When Jesus Crosses the Line (Mark 5:1-20)

Today we start Mark chapter 5, and we’re going to study a powerful healing that elicited two polar-opposite reactions: awe-filled worship from one group and fright-filled rejection from another. It shows us the kind of impact Jesus has always had on the world: you either love him or hate him. Even today, some people refuse to see the good that Jesus wants to do in the world. Their minds are made up; they reject him at every turn. Whatever their motive – financial, political, relational, emotional – they are determined to fight against Jesus, his teachings, and his followers. These people were around in Jesus’ day, and they’re still here today. 

Today we’ll talk about demons and authority and the prevailing culture. So let’s start with a question: Q. Is there a line that you won’t let Jesus cross? 

• I’ll follow you as long as…
  • It doesn’t cost me too much
  • I don’t have to give up my entertainment choices
  • You don’t make me look weird or extreme

Man vs Legion

Talking Point: The story illustrates the struggle within – the battle between our good intentions and the legion of demons that want to keep us in bondage to death. Mark 5:1-10, Ephesians 2:1-2

Mark 5:1-5 (NLT) So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.

• burial caves – As good as dead
  • Ephesians 2:1-2 (NLT) Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
  • The wages of sin is death (in every way)
  • This man had been driven from the town because of the danger he presented to others.  Now, isolated, he can only harm himself.  The devil does some of his best work in isolation. 
• No one was strong enough – The power of the enemy

Mark 5:6-10 (NLT) When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”

Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”

And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.” Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place.

• The Man vs Legion – The struggle within
  • The man was excited to see Jesus, wanted to worship him
  • Legion was upset to see Jesus, shrieked and screamed
  • The demons tried to gain control of the situation by addressing Jesus by his full name.  There was a common superstition at this time that you had spiritual power over another if you addressed them by their exact name.  
    • In their address of Jesus, they have the right theological facts about who he is, but they don’t have the right attitude.  We talk a lot about having the right information and the right attitude when we come to Jesus.  These demons weren’t addressing him in this way because they wanted to submit to him but because they were hoping to exhibit some authority over him.  Obviously, this failed as Jesus is uncreated and according to Colossians 1:15-16 it is Jesus who created the demons: Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[e]for through him God created everything  in the heavenly realms and on earth.He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.    Everything was created through him and for him.
  • Romans 7:18-23 (NLT) And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway…. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

Deliverance

Talking Point: Jesus cast the demons out of the man, sending them into a herd of nearby pigs. It’s a powerful picture of his authority over sin and the devil, and it shows us the stark contrast between life with Jesus and life without him. Mark 5:11-13, Ephesians 2:4-6

Mark 5:11-13 (NLT) There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. “Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.”

So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

• Permission – Jesus has ultimate authority, and even the demons know it
• Lame Pastor Joke – First recorded instance of mass suicide
• The devil is out to kill
• Ephesians 2:4-6 (NLT) But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

Two Responses (Fear or Worship)

Talking Point: Surprisingly, not everyone responded the same way to this life-changing miracle. Many people were afraid and begged Jesus to leave; he had crossed a line that made them reject him. The healed man begged to go with Jesus, but instead he was sent home to share the good news. Mark 5:14-20  

Mark 5:14-17 (NLT) The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.

• Herdsmen’s response – spread the news, but why?
  • End of this section gives us a hint – to rally people against Jesus
  • The herdsmen fled – It wasn’t so much about what they were running to; it was what they were running from.  The original word is to flee, to escape.  They were scared because of the financial loss but also because their superstitions had been scattered.  Here was this man sitting in his right mind and they couldn’t explain it.  
• Crowd’s response – afraid (not ecstatic that this man was perfectly sane)
  • Pleading (there’s that word again) with Jesus to go away?!
  • God’s work can be scary when we’re not a part of it.  It forces us to recognize just how dependent we are on him.  
  • If you don’t know about his goodness, his power is terrifying. 
• The financial loss they suffered was more powerful to them than the joy of seeing this man restored. In their minds, clearly his life wasn’t worth the lives of 2,000 pigs.  
• Jesus went

Mark 5:18-20 (NLT) As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.

• getting into the boat – Jesus went away. Incredible. 
  • He won’t force his beautiful healing on anyone.
• go home to your family, and tell them – first time Jesus is letting the secret out?
• Jesus hasn’t gone to the cross yet, but this is the simplest way to share the gospel: tell people everything God has done for you and how merciful he has been.  I was broken.  I was dead.  But God made me alive. Jesus is encouraging him to go and tell people what God has done.  He had been telling people not to share up to this point.  One reason is because of the area where this deliverance took place.  It was in the Decapolis – a region of 10 Greek cities on the east side of the Jordan.  News spreading of what Jesus had done for this man in this area would not draw opposition from Jewish religious leaders.  This man would be able to have an impact in this area with his story that the Jewish disciples wouldn’t have.  The people of that area knew what his life was like before his encounter with Jesus.  This is another great example of how Jesus can use the bad things in our past for his glory and to accomplish his purpose.  
• This man likely may have thought he had to stay near Jesus or the demons would come back.  By not allowing him to come with him, Jesus is showing him that he is truly free from the demonic possession that he had endured for so long. 
• He didn’t let his disappointment in not being able to go with Jesus keep him from sharing the good news.  Do we let disappointment keep us from being used by Jesus?  
  • Contrast his motive with the herdsmen’s