Jesus Delivers the Demonized – Mark 5:1-20

Sermon Video

In our text last week, we saw Jesus calm the wind and the sea (Mark 4:39). After Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples were fearful, and asked, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41). In Mark 5, we find the answer to the disciples’ question. In Mark 5, we read about Jesus’ power over demons, disease, and death.

Sermon Text: Mark 5:1-20

Jesus Conquers the Demonic (1-13)

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 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.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

1

Jesus and the disciples arrive at the country of the Gerasenes. This area was a village in the area of the Decapolis, a region of 10 cities southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Although some Jews lived in the Decapolis, the population and overall worldview of the region was predominantly Gentile.^[1]ESV Archaeology Study Bible, 1441.

2

As soon as Jesus steps out of the boat, Mark writes, “immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.” To have an unclean spirit means that this person was was demon-possessed.

Jesus and the disciples probably arrived at night (Mark 4:35). It was believed that evil spirits exercised their greatest power at night. Thus, Mark is setting the stage for ancient readers to feel the suspense of the ensuing conflict.

In vv. 3-5, Mark gives us a picture of the man’s condition.

The demon-possessed man:

• lived among the tombs. The people of the town, in fear, had driven him out of the town. They feared his amazing strength. The text says that chains and shackles could not hold him.
• The man had descended into a life of filth, loneliness, and terror. Jews would have considered him unclean for the mere act of touching a dead body, much less living among the dead.
• Verse 5 says, “he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.”

It’s very possible that the pig herdsmen were supplying the Roman army with pork. If this is true, then Jesus meets a man with an unclean spirit living among unclean tombs surrounded by people employed in an unclean occupation, in an unclean Gentile territory.^[2]James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 155.

1 Pet 5:8

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Satan and his demons had devoured this man. He was living like an animal amongst the dead and cutting himself with rocks. This man was running around naked and was unkempt and dirty. His skin had cuts, bruises, lacerations, scabs, and infections. Satan’s demons completely controlled this man. It is hard to imagine a more miserable existence.

One could argue that this man had it worse than Job. Jesus said this in John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

That’s what Satan wants to do. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan doesn’t want human beings to love one another. He doesn’t want them to have the abundant life that Jesus gives. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy.

The people in the surrounding area of Gerasenes feared this demon-possessed man with great strength.

Look at vv. 3-4 again:

“This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart and broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.”

No one was strong enough to subdue him. No one except Jesus. Look at verses 6-8.

The man ran and fell down before Jesus. Isn’t that amazing? Remember, the text just said that there was no one strong enough to subdue him. Yet, as soon as Jesus gets out of the boat, this demon-possessed man comes to him and falls before him.

As the man falls before Jesus, the demon immediately takes control of his voice. The demons that possessed this man knew who Jesus was. Look at v. 7 – “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”

Look back at Mark 4:41. The question that the disciples asked is now answered by the demons here in Mark 5:7. Jesus is the Son of the Most High God. The demons recognize Jesus’s absolute authority and that is why they force the man to bow down before Him.

I quoted the first part of John 10:10 earlier. Now I want to read the whole verse – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

The demons have sought to destroy this man but Jesus comes to give life. Verse 8 says that Jesus commanded the demons to come out of the man.

As Jesus is commanding the demons to come out of the man, he asked the demon in v. 9, “What is your name?” The demon responds, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”

A legion is a contingency of 6,000 Roman soldiers. This man was not possessed by just one demon, but by many demons working together as an evil force. In v. 10, the demon begs Jesus to not send them out of the country.

What happens next has always been a bit of a puzzle for me. Look at vv. 11-13.

The demons ask for Jesus to send them into the herd of pigs instead of sending them away into the abyss. The presence of a herd of pigs this size underscores the fact that this was a Gentile region, for the Jews considered pigs to be unclean according to Lev 11. Jesus gives them permission to enter the pigs and the herd, which numbered about 2000, rushed down the bank and into the sea and drowned.

When Jesus sent the demons into the pigs, this was a visible manifestation of the reality of the exorcism. The people were able to see clearly that Jesus had exorcised the demons from the man and sent them into the pigs. By doing this, Jesus gave the crowd a graphic, visible, and powerful lesson on the level of evil from which the man had been delivered.

This story reminds us of the uniqueness of human beings. Only humans are created in God’s image and can have a relationship with God. Here, Jesus values the life of one man over the whole herd of pigs.

When the demons entered the pigs, the demons drove them to destruction. This is what demons do—they seek total destruction of their host.

Here are some things we can learn about demons from this passage. These are taken from a Christianity Today article entitled “Exorcism 101” by Clinton Arnold:

1. Demons are real and dangerous. A demon (or many demons) can inhabit and take possession of a person.
2. Demons can make themselves known by speaking through people and even taking control of their bodies.
3. Demons are fallen angels and powerful spiritual beings. They can exhibit enormous strength through a person under their control.
4. Demons can inflict serious personal injury to the one possessed and to others, with the ultimate goal of that person’s death.
5. Demons can move or be transferred from one host to another.
6. Demons can resist leaving their host. They may even beg, out of self-interest, for their own well-being.
7. Demons recognize and are subject to appropriate spiritual authority.
8. If demonic spirits attempted to resist the incarnate Christ, we can be sure they will also attempt to resist us.
9. Jesus, unlike the exorcists of His day that used elaborate rituals and incantations, simply gave the command, and the demons were forced to obey.

The man thing that we see in vv. 1-13 is that Jesus has the power to conquer the demonic. As Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. In Revelation 20, we see Jesus’ ultimate victory over Satan and the demons as they are cast into the Lake of Fire forever.

If Jesus can exorcise a multitude of demons from this man and give him new life, then what can he do with you? This man had been inhabited by demons and was cut off from society. He had no hope and no future. That is, until he met Jesus. Maybe that’s you today. I don’t know what’s going on in your life, whether it’s drugs, alcohol, pornography, or something else, but Jesus has the power to overcome it. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came that we can have abundant life in Him.

You see, without Jesus, we would all be in the Lake of Fire forever with Satan and his demons because of our sin against God. We have all fallen short of His glory and broken His righteous commands. Because of this, we need an advocate with the Father, and that is exactly who Jesus is. Jesus came and lived a perfect life of obedience and He died for our sins in our place on the cross. We can have peace with God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. That is the gospel, and it is good news indeed. Let’s see how the crowds viewed Jesus after this miracle.

In vv. 1-13, Jesus conquered the demonic. In vv. 14-17, Jesus confronts the cautious (14-17).

Jesus Confronts the Cautious (14-17)

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.

In vv. 14-17, we see the crowd’s response to Jesus.

The herdsmen go into the city and the country and share about what happened.

People come out to see Jesus and they see the demon-possessed man sitting clothed and in his right mind. Their response to this was fear. Verse 15 says, “they were afraid.”

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is never a neutral figure. Jesus is no ordinary man. When Jesus shows up, things change. This scares some people. Sadly, the people of the region are afraid of Jesus and His power, and they begged Jesus to leave (v. 17). It seems that for them, they were more upset about the destruction of property (the pigs) than they were happy about the healing of the man.

Jesus’s power made them uncomfortable. Did you know that there are lot of church folk that are uncomfortable with Jesus’s power?

• Some people get uncomfortable when we sing songs of praise.
• Some people get uncomfortable when people raise their hands.
• Some people get uncomfortable when the worst sinners come to church.
• Some people get uncomfortable when people come to church that don’t look like them and talk like them.

Brothers and sisters let’s not tell Jesus to leave simply because we are uncomfortable or feel threatened. Who knows what miracles and works these people missed out on because they begged Jesus to leave their region?

Some of you are worried about following Jesus too closely. You can come to a church service every now and then and squirm through an hour of preaching but you refuse to give Jesus your heart. You know that Jesus demands that you follow him with your whole life. After all, if he can change and transform a demoniac what might he do with you? ^[3]Danny Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Mark, 108-9.

In vv. 14-17, we see the crowd’s response to Jesus. In vv. 18-20, we see the man’s response to Jesus

Jesus Commissions the Delivered (18-20)

18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 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.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

The formerly demon-possessed man asks Jesus to follow Him. Verse 18 says that he “begged” Jesus that he might be with him.

In contrast to many people who don’t care about regularly attending corporate worship, this man begs Jesus that he might be with him.

You see, a man who has been truly converted will not want to be separated from the presence of Christ.^[4]R.C. Sproul, Mark, 95.

Instead, in v. 19, Jesus told him to, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

We’re not told any more than this, but with a little imagination, you can picture this scenario:

As the man gets closer to home, excitement grows within him. Maybe he had a family. How long had it been since he kissed his wife and held his children? Could they have been praying for him this whole time? As he gets close to his home, he sees his kids playing outside. They see him, run inside, and yell, “Mommy, Mommy! It’s Daddy! He’s home!” Tears stream down their faces as they embrace one another.

As the man wipes tears from his eyes, he tells his family that he men a man named Jesus, Son of the Most High God. The man continues, “Let me tell you what this man has done for me.”^[5]Adapted from Danny Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Mark, 110.

This is the power of Jesus.

See, when Jesus changes your life, that fact is not meant to be a secret. We should tell those around us about the difference that Jesus has made in our lives. Don’t just invite people to church. Tell them how Jesus has changed your life – your marriage, your family, your situation, and your church. And if you don’t have a testimony of how Jesus has changed your whole life, then you don’t know Jesus.

Political policies may enact some change but I’ll tell you what changes the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ is what changes us. The Holy Spirit’s work in our lives changes us. As we are changed, we share the hope of the gospel with others and they are changed.

The man followed Jesus’s instructions and began to proclaim how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled (v. 20). When Jesus does a work in your life, people should marvel. You are not the man or woman you used to be. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

Have you been made new by Christ?

Have you been born again?

Has your life been turned upside down by the risen Christ?