Trinity Baptist Church

The Book of Mark

Dominating Powers, Part 2

Mark 5:1-20

 

We continue our study tonight of the gospel of Mark by returning to the opening twenty verses of chapter 5 where we find this incredible account of Jesus encounter with a man literally eaten up with demon possession.

 

Let's read it again.

 

verses 1-20

 

I mentioned to you last week that there are three dominating powers revealed in this story. First, there is the devastating power of demons and we looked at that last week. 

 

This man is literally consumed with the power of Satan.  The demons number in the thousands and they have taken control of this man’s life.  He can’t be controlled or tamed.  When his voice speaks, it is the voice of demons.  He is living in the cemetery, unable to function or be accepted in society.  And he gets no relief, but is tormented around the clock.   

He now exists as nothing for than a vehicle for demonic expression. They have totally taken the man over.

 

That is the devastating power of demons.  That is the first power we encounter in this text. 

 

But notice what happens next when we see what I’ll call

 

 

verse 8

 

Now we don’t have all the details of the conversation here in Mark’s version, but in verse 7, the demons beg Jesus to not be tormented.  That is in response, according to verse 8, to the command of Jesus to come out of the man. 

 

Verse 9 tells us He also was asking him, "What is your name?” Now obviously this man has a name that his mother and father gave him at his birth.  I don’t think it wrong to speculate his name may have had some family significance.  In the culture of the day, very often, names would incorporate some virtue or characteristic they hoped to see develop in his life. 

 

But by now, all of that is gone.  And consistent with the takeover of his man’s voice and body, his name is now gone also.  He is so totally dominated by the power of Satan that when Jesus asks his name, the reply he receives is  “Legion, for we are many.”

 

Actually “Legion" is not a name, but rather a military designation. A legion was a contingent of Roman soldiers numbering 6 to 8 thousand.  Some commentators suggest they provide that number in an attempt to intimidate Jesus.  I don't see it that way.  I think they understood they couldn't intimidate Jesus.  They know exactly who He is.

 

I don’t think they provide that information as a defense mechanism; I think they have no choice but to obey.  I think He wants to enter the number into the record as a testimony of his power over demons.  It's one thing to cast a demon out of a person, it's another thing to deal with thousands of demons with a simple command.

 

And notice, they don't want to come out of the man. They don't want to be sent to the pit and they don't want to go out of the country.

 

Verse 10

 

They’re not ready for the eternal place of incarceration.  That’s still future and they don’t want to leave the country they’re in because they more or less have had free reign. 

 

So they've been enjoying this perfect scenario for their activity.  They have all the false religions of the area.  There are cults and idols and false teachings so it is a perfect setting for their evil to operate. 

They want to stay there with whatever they've got going. They want to continue to do it.

 

So notice the plan they present in verses 11-12

 

There is lots of speculation about those pigs.  SO say it has to be a Gentile operation because Jews don’t raise pigs.  They speculate that it is a village enterprise, kind of like the community industry.  And that certainly is a possibility.  After all, they are in Gentile country. 

 

I wonder if it’s not a black-market hog operation.  Maybe it is a Jewish business on the sly.  After all, it’s a perfect setup.  There is lots of money to be made.  You can operate in a Gentile area with built-in security.  Nobody came around this man who’s living in the cemetery.

And when it’s all said and done, those who came out to see what happened begged Jesus to leave the area.  They show no interest in what has happened to the man.  Maybe that’s because the bottom line on the profit sheet had just taken a nose-dive.  

 

At any rate, the demons ask Jesus permission to enter the swine. 

 

verse 12

 

So why did they want to go into the pigs?  I don't have a clue.  I am happy to report to you, I have absolute no idea why demons do what they do.  I don't operate in that realm. I don't know any demons well enough to discern their motives.

 

As far as I know, I’ve only had one encounter with a demon and I didn’t ask a lot of questions in that experience.  So I have no idea except to say they want the freedom to do damage. And if you can't do damage through a man, maybe you can do damage in another arena.  I think they want to be anywhere except confined in the pit. 

 

So is it possible that an animal could be demon possessed? I think so.  In fact, when I used to help dad with his cows, I’m pretty sure I encountered a couple.  In fact, I think I had a Shetland pony one time that was possessed. 

 

In all seriousness, animals have brains and behaviors that demons can dominate. And the very action of the pigs indicate that were under the control of these demons.  They create chaos. They remove normal instinct, and normal restraint that even animals have and create violent and deadly results.

Now, while I don’t have a clue why the demons wanted to enter the pigs, I do want to venture a clue about why Jesus allowed it to happen. 

 

Verse 13

 

One reason Jesus gave them permission is it provided evidence they had left the man.  So we see His ability to free the man from demon-possession.  And by the way, notice Jesus has complete and absolute authority and He provides this visible demonstration of the massive supernatural power He possesses.

 

And thirdly, there is a demonstration of the purposes and intentions of Satan and demons as they destroy the whole herd.  By the way, can you imagine what a mess that was?  Two thousand drowned hogs?  By the way, the theological term for this is “sooey-side”.  Or maybe we should say they took a swine dive.

 

But it does reveal the man's deliverance, the amazing power of Jesus to deliver the man and the deadly intent of demons.  And all of a sudden, the man is completely different and the pigs are acting like the man.

 

verse 14

 

News begins to spread and everyone comes out to see.  I find the response very interesting. 

 

Verse14

 

Now think about what they see when they get there.  This old boy that has a reputation for being craze and dangerous is seated, clothed and sane.

Two thousand pigs are floating around at the bottom of the ravine.  I’ll guarantee you could go home that day and say, “I’ve never seen anything like it!”  But notice what happens.

 

Verse 15

 

They used to be afraid of the man.  Now they're afraid of Jesus.  In fact, if I understand the language correctly, they’re not just frightened, they’re living in a state of fear.  That’s what the word implies.  Why does that happen?  I think it’s because they now know there is a power out there that is so strong and they never knew it existed. 

 

It’s what one author calls “the trauma of holiness”. 

And you find it happening throughout Scripture, both Old Testament and New.  When people encounter the presence and power of God, they are terrified.  It’s the same thing we just saw with the disciples.  They are scared of the storm.  But they are terrified to discover God is in the boat with them. 

 

These folks may have been scared of the man, but now here stands a man that can control him, so obviously his power is greater than whatever had hold of this man. 

 

Well, we’ve seen the destructive power of demons and the delivering power of deity.  There is one more power left to discover in this text and we’ll do that next week. 

 

Let’s pray.