1. About Demons
1.1. Demons make people strong
1.1.1. LSD - or they don't feel pain or ignore pain or are tormented by pain like people on LSD
1.2. About beliefs in demons in the ancient
1.2.1. The ancient world believed very strongly in the existence of demons. They had great conviction, and their convictions were held with great intensity of purpose. The air was so full of the spirits, that it was not even possible to insert a needle into the air without coming against one. It is estimated – some have held – that there were seven and one-half million demons in the ancient world, according to their beliefs. 10,000 of them were on one’s right hand, and 10,000 of them could be on one’s left hand. All were anxious to do harm to men. They were supposed to live in unclean places where there was no cleansing water, and they were especially dangerous, men thought, to the lonely traveler, the woman who was in childbirth, children out after dark, and the voyagers by night. They were dangerous in the midday heat, and between sunset and sunrise. - S W Lewis
2. Response
2.1. What is not said is as important as what is said - they say nothing about the deliverance
2.2. Jesus says yes to the demons and no to the delivered man because he knows what's best.
3. Observations
4. outline
4.1. Setting - the country of the Gerasenes
4.1.1. Gadara and (Mark's) Gerasa were both part of the Decapolis, a primarily Gentile area with a large Jewish population (Jos. War 1.155).
4.1.2. As far as I can tell, from the study of the geography of the section and the study of the text itself, we probably are to conclude that Gadara, the larger town, gets its name to the whole district. And as a result, it could be spoken of as located in the country of the Gadarenes or the Gerasenes, and there would be no contradiction, just as many of us are Dallasites and Texans. And to say that he’s a Dallasite, and to say in another circumstance that he’s a Texan is not to contradict ourselves.
4.1.3. It was a region predominately populated by Gentiles, as is perhaps shown by the presence of that herd of swine, not an animal that would have been particularly beloved by the Jewish people
4.1.4. However, a little further south and inland is a bigger and more important town and maybe the county seat called Gadarea. So while it was the village of Gerasa, it was the region that associated itself with Gadarea. So it was the land of the Gerasenes, if you look at the village, and the Gadarenes if you look at the larger town that sort of gave its name to the region.
5. ill
5.1. quotes
5.2. Story
6. Matthew / Luke
6.1. Two men, not just one
6.2. Luke says no clothes
7. Verse 18
7.1. The man begs to go but is denied. JEsus answers teh prayers fo fthe demons but not this man.
8. Jesus cure mans but allows pig to be possessed. Why? Cause people are more valuable that animals, wealth
9. Why pigs?
9.1. Bad press
9.1.1. he Lord Jesus is in a predominately Gentile region. He is, of course, of good Jewish descent. You can see the headlines after this event: “Jewish prophet comes to land, kills pigs.” This is not going to be good press amongst the swine merchants of the region of Gadera. And the demons think, “What better way to thwart the work of the Lord Jesus Christ than to kill these pigs and to have everyone say, ‘We can't have these Jewish prophets running around killing all our pigs all the time.’”
9.1.2. works -they tell him to leave
9.2. Jesus let them
9.2.1. Cause of timing - not yet time to torment them, to destroy all evils. Time to preach the gospel.
9.2.2. Cause it works as a rebuke to the Saducees - they were humanists. this display is clear
9.2.3. Cause it demonstrated his power visibly - the people are "afraid" . Pwer. Like in the storm
9.2.4. ** Cause it preps the people for the gospel - The man will be sent back. Jesus is preparing the way
10. Verse 19
10.1. Go and declare ALL
10.1.1. Mark says that he went to Decapolis, which was a region consisting of 10 towns!
10.2. Mercy
10.2.1. (1) Tell your story
10.2.2. (2) Explain the gospel
10.2.3. (3) Emphasize grace
10.3. 1 Peter 2:9 says to the whole church, laity and clergy: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
10.3.1. NOTE: "that you may" - meaning our salvation is deeply ingrained in the praising of God!
10.4. Good questions
10.4.1. What in my life is only explainable by the spiritual power of Jesus?
10.4.2. To what extent am I proclaiming what God has done
10.4.2.1. By the way, that's very different than proclaiming what is worn gin the world, it's very different than proclaiming what we think people should be doinging.
10.4.3. NOte the scope of this mission
10.4.3.1. Mark 5:19 (ESV) — 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
10.4.3.2. *** Friends and family
10.5. He's the first missionary Jesus sends out!!! Think of his training, think of his background. What is the discipleship? --- here it is... i was once lost, now i'm found, once blind, now i see. I was this.. now I am that
10.5.1. How often we forget what God has done! How often we underst-estimate it.
10.5.2. Not all of us grew up in the church - do you share that? You ever go back into that world and say it.
10.5.3. Maybe you were in church but were dead. Stale. Every share what God has done?
10.5.4. Maybe some struggle and God has asked...see, community and knowing each other is easy when your amazed at God's work and you love sharing your story
10.5.5. KELLER: “You are worse than you think you are, but also far more loved than you feel you are.”
11. Connection
11.1. COmparison
11.1.1. It is interesting to compare this miracle with the one that immediately precedes it, the stilling of the storm. In that miracle, we see Christ’s power over nature; here, we see His power over the supernatural. In that one, we see Christ’s ability to tame the wild sea; here, we see His ability to tame a wild man. In that one, we see Christ giving peace in a storm; here, He gives peace in a soul
11.1.2. Last week, they ended in fear. This week, they end in fear
11.1.2.1. Feared storm and then feard Jesus more. Here feared Legion and then feared Jesus more.
11.1.3. Last week, there is clarity in Jesus. Same this week
11.1.4. That's the point right! Mark 1:1
11.2. Demon possession in the bible
11.2.1. Unkjnown until jesus really
11.2.2. no prophets addressed it.
12. Conclusion
12.1. (1) You are either the man before or after
12.1.1. “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14)
12.2. (2) Jesus can only transform you
12.3. (3) The gospel - he comes and becomes this man
12.4. (4) Saving faith is so much more than mental belief
12.4.1. The demons believe and tremble
12.5. John Newton - somethign from his book
12.6. As strong as Satan may seem, as powerful as sin’s pull may be, as enslaving as our shame feels, as dire as our circumstances appear, Jesus is stronger. He is stronger than Satan, stronger than sin, stronger than shame, stronger than any storm and fire of suffering and pain, and stronger even than death itself.
12.6.1. Jesus truly is Lord of all.
13. verse 7
13.1. Note that you can acknowledge Jesus and plead for a kind of mercy and yet not have saving faith.
13.1.1. James even the demons believe
13.1.2. The issue is "what have you to do with me" - they want nothing to do with him.
13.1.3. Scaring people about hell is just a start, justification is just a start --- faith in covenantal. Faith , belief in the GOSPEL!!!
13.1.3.1. The devils don't get the gospel - good news
13.1.3.2. The people dont' get the gospel - good news
13.1.3.3. But the man delivered - he gets the gospel - GOOD NEWS
13.1.4. Sometimes people believe that Christianity is about getting the right belief system down (theology) or about getting the right help in life (mercy), but the truth is you can have both and it means nothing if at the end of the day, your attitude towards Jesus is "What have you to do with me?" Mark 5:7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” - demon confronting and confronted by Jesus
14. Verse 18
14.1. We beg for in life what we consider to be most valuable.
14.2. When you're touched by Jesus, you don't think it's a great idea to follow Him. YOu think is the best idea to follow Him.
15. 17 - THey ask jesus to leave
15.1. Use to think about the pigs ... sure that was there .. but they say nothing about it ... it's fear.
15.2. When you know Jesus' power but don't know his love, you will likely say "depart"
15.3. NOTE: no word about pigs .. the key is they saw this man they could not tame
15.3.1. Like the storm they could not tame
15.3.2. Power
15.3.3. Nobody demonstrates anger over the pigs being drowned and nobody sadly demonstrates joy over the maniac being subdued. And they had gone to great efforts to try that, chaining him up repeatedly and he always broke the chains. And that's not the issue. The issue of the maniac being subdued and the issue of the pigs being drowned, isn't the issue.
16. Demons beg
16.1. v7 - do not torment me
16.2. v10 - do not send me out of the coutnry
16.3. v11 - send us to the pig
17. Intro
17.1. Margaret Sangster, the social worker, told about seeing a small boy in an urban ghetto sitting on the stairs of a tenement. The youngster had been hit by a car several months before, but his parents, fresh from Appalachia, neglected to get him proper medical attention. Although not part of her case load, she took the boy to an orthopedist and learned that through an involved series of operations the child’s body could be made normal again. She cut through the bureaucratic red tape, raised the funds, and set the process of cure in motion. Two years later the boy came to her office. To her astonishment, he walked in without crutches, and to show the completeness of his recovery, he turned a cartwheel for her. The two em- 4 braced and when the boy left, Margaret Sangster reported that a warm glow mantled the entire office. She said to herself, “If I never accomplish anything else in my life, at least here is one young man to whom I can point where I have made a real difference!” At that point she paused in her presentation and asked, “This was all several years ago now. Where do you think that boy is today?” Caught in the emotion of that moment, several made suggestions—a school teacher, a physician, perhaps a social worker? There was a longer pause, and with even deeper emotion Sangster said, “No, he is in the penitentiary for one of the foulest crimes a human being can commit.” Then she said, “I was instrumental in teaching him how to walk again, but there was no one to teach him where to walk.”
17.2. Story is about change
17.2.1. Life before
17.2.2. Life after
17.2.3. Jesus is the difference
18. The Bondage of Evil
18.1. Intro
18.1.1. C.S. Lewis, which I have seen quoted more than once, in which Mr. Lewis says, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe and feel an excessive, unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
18.2. Exeget
18.2.1. Note what we learn about demons
18.2.1.1. About Demons
18.2.1.1.1. Inhabit bodies and control it
18.2.1.1.2. Orthodox in belief system
18.2.1.1.3. many in 1 body
18.2.1.1.4. can possess animals!!
18.2.1.1.5. in submission to Jesus
18.2.1.1.6. There's organization to demons! They are the real orgainzed crime
18.2.1.1.7. Demons respect Jesus - bow down
18.2.1.1.8. Have to ask permission
18.2.1.1.9. they obey Jesus
18.2.2. About those possessed by demons
18.2.2.1. Super natural strength - v4
18.2.2.2. Isolated
18.2.2.3. In pain
18.2.2.3.1. v5 - this screaming and crying may not be the howling of demons coming out of the man, but may be the howling and screaming of a prisoner tormented
18.2.2.4. Want it to end
18.2.2.4.1. v5 - cutting is not a phenomenon just in our century. This man was doing this. Forcibly? Perhaps. Perhaps it has to do with the screaming, the torment, the isolation, the desire to end it all.
18.2.2.5. Lose control of body
18.2.2.5.1. v6-7 - demon speaks
18.2.2.5.2. true bondage
18.2.2.6. HOW MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE THOSE WHO ARE BLINDED BY DEMONS?
18.2.2.7. How did this happen?
18.2.2.7.1. We aren't told. We arent' told if he dabbled in black magic, if he was in witchcraft. We arent' told. We are only presented with this aweful picture - one that is meant to strike up shock and evoke compassion. This man is a prisoner!!!
18.2.2.7.2. We are all open to this outside of Jesus.
18.2.3. So part of His ministry was to demonstrate the power of God over the world of darkness. As we come to this account, I've told there are three dominating powers that are basically revealed here...three dominating powers. Number one is the devastating power of demons...the devastating power of demons. Though demon possession has gone on a for a long time, you see it in Genesis 6, but you don't have occasions of demon possessions being manifest throughout the history of the Old Testament. It also becomes apparent that open demon possession that has visible manifestation through human behavior begins to disappear even in the New Testament. But during the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, demon possession becomes extensively manifest. And it isn't because the demons want to manifest themselves, it is because Jesus brings them out. Demon possession almost exclusively and certainly at an amazing level is revealed during the life and ministry of Jesus and then the Apostles, then it begins to diminish as the Apostles begin to disappear. In this explosion of power that came with Jesus came an explosive revelation of the conflict that demons waged against Him and how much power He had over them.
18.2.4. Look at this mans' bodnage
18.2.4.1. A) (v. 2) Unclean- Mark is not reporting only on the man’s "external" but his "internal situation“. B) (v3.) Unsettled / uncivilized- Look at where he lives. He’s comfortable around dead people, C) (v, 4) Uncontrollable- No one could calm him or reason with him. D) (v, 5} Unhappy- He’s depressed, in despair, decadent and demoralized . F.) (v.6) Unstable- He does not jump up and down rejoicing but falls at the sight of Jesus. f.) (v. 15) Unclothed- Uncovered, The body was out of control because his head was out of control. Don’t look for things to be right with the body if all hell has broken into the mind!
18.2.4.2. He was UNFORGETTABLE. This man had an impact on his community. Unfortunately, it was the wrong kind. In my B.C. (Before Christ) days, I am sure I had a negative impact on people. But we don’t have to stay that way.
18.2.5. not
18.3. Appl
18.3.1. In 1 Timothy, Paul says, “If you’re proud, you’ll fall into the trap of the Devil.” In Ephesians, Paul says, “If you’re just bitter, if you just hold a grudge, you fall under the influence of the Devil,” which is to say, according to the Bible, demonic forces stir up and aggravate all of the other factors that mess up your life. They aggravate. They stir them up. They intertwine them. They entangle them. Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
18.3.2. Somebody says, “Okay, but neither I nor any of my friends live naked in a cemetery and cut ourselves.” I would like to suggest to you that the parallels go beyond that. A quote from a book by Becky Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker & Into the World, is one of the quotes that has been formative in my way of thinking. If you’ve been around here, you’ve heard it before, but you’ve probably never heard it in this context. She says no one is in control of themselves, and she puts it this way. Whatever you seek most in life becomes your lord. It is unavoidable. “The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our life.” What is she saying? Whatever you seek is your lord. Nobody is in control. She says everybody has to have a bottom line. Everybody has to have something you seek as your ultimate value. Everybody has to have one thing you say, “If I get that, then I have it.” Everybody has one thing that you say, “That’s the non-negotiable. I’d like to do many things, but when push comes to shove, I have to have that.” Everybody has that. Do you know what she’s saying? She’s saying whatever you love so much that it galvanizes you to achieve, at the very same time, it takes away your freedom. Therefore, she says, if you decide to live for power, you will have to have that. If you decide to live for a career, then you will be absolutely bound to get it. Here’s the context. Some of you have heard this before. Let me put it to you this way. Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
18.3.3. Not posessed, but "demonized"
18.3.4. Battle with Spiritual
18.3.4.1. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12)
18.3.4.2. In 1938, Orson Welles terrified millions of Americans with his radio narration of H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. The drama was so realistic that many thought that aliens were actually invading our planet, intent on destroying the human race. It was only fiction; no one should have believed such a far-fetched tale. But they did.
18.3.4.3. ILL: Campus Crusade - God loves you and ahas a wonderful plan for your life.. Satan hates you and has a horrible plan for your life
18.3.4.4. Since the fall of the human race into sin, every person is born under Satan’s domain and power (1 John 5:19; Eph. 2:2). Jesus called him “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and Paul called him “the god of this world [who] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving” (2 Cor. 4:4).
18.3.4.5. That is one of the reasons why so many of our emotional and psychological problems … Our emotional dungeons are double locked. That’s why so many of them are so deep. It’s complicated. Not only does the existence of personal, supernatural, evil forces explain the intransigence and intractability of our psychological problems, but especially it explains the intransigence and intractability of our social problems. Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
18.3.5. System of evil
18.3.5.1. ILL: W.H. Auden
19. The Power of Divine Deliverance
19.1. JESUS POWER
19.1.1. “But,” Jesus adds, “if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20).
19.1.1.1. The term, “finger of God,” goes back to Exodus 8:19, where the Egyptian magicians recognize God’s power through Moses. Jesus is saying that if Satan is not behind His power, then clearly, God is.
19.1.2. The apostle John affirms that “the Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Luke is showing that Jesus’ miracles establish His legitimate authority as the Messiah, the Son of God, sent to deliver us from the power of Satan
19.2. Why Jesus came
19.2.1. Luke 19:10, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." 1 Timothy 1:15, "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Mark 10:45, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many." Romans 15:8–9, "Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy."
19.2.2. 1 John - to destroy the works of Satan
19.2.3. Why? Cause he would stomp the head of the serpent - GEN - GOD WAS PROMISING GOD!!!
19.3. Jesus has final say and he uses demons for his divine purposes. He's not bound by their decision. He is sovereign over their decisions
19.3.1. But secondly, they fit into the divine purpose. Satan came to God and said, "I want to go after Job." God said, "Go after him cause it serves My purpose." Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 says, "There was given to Him by God allowed by God a messenger from Satan." Messenger is angelos, a satanic angel. That's a demon who created a thorn in his flesh and he prayed three times to have it removed and God said, "I'm not going to remove it because My strength is perfected in your...what?...your weakness and you're going to learn to be humble through this." And it was Peter, Luke 22, Jesus says to Peter, "Satan desires to have you that he might sift you like wheat." Well, what did He tell him, no? "No, I told him yes." Jesus said yes to Satan, go at him, sift him because when he's converted, he'll be able to strengthen other brothers. When he's come through this thing triumphantly and his faith is intact, he's going to be a better Apostle and a more effective servant.
19.3.2. Luke 22:31–32 (ESV) — 31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
19.3.2.1. Great. how would you like to hear that? Crazy! he came and asked. He asked. He didn't just do. He didn't surprise you. He didn't work as some rogue renegade rebel that just does whatever he wants. The prince of darkness has asked - your father or you - to sift me. And your reply was ... no way right! You can't do that right? Get ye behind me Satan (the real one this time :) ) right? No. The response was "I have prayed for you... why for me? That youyr faith may not fail"... ok... and when you have turned agian... so yo know I will fail? strengthen your brothers....
19.3.2.1.1. What does that mean - sift
19.3.2.1.2. Satan will come in rage, but Jesus will work before hand for good. he's plan includes satans plan. It's not a clean up. God is not .. ok, that was derailed. Let's fix it. He does not fix all things for good --- God causes all things to WORK for GOOD!!!
19.3.2.1.3. Good - strengthen your brethren
19.3.2.1.4. Why is satan around still? Why does God not end him? Because in the mysterious will and providence of God, Satan is a means for God to glorify himself.