Jump Start # 72

Mark 5:6-7 “Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, ‘What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!”

 Wow! Did you catch all the action words Mark packs in these two simple verses?  The demon possessed man SAW Jesus, he RAN up, he BOWED down, he SHOUTED WITH A LOUD VOICE. This chapter is one of my favorites from the Gospels. It seemed to be just another typical day in the life of Jesus, but what energy, confession, and truths are found here.

 These events follow Jesus calming the storm (Mark 4). The apostles in the boat with Jesus were so frightened that they thought they were going to die. I’ve never been that scared before. Some have. Wars can do that. Violent storms can do that. Being a victim of a crime can do that. They were scared. Jesus slept. They awoke Jesus and He stilled the storm. As soon as the boat lands on shore, here comes this demon possessed man running at them and screaming. I expect these wide eyed disciples stepped back into the boat and thought about heading back to where they came from.

  This demon possessed man is most unusual. He seemed to have super human strength. The town folks bound him with chains, but he broke them. He lived among the tombs, screaming day and night. Another Gospel tells us he was naked. I expect mothers warned their children to stay far away from him. At night, his screaming would wake people up. He was a nuisance. He was trouble. Nothing could be done it seems. Understand this man was possessed by a demon, a living spirit. This was not a mental condition. Drugs would not have stopped this. Mark tells us that Jesus commanded the demon “to come out of the man” (5:8).

 There are two fascinating thoughts I want you to see here. First, this demon recognized Jesus. There are 13 men in the boat (Jesus and the twelve apostles). Jesus doesn’t walk about with a halo above His head, that’s the imagination of artists, not the teachings of the Gospels. By appearances, Jesus would have looked pretty much like the apostles. This demon knew. Not only did He correctly pick out who Jesus was, but he understood, who Jesus really was. He knew that Jesus was the son of the Most High God. He knew to bow to Jesus. He knew that Jesus had the power and the authority to torment him. He knew he could not stop Jesus, so he begged for mercy. He knew without seeing a miracle. He knew without hearing a sermon. The spirits understood who Jesus was. Man struggled with that concept. By casting the demon out, Jesus demonstrated that He could do what the town’s people could not do. The “unpossessed man” is described as sitting down, clothed and in his right mind. Only Jesus could do that. The demons—Jesus put them in a herd of pigs and they rushed over a cliff and drowned, about 2,000 of them. The townspeople told Jesus to leave the area. I guess they would rather have live pigs and an uncontrolled demon than the way Jesus left things. Some folks are more interested in their things than people getting better. How sad!

  The other great lesson here is that the cured man wanted to go with Jesus. He told him no, but to go tell others what great things Jesus had done for him. This is the first person Jesus sent out to tell others. Often, after a miracle, Jesus would say, “Do not tell anyone…” But here, and of all people, this person, Jesus said, go and tell.

  And what a great message to tell, “What great things Jesus has done for you.”  We could tell that message! He has blessed us. He has brought us together as a people. He has forgiven us. He has led us. He has strengthened us. We are better because of Jesus.

 Roger