So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region
of the Gerasenes. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an
evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. This man lived among the burial
caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. 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. Day and night
he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting
himself with sharp stones. When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw
him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. With a shriek, he screamed,
"Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the
name of God, I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had already said to
the spirit, "Come out of the man, you evil spirit." Then Jesus
demanded, "What is your name?" And he replied, "My name is
Legion, because there are many of us inside this man." Then the evil
spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place.
Mark 5:1-10
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| The Sea of Galilee Cross to the Other Side--will you get out of the boat? |
In studying this passage over the years
I’ve been impressed with the distinct separation here between the Jews and
Gentiles. The Jews, considering the Gentiles and their ways to be evil, did not
want to enter into their territory. That would make them impure and they would
have to go through their ritual cleansing. Jesus was obviously not concerned
with being around unclean people. He came to minister to and heal the
sick—physically, mentally and above all spiritually. He had to cross the Sea of
Galilee to get to this Gentile area of Gerasenes. Note that this passage
doesn’t say “Jesus and the disciples” got out of the boat, only that Jesus climbed out of the boat. Where were the disciples? They were still
IN THE BOAT. The possessed man came to meet Jesus—so we can presume that the
disciples could see and hear Jesus’ encounter with this possessed man. Were the
disciples afraid to get out of the boat? Did Jesus tell them to stay in the
boat…like parents sometimes tell their kiddos to “stay in the car”? We don’t
know about if Jesus gave instructions to His disciples.…but we do know that
there were bunches of evil spirits in that man…not just one…and they recognized
Jesus as the Son of the Most High God. If evil spirits can recognize Jesus as
God, why can people see Him for who He is?
Jesus called
those spirits out of the man. Right there, right then. He was focused on the
man…and
helping him.
Cleansing him from the evil spirits in him. The evil spirits just did not want
to be tortured—or as the Greek word tiva
is also translated…tormented. They knew about tormenting. That is just what
they had been doing in that poor man they were possessing. Funny thing is they
did not want the same treatment or to be sent to some distant place or country…like
maybe hell. They begged—not just asked—but begged Jesus…recognizing His power
to send them wherever He wanted or to just destroy them. But Jesus, being the
merciful God that He is, did not destroy them. Read on for yourself in the
following verses (see tomorrow’s blog). What happens to those who are evil? Evil is all around us. We are in the midst of
a spiritual battle.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength
of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand
firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces
of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able
to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand
firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE
BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF
THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with
which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God. Ephesians
6:10-17 NASB (Underlining mine, for emphasis)
Put on your
spiritual armor every day. Remember that Jesus and the Holy Spirit in you is a
greater force—more powerful than any evil spirit that may attack you.
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have
already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is
greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this
world, so they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them.
But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not
belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the
Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. 1 John 4:4-6
Rely on the
Lord for the security He provides…remembering how He loved that possessed Gentile
man enough to cross to the other side to break him out of bondage to those evil
spirits.
Prayer
~ Lord Jesus ~ Open our eyes so that we can see people as You see them…and that
You can minister to them through us. It is scary to think that there are evil
spirits around us—but we know that You are greater than anyone or anything
else. Thank You for Your love—from the way You crossed the Sea of Galilee for
that possessed man and for going to the cross for us all.
Daily
Bible Reading: Psalms 106-107
© 2018 Text and
photo by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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