ in our lives. I wonder how many of us ignored Jesus’ call or asked Him to leave us alone because we wanted to remain in our sin. I pray that we would not be enslaved by the things of this world (even the good things) that there’s no room for the eternal things in our hearts. Then the question before us is clear: will we love and desire Christ more than anything in this world or are we ready to push Him to the periphery of our lives?
Verse 18, “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with Him.” In contrast, this man who wanted nothing to do with Jesus now wanted to be with Jesus more than anything in the whole world. He was earnestly begging Jesus, “Don’t leave this region without me! I want to go with you!” It’s incredible how the change was immediate and dramatic. Then brothers and sisters, do you believe that Jesus can still change people today – or are you more cynical or doubtful? Do you believe that He can really change your spouse, your children, the friend or co-worker that you’ve been praying for a long time? Do you believe that He can help you overcome that sin you’ve been immersed in? Do you truly believe that He can transform you inside out?
Now, to our surprise, Jesus actually denied his request; instead, He commissioned him to something else. Verse 19, “Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.’” Up until now, Jesus has been telling people, “Don’t tell others about what I did!” But here, Jesus said, “Tell others about what I did for you! Tell everyone your story!” What’s changed? It’s because they were in a gentile region. If you remember, Jesus didn’t want people to know what He did because He didn’t want the Jews to misunderstand the coming Messiah to be a mere miracle-worker. But here, there was no possible messianic confusion because there were no Jews here. There was no threat of Jewish religious leaders scheming to kill Him out of envy and pride. Yet they too needed Jesus. So, since Jesus was being kicked out of the region, He must have wanted His presence there – someone to tell these gentiles about who Jesus really was. And that’s exactly what the man did in verse 20 – and those who heard his story were all amazed.
This man’s transformation teaches us an important truth: that those who have been transformed by the life-giving power of Jesus always want to be with Jesus and want to tell others about Him. Then ask yourselves, “Do I desire to be with Him today? Do I love spending time in the Word and prayer? Do I eagerly seek to know Him more? Do I make decisions in light of Him? Do I work and do things for His glory and pleasure?” But also ask yourselves, “Do I share with others how much the Lord has done for me? Do I want to always talk about Jesus and His Word with both believers and non-believers?” If you’ve experienced the liberating grace of Jesus, then we should – we should desire to be with Him and we need to tell our stories to others. I’m standing here today because He set me free from my people-pleasing heart. Everything I did was to look good in front of others so that I would be accepted, loved, and respected – only to realize that it was leading me to despair because no matter what I did, it was never enough. I couldn’t please everyone. But the gospel tells me that I’m accepted just as I am – and that radically changed the way I saw myself and the way I perceived others. He has given me a new heart so that I don’t have to please people to be accepted but I still live to please God because I’m accepted. Then brothers and sisters, what’s your story? Do you realize that just like this man, Jesus has commissioned you, placed you exactly where you are so that His presence can be manifested through you? Then when’s the last time you told somebody about the sin that God has delivered you from? When’s the last time you told somebody about the amazing ways that God has saved you and stretched you? We need to hear about it. We need to tell others about it. I pray that stories about His mercy and grace in our lives would continue to flow out of us.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, Jesus has the power to set us free from evil. He will break the chains and deliver us with His life-giving Word if we would just come to Him. He loves us simply because we are created in the image of God – we are worth way more to Him than anything in this world. You are valuable to Jesus. I hope you remember that. Then as recipients of Jesus’ liberating grace and power, let us earnestly follow Him and passionately tell others about Him so that they too will be called out of darkness into His wonderful light.
Discussion questions
Read verses 2-5. Describe the man who met Jesus. What does this tell us about the enemy we’re at war with? How does he actively work against us today? (For more, read 1 Peter 5:8. How do we stay “alert and of sober mind”?)
Read verses 6-10. How does Jesus’ encounter with the demon-possessed man give us comfort and hope in our spiritual warfare today? (For more, read Ephesians 6:10. What does it mean to practically “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power”?)
Spend time sharing with one another “what the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you” (verse 19). (You can share your testimony or how God has been journeying with you like the Stories of Faith.)