I. INTRODUCTION
A. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the story of a man possessed of demons whom Jesus saved (Matt. 8:23-34; Mark 4:35-5:20; Luke 8:22-40).
B. Let us consider this story, focusing on Mark’s account, and gleaning the lessons that are taught by this episode of the Lord’s ministry.
II. THE STORY OF THE MAN POSSESSED OF DEMONS
A. This story begins with the journey made by Jesus and His disciples (Mark 4:35-41).
1. Jesus had been teaching in Capernaum at the northwest banks of the Sea of Galilee.
2. He determined to leave the multitude that He had been teaching and cross over to the other side of the sea with His disciples.
3. As they crossed the sea, a great storm descended on them and tossed their boat on the waves. When the disciples became alarmed, Jesus commanded the wind and the sea, and they were still.
4. The disciples became afraid, saying, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
B. When Jesus arrived in the country of the Gerasenes, He found a man who was possessed by demons (Mark 5:1-10).
1. Jesus and the disciples landed at the southeast banks of the Sea of Galilee. Matthew’s account says this was the country of the Gadarenes, but both Gerasa and Gadara were cities of the Decapolis, a ten-city region on the east side of the Jordan River.
2. As soon as Jesus came out of the boat, He was confronted by a man possessed of an unclean spirit.
a. Matthew describes two men, but the difference is of no consequence. Mark and Luke simply focus on the one man who is more significant in the story.
b. Consider what is said of this demoniac.
i. He lived in the tombs, which was an abandoned place of barrenness and filth.
ii. He could not be subdued or even bound with chains, for his strength was such that he could break the chains to pieces.
iii. He cried out day and night and gashed himself with stones.
iv. No one could pass by the road because of his violence (Matt. 8:28).
v. He was unclothed (Luke 8:27).
c. The unclean spirit within this man recognized that Jesus was the Son of God.
i. Notice how the spirit submitted to the Lord’s authority and begged Jesus not to torment him.
ii. The spirit identified himself as “Legion,” which was a military term describing a company of at least five thousand. Therefore, the spirit was actually many spirits.
C. Jesus cast the demons from this man into a herd of swine (Mark 5:11-14).
1. As Jesus was commanding the unclean spirits to come out of the man, the spirits entreated Him to send them into a herd of about two thousand swine.
2. Jesus permitted the spirits to go into the swine, and the entire herd rushed down the bank and into the sea, where they perished. Again, notice the authority of Jesus over these spirits.
3. The herdsmen of the swine rushed into the city to report what had happened, and the people came out to see for themselves.
D. When the people of the city saw what had happened, they asked Jesus to depart from them (Mark 5:15-20).
1. The people found that the man had been possessed with unclean spirits was radically changed. He was seated at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.
2. Because of this, the people were afraid of Jesus, and they entreated Him to depart from them.
3. As Jesus was leaving, the healed man begged to go with Him, but Jesus sent him back to his people to tell of the good things that God had done for him. Therefore, he proclaimed it throughout Decapolis to the glory of God.
III. LESSONS LEARNED
A. This story demonstrates that Jesus is Lord over the material world and the spiritual world.
1. The reason that the Lord’s journey across the sea is part of this story is because this entire episode reveals the Lord’s complete authority over all things.
a. God has made Christ the authority of all things (Matt. 28:18), and He has the sovereign right as our Creator to rule over us.
b. Notice how the wind, the sea, and the demons had no choice but to obey the Lord. Yet God has given us a choice by free will. If we will make that choice to obey Him, then He will be the Author of our eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9).
2. Also, notice how the response to the Lord’s power over nature and His power over spirits was the same – fear.
a. The disciples, the demons, and the Gerasenes all feared Him because of the obvious power that dwelt in Him.
b. Fear of the Lord is necessary and spiritually healthy. “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” (Eccl. 12:13)
B. This story also shows that Jesus can affect a radical change in anyone.
1. The demon-possessed man was drastically changed by the power of Jesus.
a. He had proven that he was beyond the help and control of men. No one could subdue him, and everyone who tried had failed.
b. However, Jesus was easily able to heal him and given his life back to him.
2. This man is a symbol to us of how Jesus can affect anyone.
a. Just as the demon-possessed man was cast off as hopeless, so also many souls appear to be hopeless in this world today. Men cannot save these seemingly hopeless souls, but Jesus can.
b. Therefore, we should never consider any soul to be beyond the reach of Christ’s power. If Jesus could save this demoniac, and if He could save Saul, the chief persecutor of the church, and if He could save us, then He can save anyone who will receive Him.
C. The efforts made by Jesus prove that even one soul is important and worthy of our efforts.
1. Jesus left a multitude of willing listeners to cross about eight miles of open, stormy seas to cast the unclean spirits from this man.
a. As far as we know, this was His only reason from crossing over, and He immediately returned across the sea afterward.
b. The Lord’s efforts are reminiscent of the parable of the lost sheep in which the shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep in order to save the one (Luke 15:3-7).
c. There is no doubt that the demon-possessed man was worth the effort in the eyes of Jesus because Jesus loved him and had mercy on Him.
2. In this manner, we also must be willing to make extraordinary efforts to reach a soul who is lost in sin without the Lord. If we value the souls of men as Jesus does, then we will be willing.
D. The assignment given to the former demoniac proves that anyone can become an effective witness of the power of Jesus.
1. Jesus commissioned the formerly demon-possessed man to go and tell his people what God had done for him. He did this, taking his message to the ten cities of Decapolis, and the people marveled.
2. If this man could tell of the good things done for him by God, then we also can tell others how God has saved us from our sins.
a. Certainly, this man’s people would have known that this was the demon-possessed man that no one could subdue. They would have recognized the radical change in him and the obvious application of God’s power.
b. Likewise, people who see a radical transformation in a former sinner who has turned to God will recognize the obvious application of God’s power.
i. When Saul was converted and began to preach the gospel, Christians “kept hearing, ‘He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy’” (Gal. 1:23). As a result, Paul wrote, “And they were glorifying God because of me” (Gal. 1:24).
ii. Every converted sinner has a story to tell. Like the formerly demon-possessed man, Christ has given each of us the mission to go and tell our people of how God had mercy on us (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; 2Tim. 2:2).