Good versus Evil

The Life of Jesus Series:

How Jesus interacted with others.

Mark 5:1-20

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%205%3A1-20&version=NIV;NLT

 

My grandson’s favorite supervillain is Thanos, a fictional Marvel Comic character who most recently appeared in Avengers: Endgame.

 

 

 

 

 

Like Thanos, the demon possessed man in Mark 5 had super natural strength. He was a scary guy.

 

³ This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. ⁴ 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. ⁵ Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. NLT

 

The demon possessed man saw Jesus from a distance. After Jesus crossed the lake, the man ran to meet him as the boat landed. Then the story gets really bizarre as Jesus has a full blown conversation with the demons, and sends them into a herd of pigs who then plunge into the lake and drown; all 2000 of them.

 

In the Greek, demon possessed is translated as unclean. The NIV translates it as an impure spirit. You could legitimately say that we all have an unclean, or impure, spirit within us because of our sinful nature. There doesn’t have to be a demon for that to be true.

 

This story would make a great Avenger’s movie. Thanos versus Adam Warlock; good versus evil; with good winning out. Here, good and evil were battling over the man with an unclean spirit.

 

During the battle, he asked a profound question, and at the same time, made a profound statement. “What do you want with me, Jesus? Son of the Most High God.” We could ask the same question… and make the same statement. If we did, maybe good would defeat evil more often.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m a Leper

The Life of Jesus Series:

Looking at how Jesus interacted with others.

Luke 5:12-16

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%205%3A12-16&version=NIV;NLT

  

Can you think of a class of people that are considered outcasts? What about homeless people?

Virtually every time we go grocery shopping at Meijer, there’s a homeless person at the corner begging for food, often holding a sign that says, “Homeless - please help” or “Homeless family of three. Can you help?”.

 

Lepers, at the time of Jesus, were banned to live outside of the city. They were banned from going into the temple. And when they approached another person, they had to yell, “Unclean! Unclean!” In fact, they were social, emotional and spiritual outcasts.

 

Desperate and hopeless, the leper fell at Jesus’ feet with his face looking at the ground. He was so ashamed, he couldn’t even look Jesus in the face. With no pride or self-respect left, he literally begged Jesus to heal him; to make him clean. In this setting, Jesus made a bold statement into the leper’s life.

 

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” ¹³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.                NIV

 

What’s so amazing in this story is not that Jesus healed the leper, but that he actually touched him. Most people wouldn’t have. They would have been afraid of being contaminated. It may have been the first time another human being had touched the leper in weeks, months or even years. And by touching him, according to the law, Jesus himself became unclean.

 

In a way, I’m a leper! We all are. Don’t we all come to Jesus, “covered in sin”? We may not walk around yelling “Unclean”; but we are unclean; we’re sinful. We all need his healing, cleansing and forgiving touch in our life. Like the leper, Jesus’ touch can change our life. But to do that, we have to call out to him.