Please take time to read the following story found in Mark 5:1-20 and then let's marvel at some of what it shows us. (I say some for surely there are things that we may miss or overlook.)
"Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He (Jesus) had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is so much about this story that I love. If you read verse 4:35 you'll see that it was Jesus' idea to cross over to the other side in the boat from where they had been. He knew where He was going and what He was going to be met with. Jesus had a divine appointment with a demon-possessed man and the man most likely had no idea deliverance was even needed or possible.
This man was so plagued with demons that he had been removed from society, deemed not fit to live with and unable to be kept or tamed. He was in pain, tormented in his mind so much that he cut himself, possibly to lessen the pain or as a way to find some small relief from his captivity.
Despite being plagued with demons, despite being a cutter, despite being ostracized by society...WHEN HE SAW JESUS FROM AFAR, HE RAN AND WORSHIPPED HIM!! There weren't enough demons in him or in hell that could keep him from running to the One who had the cure for EVERYTHING that plagued him.
As he was running to Jesus, the demons within him were crying out in fear, wanting to know what they had to do with Him and not wanting to be tormented. How interesting that Satan and his devilish cohorts don't mind to torment us in mind, body and spirit but they, themselves, cry out for mercy in the presence of Jesus, not wanting the same done to them.
Jesus immediately dealt with the problem before Him, telling the unclean spirits to come out! He then asked their name and they had to comply and answered, "Legion, for we are many."
It does not matter how many devils you are fighting within or without. Once you start running to Jesus, He immediately starts cleaning house! Hallelujah!!
Jesus permitted the spirits to invade a herd of swine, who then ran into the ocean and perished. Note the reaction of the people. Once they heard what happened they came out. They saw the man, once possessed, now in his right mind and were afraid. They didn't want Jesus around. They asked Him to leave. Jesus complied with their request.
Let it be known, if you don't want Jesus He will not force Himself on you. He may continue to show His love, His greatness and His power to you through others around you, but He will not force His way into your life. You have the right and the free will to reject Him...but why would you? Oh, if you knew the love and the freedom that awaited you in a life spent with and for Him, you could never turn Him away.
The man set free wanted to go with Jesus, but He told the man, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
Jesus would not permit it because He wanted him to stay in his town and proclaim the message there amongst the people who knew him before he was set free. I wonder what the man thought about that. Would that be tough on him? Sometimes people who have known us the longest, especially before Christ entered the scene, can be the harshest critics. Despite that, the man immediately went and began to proclaim all that Jesus had done for him.
I love that scripture has an answer for everything we face. I love that this story tells us that this man was a cutter and that Jesus had everything he needed to be set free from the cutting and the tormenting spirits.
Jesus desires to have a Divine appointment with each of us. He wants to set us free so that we, too, may go and proclaim all that He has done and all of who He is!
**If you are a cutter or know someone who is, please take them to Mark chapter 5 and share how Jesus set one man free. Let them know that He can set them free as well.**
If you need help, please reach out to a teacher, counselor, pastor, friend, parent or trusted adult to help you navigate your way through your pain and to Jesus. You have value and there is a cure for your pain. Please make sure to reach out TODAY to SOMEONE.
No comments:
Post a Comment