Mark 5:1-10 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
Legion, a man bound hand and foot by tormenting demons, living a life of desperation and loneliness, illustrates quite dramatically the general lostness of the many who exist without God on this earth and without an eternal purpose. Jesus says people who will not hear his words have a father who is the adversary of God himself. Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire." (John 842-44) Jesus says those rebellious to his words are slaves to sin, and the author of this rebellion is the devil. Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." (John 8:33) Literally, Jesus is saying that those who live their lives for themselves, who act as if the eternal God does not exist, are bound hand and foot, prisoners of the evil one. They are not like Legion, raving in the loneliness of the wilderness, displaying bizarre behavior, but they are equally as bound by the spirits of destruction as the hopeless Legion. Their view of life as an accidental, transient experience with no real purpose other than to eat, drink, and be merry opens them up to the devil's lies, which includes that there is no God and that life is an ephemeral, existential experience, nothing more. Of course these conclusions, push mankind into a dark cave of meaninglessness with no other purpose than to exist for this world's enticements, for they see no hope of a better life to come. Christ told the people: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. After those on his right, blessed of the Father, enter into their eternal reward, Jesus will turn to his left, saying, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:31-33 &41)
When Jesus arrived on the shore that day, He came to bring hope to one who had no hope, to one who outside of Christ who would have faced the eternal flames of Hades. He came to deliver Legion from a desperate life on this earth and from total separation from the God who loved him and sent his Son to ransom Legion from hell. He came to set free an eternal soul trapped in his own dark cage of oppression. Jesus immediately commands the demons to “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!” Jesus refers to the demons in the singular, spirit; however, the man is possessed by many demons, all of them representing the kingdom of darkness. For sure they represented one spirit of evil, and this spirit of evil intended to torment and then to destroy this man made in God's image. The devil's pleasure is to oppress and finally to destroy anyone who is made in God's image. As humans in his image, we are uniquely created to glorify God through Christ Jesus our Lord. And IN CHRIST we become holy children of God, sons and daughters of the Most High, capable of being in The Almighty's presence forever. The devil hates this plan of God; he hates us, for through Christ, we bring glory to God his advesary. Consequently, Satan's evil intentions are to bring all humanity down to the pit of despair and hopelessness. But we trust in the promises of God who planned a rescue mission from the beginning of time. As the psalmist wrote: I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:1-3) There is no cry too weak for God to hear; no pit too deep for him to reach; no slim, mud or mire too laden with sin for the Holy Spirit to penetrate. Christ broke every barrier of evil at the cross and won the victory over sin and death. He says, "You are free!" And we are free indeed!
We who hear the voice of Christ and believe upon his holy name are set free from the consequence of sin which is death--death in this life and death in the life which is to come. Paul explained so well the provision God has made for us: For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17) We have been made by God the Father to live eternally in the place prepared for those who love him, his much-loved children. The blood-bought church of the living Lord is no longer bound by the chains of this evil world of sin and sickness. Satan has no hold on the redeemed. As surely as Christ arose, we have been raised in newness of life to overcome through the power of the Holy Spirit and to live forever in the presence of God. We know who we are in Christ because his Word tells us: We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20) Dear children, live a life of spiritual fruitfulness. Jesus has given us freedom and abundant life to do his work. To every man and woman, He says, I have work for you to do. I have set you free from the darkness of the cave and blessed you with spiritual gifts. No longer are you lost in the wilderness. No longer do you need to allow your mind to whirl because of the futility of this earthly existence. No, my child, you have a purpose; you have a promised land to inherit; it is at the very heart of God. Come boldly and confidently to the Holy of Holies. There, you will find peace, rest, and joy. Your mind will say, "I am finally home." Anxiety, doubt, and fear will flee, for God will wipe away every tear. Praise God, the Lord has come to our shore today, and He is ready to set us free as we yield everything to him. Amen!
We have been on vacation. It is good to be back!
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