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Mark 5:1-20
5 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.
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. 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.
Watch the Sermon
Summary: Last week, the Gospel of Mark revealed to us that Jesus is the Lord of creation. The disciples marveled at Jesus as He was able to calm a raging storm with a word. This week Mark introduces us to a man who is severely tormented by demons. He is a wild-man who lives an undignified life among the tombs. Jesus continues to demonstrate his authority, not only over the natural, but also the supernatural as he mercifully frees this man from his demonic oppression, revealing that he came to "destroy the works of the devil".
Review & Apply
Often the activity of the demonic is to hurt, destroy, and distort. How is the work of God through Christ the antithesis of this?
Compare the power of the demons in verses 1-5 to Jesus' power. How does Jesus demonstrate superior authority and divine power?
What might Jesus be demonstrating by allowing the demons to enter the pigs and then drown?
What does the response of the crowds to Jesus' deliverance of this man reveal about man's heart toward God?
Jesus commands the formerly demon-possessed man to return to his people as a witness. What does this reveal about Jesus' heart for the nations?
In what ways does this account encourage you to be merciful?
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