A Series on
Living in the Wilderness
The demon
possessed man.
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Mark 5:1-20
[In this series
we’ll be looking at people who lived in the wilderness of life. In fact, there
are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those
times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is faithful, that He loves you
and is always with you.]
But nothing rivals the scary scene that Jesus faced.
Larger and larger crowds of people had been following him. In an effort for some
peace and quiet, he and his disciples sailed at night across the Sea of Galilee
when a sudden storm threatened their lives. Jesus calmed the waters and the
disciples fear.
But fear would come again!
It was still dark when they reached the shore.
Imagine how frightening it must have been when Jesus was immediately confronted
by a naked man who was possessed by an evil spirit. When he saw Jesus, he ran up
to him, fell on his knees and screamed in an unearthly voice.
This man had supernatural strength. In the past, he
had been chained hand and foot and kept under guard. However, he always managed
to break the chains. Nobody was strong enough to subdue him. He was out of
control crazy.
5 Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and
in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. NLT
Following this, something even more bizarre happened.
The demon begged Jesus not to torture him but to send him into a herd of nearby
pigs. When Jesus complied and exorcised the evil spirit, the entire herd of
almost two thousand pigs plunged down a steep bank into the lake and drowned.
The final scene of this story is Jesus sitting with
the man who had been possessed but now was fully dressed and in his right mind.
He was no longer driven by the demons. He was no longer living in the
wilderness. He was at peace.
In our culture, people commonly don’t believe in demons
or evil spirits. But we can understand and agree that there is something within
us that keeps us from doing the good that we desire to do. Something within us
that we struggle with.
Paul wrote at length about this struggle in Romans.
He described how he wanted to do the right thing but kept doing evil. Then he
came to this conclusion.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to
do good, evil is right there with me. NIV
Most likely, your struggles haven’t been like a
scene from a horror movie. But we all struggle with sin. Thankfully, Paul
didn’t end by just describing this struggle. He went on to give these words of
hope, not only for him, but also for us.
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God, who
delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! NIV
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