Mark 5:1-20 - The Healing of the Demonic
An Encounter with the Living Christ
I am so glad to be here with you this afternoon. For those of you who don’t know me or where I’m from, my name is Joe. My birth name is Jose, but my wife is the only person allowed to call me Jose. She told me, “I met you as Jose, and that’s what I’m going to call you.” My family calls me Joe. I’m from the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere—Haiti being number one, and my beautiful country of Nicaragua being number two. It is the poorest country in Central America, and because of that, I am eternally grateful to be in California.
You’re going to see some passion come out today, and you might wonder where it comes from. I’ve gone through some stuff in my life. I’ve been broke. I’ve gone through war. I’ve gone through poverty. But if it wasn’t for God’s goodness and faithfulness, I wouldn’t be here. Are there any people here who have gone through some stuff but can say, “But God”?
In my congregation, Iglesia La Fuente—which my wife and I started by God’s grace seven years ago in our living room—my people talk back to me. They’ll stand up, clap, and say, “Preach, Pastor! Pradika!” So, it’s okay if you’re the kind of person who likes to clap or say amen. I’m your kind of pastor. I grew up Catholic, became Southern Baptist, and now I’m here at The Well. I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to preach His word. I’ll admit, I did something I shouldn’t have done—I drank a cup of coffee. I already have enough passion; I don’t need the caffeine, but pray for me as we dive into the Word.
Through the Gospel, Jesus had extraordinary encounters with ordinary people. These were regular, everyday people who were forever changed by colliding with the living presence of Christ. And it’s still happening today. God is still in the business of restoring life. If you’re a mess, if you’re broken, if you’re hurting, you’re in the right place because the Gospel still works. When our hearts genuinely experience the grace and love of a living Jesus, we face a choice: to resist Him or to surrender. I hope you choose to surrender your whole life totally to Him.
I surrendered my life to Him when I was seven years old in Managua, Nicaragua, and my life has never been the same. It is impossible to have an encounter with Jesus and not be transformed. We need to send a message heard all around the world that our God is not dead. He is able to change circumstances and situations. God takes our mess and makes something beautiful out of it.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, [he is] a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
No One Is Outside of God’s Reach
Today we are in Mark chapter five. The Gospel of Mark portrays Jesus above all as a miracle worker. In the previous chapter, Jesus and His disciples were out on the sea during a tremendous storm. They were fighting for their lives when Christ spoke a word and silenced that killer storm. They were headed for the safety of a quiet shoreline for a brief retreat.
Isn’t that how life is? You get out of one storm and go right into another. You get out of one debt and go into more debt. But remember this: for every problem we have, our God has a prescription. As the disciples get out of the boat, they’ve just seen Jesus calm the storm, and now they see Him deal with a demon-possessed man. Why would Jesus go to a Gentile city for just one man? Because one person matters to God. You matter to God.
Mark 5:1-5 (NASB)
They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.
No one is outside of God’s reach. I’m sure many people had given up on this man, and maybe people have given up on you, but God hasn’t. Look at this man’s condition. He was unclean, living among tombs. He was isolated from human contact. The worst thing sin does is isolate us. He was violent, supernatural in strength, and constantly suffering. Night and day, he would run naked among the tombs, crying out in agony.
Jesus knows your agony. He knows how many tears you have dropped into your pillow. You can hide it with makeup or a happy face, but Jesus knows the pain. This man was self-destructive, cutting himself with stones. People labeled him as “scary,” and he was all alone. But if God could reach this man, He can reach anybody. We should never give up on anyone. When you’re in trouble, God will reach into your mess and pull you out.
Ephesians 2:4-5 (NASB)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Jesus Rules Over the Darkness
The second thing we learn is that Jesus rules over Satan. In chapter four, Jesus showed His power over nature. In chapter five, He shows His power over the supernatural.
Mark 5:6-10 (NASB)
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!’ For He had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ And He was asking him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said to Him, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ And he [began] to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
When this demon-possessed man sees Jesus, he runs and bows down. The demons are compelled to confess Him as the Son of God. Even the demons know who Jesus is! They used to live together in eternity before they rebelled; they knew Him as the Creator. Jesus came for a specific purpose: to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8 (NASB)
the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
There is a desperation in these demons. They beg Jesus not to torment them. They recognize His absolute authority. They tell Him their name is “Legion,” which refers to a Roman legion of 4,000 to 6,000 men. This indicates there were thousands of demons dwelling in this man’s body. To a Jew, a legion meant oppression and a lack of freedom. Yet, these demons are no match for the Savior.
Job 42:2 (NASB)
’I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
Psalms 115:3 (NASB)
But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.
No power can resist Christ. Even though the demons are like bacteria invading a body, they know they must leave because Jesus has absolute power. They beg to be sent into a herd of pigs nearby.
Mark 5:11-13 (NASB)
Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. [The demons] implored Him, saying, ‘Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.’ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand [of them]; and they were drowned in the sea.
Now, 2,000 pigs is a lot of bacon and baby back ribs—or carnitas! If you don’t know what carnitas are, I’ll pray for you. Why did the Lord allow this? To show the man he was truly rescued and to teach the townspeople that people are more important than property. These folks were selfish; they valued their possessions more than the restoration of a human soul.
You don’t need to be possessed by a demon to do evil things. Our own nature is sinful. Sometimes the biggest enemy in the room isn’t your mother-in-law or your spouse—it’s you. You can destroy yourself with dumb decisions. We need a Savior to set us free.
John 8:36 (NASB)
’So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
The Choice We Face
Finally, we must each make a choice about Jesus. The next verses show the different responses to this miracle.
Mark 5:14-20 (NASB)
Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And [the people] came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the ‘legion’; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and [all] about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, ‘Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and [how] He had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
When the townspeople see the man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, they become frightened. Instead of rejoicing, they implore Jesus to leave their region. People are funny like that. The moment you start coming to church, people might start calling you “religious” or get offended. They aren’t offended by you; they are offended by what God is doing in your life.
Jesus goes to the other side of the Galilee, to a pagan region, just for one man. He sets him free. Then, when the man wants to go with Jesus, Jesus says, “No, you must stay here. Go tell people what I have done.” He gives this man a mission, just as He gives you a mission today. He has set you free, and now He says, “Go tell them the great things God has done.”
A New Mission
In your bad days, remember what God has done in your life. When you have an anxiety attack or feel depressed, remember His faithfulness. Could it be that God saved you so you can keep bugging that neighbor to come to church? Could it be He saved you so you can be a missionary in dark places?
I was recently in Managua, Nicaragua, in a place called Masaya. I was teaching young boys who wanted to be boxers. In Nicaragua, you either play baseball or you box to get out of the ghetto. I was there opening my Bible to Ephesians 2, preaching about the grace of God. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a lady just looking at me.
After I finished, I went to talk to her. I spoke to her in the language of heaven—which is Spanish, in case you didn’t know. I asked her, “Is everything okay?” She started crying. She said, “I’ve been diagnosed with stage four cancer, and I was about to give up on life. But I heard you preach that God loves me. I told the Lord, ‘If you are real, send somebody to speak to my life.’ And then you came.”
I told her, “Do you know where I’m coming from? I’m from Fresno, California! God sent me all the way from Fresno to tell you He is not finished with you.”
If God can set that demon-possessed man free, He can set you free. If you have already encountered Him, you are His missionary. Be grateful. When you don’t know what to do, just praise Him. As we take communion tonight, thank Him that He saved you, not by your works, but by His grace.
Would you give the Lord a hand and say, “Lord, I am free through the precious blood of your Son, Jesus Christ”? Father, I thank You for Your Word and for every person in this room. Just as You set that man free, set us free from whatever is holding us hostage. We thank You for the freedom we have in Christ. Amen.