(Fourth in a series on Mark’s Gospel; precis of a
sermon preached by Rowland Croucher – March 9, 1980).

Mark’s "good news" is all – and only –
about an invasion of this planet by a King. Usually invasions
stir up opposition – as this one certainly did. Jesus’ kingly
authority is expressed both in judgment (the forces of evil are
overthrown) and grace (there is mercy and forgiveness available
to all who believe the good news and turn from their sins to God).
Satan and his demonic and human functionaries don’t want any of
this to happen, so they unleash all their opposition.

All the great themes of the gospel are introduced
in Mark’s prologue (1:1-15), including Satan’s temptation of our
Lord, a foretaste of the coming conflict. Jesus exerts his authority
by calling his disciples to follow Him (1:16-20), by his manner
of teaching (He was His own authority, unlike the scribes who
always quoted other authorities) and by his sovereign power over
demons and sickness. In Mark 2 & 3 His power to forgive sins
and remove legalisms (He is Lord of the sabbath) increases the
opposition (Mark 3:27 may be the key-verse in the whole gospel).
From Mark 4 we learn that His kingdom divides mankind (the parable
of the four soils isn’t a nice Sunday School story: it’s a "story
thatreads us"). Even the physical environment breaks into
a storm (4:35-41), but Jesus is Lord also of the wind and waves!

JESUS IS LORD AND KING!

Our story this morning from Mark 5:1-20 affirms His
Lordship over all fear, anxiety or the dread of death. He is Lord
over all the problems of this world, and of your world! Evil is
real, but Jesus is always in control. Nothing is outside His power
and authority!

Despite the desire of intellectual and theological
sophisticates to banish Satan back into medieval superstition,
the Bible is quite clear about the reality of Satan. The biblical
people had no doubt that evil forces were "personal",
and that Christ came to be victor over them. Revelation ends with
a vivid description of the final destruction of Satan (Rev. 20)
and the triumph of Christ (Rev 21, 22). Some Christians are, however,
too pre-occupied with demons (we are to be "Christocentric"
not "demonocentric" in our thinking) – they find them
everywhere; others commit the opposite error, and find them nowhere!
Some mental, spiritual and emotional problems may have a demonic
component (or, perhaps, origin) but there is no necessary connection
between them. Some people were simply not loved enough (or loved
possessively, and never "weaned"): their need is for
loving counselling and fellowship, not exorcism. And the NT doesn’t
actually use the term "demon possession". The most common
expression is to be "demonized". In any case, a Christian
is "possessed" by Christ, not Satan. Not every sin and
failure is demonic: the sources of our temptations can be the
world (around us) and our "flesh" (within us) as well
as the devil. Of course, with the increasing incidence of occult
practices throughout our world we must expect more and more demonic
activity. People who stupidly open their lives to such disobediences
often need deliverance from the resulting oppressions they suffer.
So the gift of "discernment of spirits" is given to
the Church – but it must be used very prayerfully and carefully.
The NT seems to suggest that deliverance or exorcism is only practised
when there is a confrontational situation. Only once is there
a record of Paul casting out an evil spirit – and only reluctantly
after being pestered for many days (Acts 16:16-18).

What can we learn from the three major encounters
to do with the demonic in the first five chapters of Mark?

1. JESUS’ AUTHORITY (Mark 1:21-28)

Jesus and His friends went to the synagogue and began
to teach. We don’t know what He taught: it’s His manner, and the
effects of His teaching that interest Mark. He had a unique authority,
but the teaching of the scribes was almost wholly derivative:
they generally repeated the opinions of their predecessors. And
such authority wasn’t limited to Jesus’ teaching: it was also
seen in His actions. It’s a sad commentary on the spiritual malaise
of the Capernaum people that a demoniac could worship in their
synagogue without any problem at all. (But what of our churches,
for that matter?) The demon utters Jesus’ name, because it was
thought that by doing so, that power could be gained over the
person. Normally Jewish exorcists used elaborate incantations,
spells and special rites. But Jesus simply gave the demon one
clear word of command. No one had seen that happen before. the
power was in Jesus, not in any special formulas. However He used
two words commonly employed by the exorcists – "ordered"
or "rebuked" and "be quiet", or, more literally,
"be muzzled". Notice the bystanders’ response: they
were amazed, but not enough to commit themselves in faith to the
Son of God.

The demons’ question – "What do you want with
us, Jesus of Nazareth?" – is really a very good one. In Greek
it really means "What have we in common?" of "Why
are you interfering with us?" It’s the question every unbeliever
is really asking! "Let us alone!" says the AV, and that’s
the unbeliever’s attitude. Like Adam, we hide from Him, and from
joy. But He did not come to kill joy, but to give it. He did not
come to bring death, but life. "I know who you are!"
Deep down, each of us knows who Christ is.

2. JESUS’ VICTORY (Mark 3:20-30)

If someone is very different, if his behaviour contravenes
all customary norms, then you’ve got to explain it all somehow.
If he’s too unconventional, then, of course, he’s got to be mad.
"How else," asks Elton Trueblood, "could they account
for His carelessness about his personal reputation? The smart
thing to do is to accept religion, but to accept it mildly and
make no great fuss about it. Since Christ took the present reign
of God so seriously, He was obviously unbalanced. A man who takes
such an interest in unbalanced people must be a little unbalanced
himself. Men are drawn to the practice of psychiatry, we say in
our unkind way, because they need it!"

"He came unto His own" – family and nation
– "but his own received Him not." Even His friends and
family were embarrassed – they tried to get Him away to have some
rest, so that He could soon get back to normal again! Some "heavies"
– an official deputation from Jerusalem – came to give their verdict.
If ordinary folk are learning something from this Man they hadn’t
learnt in their own church, then he’s got to be from Beelzebul,
Satan. "He has a demon! He is mad! Why do you listen to him?"
(Jn 10:20, cf. Jn 8:48). It’s by the great demon that he casts
out little demons! To which Jesus responds, in Socratic fashion,
by an appeal to consistency. Evil curing evil is a contradiction
in terms. Error does not overcome error. If Satan is instigating
a civil war against his own demons, then he’s finished! Matthew
(12:27) and Luke (11:19) report Jesus asking another question:
by what power do the accredited Jewish exorcists perform their
task? Was that demonic power also? No, here was an authority and
power stronger than Satan’s. Satan’s reign of sin and death is
over; God’s reign has begun in our hearts and minds. And Satan
is powerless (he’s not a tiger, just a tame pussy-cat, says Alan
Cosks!), his weapons have been taken away from him (Col 2:15,
1 Cor 15). Even death – Satan’s ultimate weapon – has lost its
power overl those who believe in Jesus.

Note two more things: #There is a sin that is unforgivable,
says Jesus (3:28-30). It’s not any particular sin, or words, or
action, but an attitude which regards good as evil and evil as
good. It’s closing our minds and lives to God; refusing to be
forgiven. So, of course, the person who is worried about committing
such a sin hasn’t! #When Jesus was confronted with evil, He didn’t
stop to argue about where it came from! (He wouldn’t make a good
philosophy lecturer). When your house is on fire you don’t write
treatises "On the Origin of Fires in Private Houses".
So in the raging struggle between God and evil, Jesus doesn’t
speculate about it. He deals with it – and still does.

3. JESUS’ COMPASSION (Mark 5:1-20)

It was night, and Jesus and his disciples were pulling
into shore at Gadara (or Gesara). Demons were thought to inhabit
desolate places like cemeteries, and so an ear-splitting yell
from a homicidal maniac would be almost expected in such an eerie
place. He was called "Legion" – perhaps the "tramp,
tramp, tramp" of a 6,000 strong Roman legion reverberated
through his tormented mind. Had they murdered his parents perhaps
when he was a boy? Were the headstones marked "Legion"
in the cemetery a constant reminder of their Nazi-like reprisals
in his village? This poor man had seven classic evidences of demonic
oppression: uncleanness, isolation from others, supernatural strength,
torment, a recognition of the authority of Jesus (calling Him
by the ancient non-Jewish name, "Most High God"), multiple
personality, and suicidal tendencies. Jesus was not at first successful
in his exorcism, so asked for the demon[‘s name, to exert power
over it.

The destruction of the swine poses problems, of course.
Perhaps only the people deprived of their livelihood, and vegetarians,
have any case really (if you eat pork, some poor pig has to die
for you!) Actually it was all a wonderful act of compassion of
Jesus’ part. Jews believed demons entered the abyss by three routes
– the desert, the sea, and Jerusalem. The pigs’ drowning wasn’t
part of the bargain Jesus made with the demons, but it was a wonderful
proof to the man of his complete deliverance. Doesn’t a man’s
eternal salvation matter more than the death of a herd of animals?
"They asked Jesus to leave" – how sad! What a terrible
commentary on their priorities: their perverted values placed
pigs higher than a man made in God’s image! John Oxenham’s poem
expresses it beautifully: Rabbi, begone! Thy powers bring loss
to us and ours! Our ways are not as Thine – Thou lovest men –
we, swine! O get Thee gone, Omnipotence And take this fool of
Thine! His soul? What care we for his soul, Since we have lost
our swine? The Christ went sadly, He had wrought for them a sign
Of love and tenderness divine – They wanted swine! Christ stands
without you door and gently knocks, But if your gold or swine
the entrance blocks, He forces no man’s hold, He will depart And
leave you to the treasures of your heart.

The Gadarenes are still with us. Christ lands on
the shores of their lives, but He must cause no disruption, no
discomfort. "Don’t disturb!" is their sign. Don’t disturb
my thinking (my mind’s made up!) Don’t disturb the safe patterns
of our worship (it’s better predictable and orderly – even dead
– than alive and joyful!) Don’t disturb my livelihood – it’s comfortable,
and mustn’t be challenged by all this "sacrificial"
sort of nonsense. So Christ comes to us, encountering our selfishness,
our apathy, our materialism, and invites us, too, to be made whole!

Discuss: Look up Mark’s stories about demons, and
list 15 characteristics of demons and Christ’s methods of deliverance
(1:23-8, 32-4, 39; 3:11-12, 15, 22-30, 5:1-20, 6:7, 13, 7:24-30,
9:14-29, 38-41). Compile guidelines for our church’s ministry
in this area. What are the dangers? Discuss the precis by Rowland
Croucher "Can a Christian be Demon-possessed?"