Shortly after His public ministry had begun, Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth and went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood to read from the scroll of Isaiah.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.” —Luke 4:18-21
This morning, we will read the story of a man liberated from demons who’d inhabited him.
THOUGH MUCH DIFFERENT FROM POPULAR CONCEPTS, THE BIBLE DECLARES THAT DEMONS ARE VERY REAL
They are often referred to as “unclean or evil spirits.”
Some of the false gods that received human sacrifices are described as actual demons (2 Chronicles 11:15; Deuteronomy 32:17)
DEMONS ARE
Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28, Revelation 12:3-4,9
DEMONS ARE UNDER SATANS
Matthew 12:24
DEMONIC ACTIVITY IS AS __PRESENT __TODAY AS IT WAS IN JESUS’S TIME
Ephesians 6:12
DEMONS WILL EVENTUALLY AND ETERNALLY
Matthew 25:41
Demonic activity is not limited to obvious and dramatic displays of possession. Paul warned Christians about doctrines of demons infiltrating the church (1 Timothy 4:1)
Our struggle with this issue here in the western church is one of
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which we can fall about the demons. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” – CS Lewis
WE MUST ALSO KNOW THAT There’s a difference between demonic possession or oppression
Demons cannot possess the saved (Holy Spirit resides in us and light & darkness cannot coexist), but they can and do oppress, with the goal of inciting fear, doubt and unbelief
For those who don’t have the indwelling Spirit within, demonic possession is absolutely a possibility.
THE GOOD NEWS: Jesus can and does bring freedom to those held captive through possession and oppression. We wind that truth unfold in todays passage.
“They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him. He lived in the tombs, and no one was able to restrain him anymore—not even with a chain—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. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him. 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!”
“What is your name?” he asked him.
“My name is Legion,” he answered him, “because we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.
A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.” 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.
The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs. Then they began to beg him to leave their region.
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him. 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.” So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.”” —Mark 5:1-20
1. WE SEE A
“They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him. He lived in the tombs, and no one was able to restrain him anymore—not even with a chain— 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. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones” —Mark 5:1-5
2. WE SEE A
“When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him. 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!” For he had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
“What is your name?” he asked him.
“My name is Legion,” he answered him, “because we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.
A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.” 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.” —Mark 5:6-13
Throughout this series, one of the qualities of the character and nature of Jesus has been on display time and time again – compassion.
When most would look at individuals with
“The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid” —Mark 5:14-15
3. WE SEE A
“As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him. 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.” So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.” —Mark 5:18-20