LESSON 7
THE SERVANT COMES TO THE SINNER
MARK 5:1-20
Introduction:
Jesus traveled to “the other side;” the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, which Jesus visited comparatively seldom. It was about five miles across the lake.
“FRESH from asserting His mastery over winds and waves, the Lord was met by A MORE TERRIBLE ENEMY, the RAGE OF HUMAN NATURE ENSLAVED and impelled by the cruelty of hell. The place where He landed was a theatre NOT UNFIT for the TRAGEDY which it revealed. A mixed race was there, INDIFFERENT TO RELIGION.” —Expositor Bible Commentary.
This lesson reveals why Jesus traveled THROUGH A STORM to get to this place, (Mark 4:35-41). It was TO HELP this poor DEMON POSSESSED MAN where the people DID NOT WANT THE SAVIOR among them. This shows how Jesus loves the lowest of sinners.
I. THE DEMON POSSESSED MAN’S CONDITION. vs. 1-5
A. What the Devil did, vs. 1-3a.
1. He DWELT in the country of the Gadarenes, v. 1, LOCATED EAST of the Sea of Galilee and near the south end. Luke 8:26, “And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.” [That is, on the opposite shore.]
2. The man CAME TO THE LORD as He was getting out of the boat, v. 2; Luke 8:27, “And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.”
3. He DWELT among the TOMBS, vs. 2-3.
NOTE: There are a lot of TOMBS HEWN OUT OF THE CLIFF. Now there are STONE COFFINS LITTERING THE VALLEY below. Vandals robbed the tombs later on. No +oubt it was an ACTIVE BURYING PLACE in the days of Jesus. Since the tombs were hewn out ahead of time there would have been empty tombs for this man to dwell in.
4. The DEVIL FILLED HIM with UNCLEAN SPIRITS, v. 2.
NOTE: In the NT, these are persons, AFFLICTED WITH especially SEVERE diseases, either BODILY OR MENTALLY, (such as paralysis, blindness, deafness, loss of speech, epilepsy, melancholy, insanity, etc.) whose bodies IN THE OPINION OF THE JEWS, demons had entered, and so held possession of them as not only to afflict them with ills, but also to DETHRONE THE REASON and TAKE ITS PLACE themselves; accordingly the possessed were WONT [ACCUSTOMED] TO EXPRESS THE MIND and CONSCIOUSNESS of the demons dwelling in them; and their cure was thought to require the expulsion of the demon.
5. The devil is a THEIF, John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Revelation 9:11, “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”
6. The man had YIELDED TO the temptations of sin, and SATAN had literally TAKEN OVER HIS LIFE, 2 Timothy 2:26, “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
7. Satan has GREAT POWER, 1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”
8. We were UNDER Satan’s POWER in the past, perhaps to a lesser degree than this man, Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you hath he QUICKENED, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past YE WALKED according to the course of this world, according to the PRINCE of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE: Among whom also WE ALL had our conversation IN TIMES PAST in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were BY NATURE the CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as others.”
B. What Man COULD NOT DO, vs. 3b-5.
1. NO man could BIND him, v. 3b-4; See Mark 9:18-22.
2. The WEIRD BEHAVIOR that we see in the UNBELIEVABLE ACTS of men is the WORK of the devil, Jeremiah 17:9, “The HEART is DECEITFUL above all things, and DESPERATELY WICKED: who can know it?”
NOTE: Mass murders, SEXUAL PERVERSION AGAINST CHILDREN, and other unbelievable acts today are the work of the devil.
3. Psychiatrists, counselors and the medical profession CANNOT SOLVE these problems. PRISONS CANNOT REFORM THEM.
4. ONLY GOD can CHANGE them THROUGH salvation, Matthew 19:26, “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, WITH MEN this is IMPOSSIBLE; but with God ALL things are POSSIBLE.
a. There is NOTHING TOO HARD for the Lord, Genesis 18:14, Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” thing too hard for me?”
b. NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE for the Lord, Luke 1:37, “For with God NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE.”
5. Men could NOT CHANGE him or RESTRAIN him, vs. 4-5; Matthew 8:28, “And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding FIERCE, so that NO MAN MIGHT PASS by that way.”
6. He CONTINUED in this HOPELESS condition, v. 5; John 8:44, “YE ARE OF YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a MURDERER from the beginning, and ABODE NOT IN THE TRUTH, because there is NO TRUTH in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is A LIAR, and THE FATHER OF IT.”
7. He CUT and MUTILATED his on body as did the PROPHETS OF BAAL BEFORE ELIJAH, v. 5; 1 Kings. 18:28, “And they cried aloud, and CUT THEMSELVES after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.”
Note: This explains all the BODY PIERCING that we see in many people today. People with rings in the ear, tongue, eyebrows, nose, and private parts of their bodies, are all indications of the work of the devil today. When people start messing with DRUGS, they OPEN THE DOOR for SATANIC OPPRESSION and demon possession. Drugs play a big part in the worship of Satan.