Mark 5:1-20
"WHEN THEY CAME TO JESUS, THEY SAW THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN POSSESSED BY THE LEGION OF DEMONS...IN HIS RIGHT MIND; AND THEY WERE AFRAID....THEN THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO PLEAD WITH JESUS TO LEAVE THEIR REGION."
(MARK 5:15, 17)
People respond in different ways to a display of power. Some are drawn to it while others run away in fear. Some are intimidated; others want it for themselves.
The people of the Gerasenes knew of a powerful, demon-possessed man living among the tombs. They had tried, and failed, to restrain his super-human strength.
Then the demoniac came face to face with Jesus Christ. Demonic power was no match for the power of the Son of God. Jesus sent the demons into a herd of pigs which then drowned in the lake.
While the demoniac was happy to be the recipient of Jesus' power, the people asked Jesus to leave. Were they fearful of a power greater than demons? Or were they unhappy that He had killed two thousand pigs - animals they shouldn't have had anyway, according to the Mosaic Law? The healing had cost them their livelihood.
The people preferred Jesus' power to be absent from them rather than allow it to change them. They preferred the status quo, even if it meant a man would be plagued by demons.
INSIGHT
HOW HAS THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD MADE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE? ALLOW THE POWERFUL TRUTHS OF GOD'S WORD TO CHANGE YOU, EVEN IF IT MEANS DISCOMFORT.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Jeremiah 5-6
Psalm 106
Romans 3-4
Mark 5:1-20
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man
5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil[b] spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, 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? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil 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 evil 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 family 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[c] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Footnotes:
a. Mark 5:1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes
b. Mark 5:2 Greek unclean; also in verses 8 and 13
c. Mark 5:20 That is, the Ten Cities
SIMPLY LIVING IN CHRIST ALONE [PART 1]
with Keith & Kristyn Getty
We often focus on the big events of life, but our lives are really lived in the moments in between. Our normal day-to-day thoughts and decisions need the light of Christ more than we think.
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