Sermon Snippet – And Another Person You Should Know
INTRODUCTION – Mark 5:1-20 is a detailed passage about a desperate man and the determined Messiah, Jesus Christ. If we consider carefully, we will find that this man’s story is much like ours.
1. THIS MAN REALLY NEEDED JESUS
“Possessed with the devil” (verses 15, 16, 18) is literally “demonized.” If you are my age or older, you might remember comedian Flip Wilson rationalizing, “The devil made me do it.” A bit closer to the truth is the song that says, “The devil made me do it the first time; the second time I did it on my own.” The absolute truth is found in God’s Word: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14). We must not fall into the trap of the part-for-a-whole fallacy in which we ascribe everything to demons. Not all of Satan’s activities are as blatant as this man’s predicament. II Corinthians 11:14 is direct: “And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” His attacks may be subtle. There was nothing subtle, though, about this man’s terrible plight. His extraordinary emotional torment would have been joined with physical ailments associated with his rough and self-destructive behavior (verses 4-5). He had moments of lucidity (verse 6); until he met Jesus (or more precisely, until Jesus intersected with him in the plan of God – verse 2), those brief moments of clarity must have been bitter. Although his circumstances were extreme, we find in Romans 7:15-25 that each one of us struggles in a similar way. Like this poor man, we all really need Jesus.
2. THE GADARENES REALLY NEEDED JESUS, TOO
Why did Jesus cast the demons out of this man and into the pigs? Certainly it was a vivid visual testimony to the almighty power of God the Son. It was also a pivot point in the lives of the Gadarenes, for they too had a personal encounter with Jesus and the opportunity to trust in Him. Sadly – tragically – “they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts” (verse 17). Instead of pleading for His salvation, they begged Him to leave. Are 2000 pigs of more value than one human soul? No, of course not – unless our value system is corrupted, twisted, perverted by Satan. Mark 8:36-37 is Jesus’ simple and eloquent statement on this crucial subject.
CONCLUSION – The restoration of this man was stunning and stirring. As always, Jesus’ healing was absolute (verse 15) and moved beyond the man’s immediate needs. Jesus was forced to leave this Gentile-dominated region, but He left behind this fully healed man to preach the good news of eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The Gadarenes wanted Him to leave, but He was not leaving them alone to die in their sins. Jesus had demonstrated the value of one human being here, and He would do the same, in an even greater way, on the Cross. May we trust in Him, and may we rejoice in the power of changed lives – that is, the power of Jesus in changing lives now and forever.