In His Right Mind

I. Introduction:

[!NOTE] Primary Scripture Reading: Romans 7:21-25

II. The Story: Mark 5:1-20

A. Country of the Gadarenes

B. Named this because of the large city of Gadara, 16 miles from the coast The man probably came from Gergesa which was close to Galilee The population consisted of Jews and Gentiles

C. The man among the tombs

D. When Jesus disembarked, it appeared that he landed in, or very close to, a burial site.

E. The people of this time did not have graveyards as we do. They buried their dead in natural and hewn caves in the mountains. Burial sites were typically outside of the city because the Jews would be ceremonially defiled if they touched a dead body and some Gentiles were superstitious, believing evil spirits lived with the dead.

F. Jesus encountered two men living among the tombs

G. Matthew records that there were two men in the tombs It appears that Jesus only talked with the man possessed by many demons. Mark and Luke probably mentioned only one man because of his interaction with Jesus Matthew Henry: “If there were two then there was one. It seems that one of them was more interesting and involved in the dialog with Jesus.” In this lesson, I will most often refer to “the man” with whom Jesus interacts but recognize that Jesus likely healed both of them.

H. The man among the tombs was in a desperate condition

I. That the man lived among the tombs demonstrates his removal from civilized society and, if a Jew, ceremonial purity. He was endowed with supernatural strength with which he pulled chains apart and broke shackles; these were usually made of iron. No one could control his rage and outrageous behavior Day and night the mountains echoed his pitiful cries He mutilated his body by cutting it with stones As a final assault on indignity, Luke records that he wore no clothes

J. The source of his madness was possession by many demons

K. When Jesus asks the man’s name, the demons respond with the name “Legion” for there were many demons within the man Numbers vary but a Roman legion generally consisted of 3,000 to 6,000 men When Jesus cast the demons into the swine, two thousand swine were possessed and some, like the man, may have had multiple demons. The natural spirit of the man seeking to throw off the dominion of the demons would cry out in agony, and the demons themselves, in their own misery, would use him as a vehicle to express their own grief. It would be hard to imagine a more horrible state (Mc Garvey, J. W. The Four-Fold Gospel. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1999. Page 345.)

L. Jesus freed the man from demons by casting the demons into the swine

M. Possession of the swine

N. The demons essentially asked Jesus, “Why are you bothering us?”

O. The demons did not want interference from Jesus. They raged against God’s authority. Note that the demons did not know Jesus’ plan for them—it is comforting to know that they are not all-knowing beings It appears that they needed bodies to inhabit and knew that Jesus would not cast them into other people. On this nature of demon possession the Bible is silent, merely noting what was said and what did happen; any further speculation would gain nothing The swine, perhaps in madness, ran headlong into the sea killing themselves—it is unlikely that the demons caused the death of the bodies that they asked Jesus to let them inhabit.

P. The man released from bondage to the demons

Q. When the demons left the man and he was calm, got dressed and sat down with Jesus. Mark and Luke record that the man was in his right mind. What man could not control, Jesus could control

R. The citizens beg Jesus to leave

S. Those who watched the swine fled to the city in fear and reported the incident to its citizens. The people who herded the pigs would have been Gentiles, not Jews, for the Jews considered swine to be unclean animals. The people of the city found Jesus and saw the man who had been freed from demons sitting calmly with Jesus. Instead of sitting with Jesus—who obviously had great supernatural power—to praise and learn from Him, they begged Him to leave.

T. Jesus would not allow the healed man to come with Him but told him to go back home and preach to his people.

III. Some lessons to consider

A. Even though we do not have demon possession today, there are some lessons we can learn from this story

B. The mind under Satan’s influence is chaotic; under Jesus it is calm.

C. Revelation 9:11 – the devil is a destroyer; he brings chaos and disorder

D. Though men cannot be possessed by Satan, they can, of their own free will, reject God and put their mind under Satan’s influence.

E. Some people rebel against all restraint thinking that it frees them. Their “freedom” is slavery to lusts, desires, and demands of the flesh

F. Romans 1:18-22

G. In their wisdom, men embraced an unnatural and destructive life Today we can see people who are slaves to their passions because they throw off the call to higher meaning and decency offered by God Though the atheist wishes to be free of the influence of Christ, considering it a disease in the world, the result of a life without God is one in which people have no reason to care for their fellow man and will, in selfishness, use, exploit, and destroy others for their gain. Atheists talk about a nobler society built on mutual respect for others but ivory tower theories do not work on the streets of the city.

H. Through Satan’s influence, the demon-possessed man was shunned by family, friends, and decent society, and lost his dignity and peace.

I. Even today one can lose the respect of family and friends by becoming a slave to evil passions instead of restraining oneself.

J. Pursuing drunkenness and following vile passions many have lost their dignity and cannot face themselves in a mirror.

K. Talladega – man laying down in a ditch; another vomited on himself Some given to sexual immorality lose the dignity of purity at marriage, and allow themselves to be intimate with people who use them or with those that, if they knew the person longer, would disgust them.1 Corinthians 6:15-20 – joined to a harlot Without Christ, there is no cure for self-loathing.

L. Those under Satan’s influence have no peace

M. Without the motivation of God to forgive, some become bitter having accumulated a lifetime of wrongs against them. Having no eternal heavenly home, some are constantly dissatisfied with their material possessions and never find contentment and rest. Without Paul’s urging to esteem others better than themselves, envy, strife, suspicion, exploitation, and hatred characterize many relationships—people are a means to an end and potential enemies. The mind under Satan’s influence often cries to God, “Why are you bothering me?” Those who insist on rebelling against God fight strongly against His influence.

N. Through Jesus’ influence, example, and law, one can regain their right mind

O. 1 Peter 4:1-6 – Put off a wasteful life1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – “Such were some of you” Jesus’ comfort to the repentant: John 8:11 Like the Gadarenes, one who rejects Jesus is not in his right mind

P. We are delivered to work

Q. When Jesus prepared to depart, the demon-possessed man begged to come with Him on His journey.

R. Jesus told the man to preach about Him and His mighty power.

S. Jesus told the man to preach to his family and friends

T. The beginning place for the gospel is the home. Some desire to preach the gospel to foreign lands but will not preach next door. Crossing an ocean has no magic power in evangelism.

U. After he preached to his loved ones, the man preached in the ten city area called the Decapolis.

V. Gerasa and Gadara, cities in the immediate area, were part of the Decapolis After preaching to his family, he preached to his fellow citizens The Decapolis was predominately Greek, not Jewish

W. We are also saved to work

X. Ephesians 2:10 – We were saved to be God’s workers Titus 2:14 – Saved to be zealous for good works2 Corinthians 9:8 – He equips us for every good work1 Timothy 6:18 – Be rich in good works Titus 3:8, 14 – We must be careful to maintain good works The demon-possessed man’s desire to work was natural; he was grateful to Christ and indebted to Him for Jesus delivered the man from that which no man could deliver Him. It ought to be natural for us to desire to do good works to show our gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice and our indebtedness to Him for delivering us from sin from which no one could deliver us nor could we deliver ourselves.

IV. Conclusion: If you are not a Christian, you are under the influence of Satan. You may not worship Satan but if you are not for God, you are against Him. You will have no lasting peace and satisfaction for this world and its philosophy cannot give it. The pleasures of the flesh eventually lose their power to please for they cannot provide deep, lasting satisfaction and contentment. You can be delivered from darkness into light. Jesus will not force your obedience, you must submit to Him.