Sun, Feb 21, 2021

Preached by Pastor Jeff Hamling Mark 5:1-20

Where My Demons Hide, Part 2

Introduction:

In 2009, a journalist by the name of Matt Baglio, wrote a book called, The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exoricist.

Matt was working as a journalist in Rome when he read that the Vatican was offering training classes in exorcism for Catholic priests. He thought: “What? How can this even be a thing in the 21st Century?” He ended up attending the classes and following a priest on his training and writing a book about it. He was surprised by two things:

1. He saw some crazy stuff! People who possessed preternatural strength and had knowledge of hidden things. They could speak languages they never learned. People speaking in unnatural voices, saying things like: “This person belongs to us. He spoke with honest priests who told stories of seeing demon possessed people levitate.

Matt had long ago given up the faith of his childhood. But when he came face to face with some of these encounters, he reaffirmed his faith.

1. The Catholic Church believes that demon possession is exceedingly rare. Anyone who came to the church suspecting demon possession was first referred to a mental health expert. And even then, over 90% of the cases were determined as not being demonic.

I think that these two points are helpful as we approach this passage about demon possession. On the one hand, there are trustworthy accounts that defy scientific explanation. In light of this, skeptics of Christianity should approach this passage with an open mind.

On the other hand, accounts like this are exceedingly rare. This passage is not meant for you to focus on demon possession and exorcisms per se.

Instead, it’s intended to show you that you are not as different from this man as you might think.

Look at: 1) The demon-possessed man’s brokenness. 2) The demon-possessed man’s redemption.

The Demon-Possessed Man’s Brokenness

V1. Tells us that Jesus and his disciples leave the area of Israel and travel across the lake of Galilee to a region called Gerasenes.

Everything about this place reeks of death and evil and impurity. And for the Jew—who kept strict purity regulations—everything about this scene reeks of unclean.

• It’s in a Gentile region outside of Israel’s holy land—for the Jews, Gentile regions were unclean.
• The man is filled with an unclean spirit.
• He lives among dead corpses (considered unclean by Jews).
• There’s a massive herd of pigs nearby. (also considered unclean by the Jews).

And yet, Jesus enters into this dark, oppressive, unclean place because he comes to make his blessings known as far as the curse is found.

In v.2-5, no sooner than Jesus gets out of the boat, a demon possesses man approaches him.

It’s apparent that this man has been assaulted by evil. It’s worth looking at all the ways evil has assaulted him, because it’s an exercise in compassion. Moreover, it shows us what evil intends to do to each of us.

1. He’s been relegated to the realm of the dead

v.5 says he lives among the tombs. But v.3 says he lives in the tombs—the caves where people buried their dead. His home is the grave. His companions are corpses. He reeks of death.

He is a picture of Israel in the Old Testament—exiled and living in a valley of dry bones.

Also, he’s a picture of where our sinful desires want to lead us. You may not be possessed by demons. But you know what it is t