SPEAKER_00 0:03

When darkness seems overwhelming and evil appears unstoppable, Mark chapter 5, verses 1 to 20 remind us that even a legion of demons must bow before the authority of Jesus Christ. Listener, please note one post-sermon correction. A Roman legion refers to 6,000, not 600.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Good morning, church. Please stand for the gospel reading. The holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5, verses 1 to 20. Mark chapter 5. And they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Garazines. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have you to do with me? Jesus, Son of the Most High God, I adjure you by God, do not torment me. For he was saying to him, Come out of the men, you unclean spirit. And Jesus asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many. And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs, let us enter them. So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. And the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. Verse 14. The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed men, the one who had had the legion sitting there, clothed in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed men and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the men who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he had has mercy on you. And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone marveled. And together we say, Glory to Christ the Savior. Thank you, Lord. This is the gospel of Christ. Praise to Christ our Lord. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Wonderful day. I'm sure today, as we come into the sanctuary, we do sense God's presence with us and also uh Rani's testimony. It's indeed encouraging that God is at work in our everyday lives, you know, outside the church walls. As we pray to him, as we listen to him, as we read his word, uh, God is at work uh delivering us and bringing us from one moment of victory to another. This morning we are continuing our sermon series on the gospel of Mark. We'll be looking at Mark chapter 5, verse 1 to 20. Shall we pray together? Father, we pray today, even as we look at your word, that your Holy Spirit will take it and apply it to our hearts this morning. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Mark chapter 5, verse 1 to 5 says they, referring to Jesus and his disciples, came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Jerusalem. And when Jesus had just stepped out of the boat, immediately there was a man out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. He's identified as a man with an unclean spirit. And he lived among the tombs. No one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. And he often was bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart and broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. Here we see that Jesus meets a man with an unclean spirit living among unclean tombs. The banishment of the man to the tomb rendered him unclean, according to Old Testament law, where contact with the dead defiled a person for seven days. So the fact that he was there among the tombs means he's unclean. And according to Numbers 19, 13, anyone who failed to purify himself from the pollution of tombs must be cut off from Israel. So the fact that he's there day and night is a reminder that he not only has an unclean spirit, but he's living among unclean tombs. Not only that, he was not only a man with an unclean spirit, but he was also surrounded by people employed in an unclean occupation. We infer from Mark 5:14, a later part of the reading, that there were herdsmen of pigs nearby where the man with an unclean spirit was. According to Leviticus 11, verse 7 and Deuteronomy 14, verse 8, pigs are considered unclean animals to the Jews. Their flesh shall not be eaten, nor their carcasses be touched. And all this took place in an unclean Gentile territory. The country of the Jerusalem is part of what we call the ten cities or the Decarolis. So it refers to the number of cities east of the Jordan River. So these cities were removed from the ruling Jews of the day and is being ruled by a Roman general, Pombe, who invaded Palestine in 63 BC, and they re-established the ten cities or the decapolis as showcase of cities of pagan culture and ideals. So we are in a situation in the first five verses of Mark of chapter 5, where we witness a man with an unclean spirit living among unclean tombs, surrounded by people in an unclean occupation, all in an unclean, gentile territory in Jerusalem. So what could be worse for someone to be then in this state? Cut off and separated from the common people. And we read further that the man with an unclean spirit is being reduced to an animal-like condition. Even bindings, chains, and irons were unsuccessful to subdue the man with an unclean spirit. So in life, he was consigned to the land of the dead. He lived among tombs. He is living, yet he's living among the dead. There, day and night, wheeling among the tombs, he wreaks havoc on himself, cutting himself day and night. However, the turn of the narrative is in verse 6 to 7, Mark 5, 6 to 7 informs us that when he, when the man with an unclean spirit saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before Jesus. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have you to do with me? Jesus, son of the most high God, I abjure you by God, do not torment me. For once, perhaps the explosive terror of the man with an unclean spirit did not prevail. He was cutting himself, screaming and shouting day and night. And yet, in this instance, when he saw Jesus, he fell on his knees and shouted loudly, Swear to me that you won't torture me. The Greek verb for fell on his knees comes from the word proskunio, which means to worship. It's one of the nuance, one of the words that is speaks of worship, uh proscunio, and uh it refers to prostrating oneself before someone of a higher authority with reverence or worship, even kissing the person's feet or the hem of his garment. So when this man with an unclean spirit fell down before him, he's subjecting himself to the authority of Jesus. And not only that, he he revealed the identity of Jesus, he says, uh, what have you to do to do to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In Judaism, the phrase most high God is an epidex speaking of the transcendence and the exaltation of Israel's God over pagan gods and goddesses and rival powers. So Jesus as the most high God is firmly exalted, highly exalted, far above the spirit world, all demons and spirits, and rightly so, the songs we sang today in worship, declaring the power of the name of Jesus, is so real when we apply it to this passage today. Because unclean spirits, regardless of their strength and their power, will fall and worship Jesus as the Son of the Most High God. Jesus is highly and far more exalted over all things, including demons and spirits. Mark 5, 8 to 10 continues, for he referring to Jesus, was saying to him, Come out of him, you unclean spirit. And Jesus asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many. And he begged him eagerly, sorry, earnestly, not to send them out of the country. So the demon, the unclean spirit, identified itself by the name Legion. He says, My name is Legion, for we are many. A Legion refers to the largest single unit in the Roman army, which is about 600 fighting men. So it's used here as a description of the demons. So it's not just a single spirit in this man, a single unclean spirit, but 600 demons in him. So to give us a sense of the scope, the whole Roman occupation force in Israel at that time numbered just a ten of a legion. So a ten of a legion is about sixty fighting men. Over the whole area of um over the whole area in which the Romans ruled in Israel, 60 fighting men. So now we have a 10 times more formidable army upon a single man being tormented day and night. Ten times more formidable. It was indeed a massive destructive force, ferocious, armed to the teeth, and deadly. Yet the unclean spirit is expelled from the demon-possessed man solely by the authoritative word of Jesus. As we have sung, by speaking the name, the powerful name of Jesus over our lives, as the testimony we heard from our sister Rani, you know, just praying and focusing on Jesus, breakthroughs happen. The discovery of Greek magical papyri in Egypt informs us of the long and convoluted formulas, spells, conjurations, and catchwords that the exorcists at that time would use as they spar with demonic opponents to gain advantage over them. Long elaborated rituals are well known during the time of Jesus in Egypt. But with Jesus, there is no elaborate protocol, nor is the effectiveness of the exorcism dependent on certain words that he should utter. So the power to prevail over the demonic forces resides within Jesus Himself. He speaks, and demons are expelled. Jesus' word is deed. His word declared and spoken is his deed, is his action. Mark 5, 11 to 13 tells us now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. And they begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs, let us enter them. So Jesus gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. And the herd, numbering about 2,000, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. So here we in these few verses we see the restoration of one man versus what we can say vast capital assets. 2,000 pigs that drown. The pig herders during that time likely relied on the pigs for their economic livelihood and well-being. So 2,000 pigs rushing down the steep bank into the sea must be quite a sight to behold if we were there. Mark 5, 14 to 17 tells us further that the herdsman fled and told it to the city and the country. And people came to see what had happened. And they came to Jesus and they saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had the legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from that region. We see similarities between the story here of the healing of the man with the unclean spirit and the stealing of the storm in a few verses before. So if you look at the slide before you, Mark 4, 35 to 41 tells of the Jesus coming the storm. I'm not reading the whole section, but perhaps we move on to verse 38. But he was in the stern, referring to Jesus, asleep in the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? So this part of uh Mark's gospel, the stealing of the storm, uh, and also uh the particular part in Mark 5, 14 to 17, gives us a similar ending. Both stories end with fear. At the crossing of the lake, the disciples were at the end of the day, they were more terrified by Jesus' power to steal the storm than of the storm itself. Initially they were afraid to be that they were drowned, but when they saw Jesus' power being manifested, they say, Who is this? They were filled with great fear that even the wind and the sea obey him. And here again in Mark 5, 14 to 17, we see that the inhabitants were more frightened by again the power of Jesus to expel the demons than they are of the terrifying demon in the man himself. We see that uh because verse 15 tells us they were afraid. When they those people who were present and saw the man there, they were afraid. They were wondering what had happened. There's also a clear parallel between the two outcomes of both stories. The composure of the healed man, the man with an unclean spirit, he's now dressed and in his right mind, is a counterpart to the great calm on the lake after the storm. So, in both instances, subtly uh Marx wants his first readers to see there is something greater at work than the storms and so-called the demons, however great its massive power is. Someone greater is present in the boat, someone greater than the demon is present, such that both narratives end in a greater fear of Jesus. Who is this man? They were greatly afraid. So, my prayer today is regardless of what circumstances we are going through, we may truly fear the one we should fear. We shouldn't fear the circumstances that we are in, we shouldn't fear the predicaments that we are in. We should fear God because he's able to do far more than all we think or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. So let me end the story before we go into application. Mark 5, 18 to 20 tells us that uh as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with the demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, how he had mercy on you. And he went away and began to proclaim in the decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. So it's a good ending because the story concludes with the man who was delivered of uh six uh hundred demons over in his life. He was delivered of that, and now he's in his right mind and he's asking to be with Jesus. Right? He says, the narrative tells us that he asked that he might be with him. The request to be with Jesus alludes to Mark 3 14 when Jesus first called the disciples, uh the 12 disciples, that they might be with him and he might send them out, indicating that this man now wants to be a disciple of Jesus. He too wants to be a follower of Jesus. Jesus said instead, go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, how much he had mercy. On you. So in the Gospel of Mark, the man with the unclean spirit becomes the one sent out by Jesus, sent out to his own community. So we have a first example of so-called a gentile send to a fellow Gentile to reach his community in the decapolis. So what can we learn today from this story of Jesus healing an unclean man? Living among unclean tombs, surrounded by people in an unclean occupation, all in an unclean gentile territory in Jerosense, with 600 demons being tormented day and night and being reduced to an animal-like condition, such that even shackles and chains that you normally only use to bind or to control animals could not hold him any longer. First, we see that Jesus had mercy. Mark 5 19 tells us Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord had done for you and how he has had mercy on you. No, today Jesus delights to show mercy to us. Michael 7 verse 18 in the NIV version says, Who is a God like you who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. As shared previously in Mark, Jesus is never coming as a wonder worker, a miracle worker, or a superhero. The many episodes of his healing and deliverance and his nature miracles, including the feeding of the 5,000, was out of compassion and mercy for those in need. He acted because he had mercy on the man with an unclean spirit. As he saw him being tormented, he could he perhaps realized, had the foresight to know that this man was being tormented day and night. No one dares to approach him, but Jesus crossed over to the Jerusalem into a gentile territory, strong opposition. Before that, he had a storm that in most accounts uh reads as a demonic storm that prevented from crossing the sea of Galilee, the sea at that time, across Gentile territory. Now in Mark chapter 5, verse 1 to 20, Jesus acted to deliver the man with an unclean spirit, living among unclean tombs, surrounded by people in an unclean occupation, in an unclean gentile territory, because he had mercy on him. The context of many times the uncleanness that I mentioned many times did not stop Jesus from entering the region, confronting the 600 demons in a man that is tormenting him day and night and delivering him fully such that he's found to be sane and in his right mind. Secondly, we also see Jesus' authoritative word over mass, destructive, demonic forces. Mark 5, 8 reminds us, Jesus said to the man, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit. Jesus' word is thee. His word spoken is the act of healing. No matter how strong, intimidating, or oppressive the demonic forces are, they have to fall down and worship Jesus and acknowledge his supreme reign and rule as the Son of the Most High God. So what is the application for us today? Today we may not be in the exact context that the man with an unclean spirit was. Today we may not all be demonized with 600 demons, hopefully not. But the deliverance of the man with an unclean spirit shows us a powerful demonstration of what Jesus can do to overcome massive destructive forces over a man's life. I repeat again, the deliverance of the man with an unclean spirit shows us a powerful demonstration of what Jesus can do to overcome massive destructive forces over a man's life. Just as how he delivered the man with an unclean spirit, he can deliver us again and again from every predicament too great for us to handle. Regardless of how dire our situations or conditions are, the desire of Jesus in his mercy towards us is to speak his authoritative word, the name of Jesus, over our lives and to bring healing and deliverance. But we have a part to play. We must be willing to come before Jesus so that he can heal us. The account in the first two verses of Mark chapter 5 tells us that when Jesus came by boat over to the country of the Jerusalem, when he just stepped out of the boat, the man came and he was met with the man with an unclean spirit. Because there was an encounter with Jesus, the man with an unclean spirit received his healing and became a disciple of Jesus in his hometown, sharing with them all that the Lord had done for him and how the Lord had mercy on him. Are we willing today to come before Jesus to receive his authoritative word of healing over our lives? Is the point I'd like to leave with us as a challenge today. Are we willing to come before Jesus to receive his authoritative word of healing over our lives today? Because Jesus' word is deep, and he comes bringing his mercy. His coming in mercy, and he desires to bring healing to us. Very old song perhaps. But during my time it was pretty popular when I was a youth. And I think we are you may be familiar with this song by Scott Wesley Brown. I'm not sure whether he's still alive, but yeah, he used to uh have albums and and so on. He will carry you. Right? So the the the song reminds us that there's really nothing too big, too great that Jesus is not able to resolve in our lives. If our Lord Jesus could heal an unclean man with 600 demons within him, the man was tormented day and night, reduced to an animal like condition with shackles that could not hold him. Will he not carry us through? Will he not see us through whatever predicament in our lives? So the song goes, uh the lyrics is there. It goes this way there is no problem to big, God cannot solve it. There is no mountain to tall, he cannot move it, there is no storm to dark, God cannot calm day. He cannot soot it if he carry the weight of the world upon his shoulders I know my brother that he will carry you if he carry the weight of the world upon his shoulders. I know my sister that he carry you. Just I was reminded of this song quite late last night about slightly past twelve while I was working the final preparations. If not, I would have asked the worship team to kind of lead us, you know, we can sing together. But the the gist of this is that, you know, if Jesus carried the weight of the world upon his shoulders, you know, we know that because he not only delivered the man with 600 demons within tormented day and night, but at Calvary on the cross, he actually carried the weight of our sin upon his shoulders. And if he could do that, he could endure that kind of suffering, being flocked and weeped, being uh the scourging that occurred, the many lacerations on his body was bleeding, blood was oozing out of him, carrying the cross with his arms wide. If he had carried the weight of the world upon his shoulders, surely he's able to carry us.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

If you'd like to know more about Ishun Christian Church, please visit our website at ycanglican.com. Have a blessed day.