BJ Not BK

 Think of all the people you know, you love, you interact with at work, the people in your family, your neighbors.  I'm not talking about casual acquaintances, I am asking you to bring to mind mental images of those you hold dearest to you.  Now, which ones are without Jesus?  Do you know?  Which ones are you desperate to see saved, to know Jesus as Lord, to have the experiences you have had, to read their Bibles and to get excited like you have, to see their lives change for the better like Jesus has changed yours.  Who are they?

Who is beyond hope on your list?  Which ones have you given up on?  Why? 

Mark 5:1-20

 6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He 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!" 8For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"

 9Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

   "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

 11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

 14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

 18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed."

There is no rest for Jesus.  He is on mission to seek and to save, to preach as prophet, to sacrifice Himself as priest and He continues from one place to another and immediately people are drawn to Him, begin to worship Him, are healed and changed by Him and saved by Him.  Jesus and His posse step off their boat in Gerasenes, thought to be a heavily Greek/gentile area because of the large herd of swine, and Jesus immediately encounters a first rate, mental case.  A guy sees Jesus step off the boat and runs from the cemetery where he lives and comes to meet Jesus. 

This guys is kooky to say the least.  You can bet that he is loved by nobody, has no friends, no job, no internet, no dish tv, nothing this guy is out there.  He lives in the tombs of dead people and he has a history of violence to the point of being tied up...well that is until those around him could no longer tie him up and by the way they even tried chaining the guy down but he was so out of it that the broke the chains on his hands and his feet and he always walked about night and day crying for help, saying things that nobody understood, cussing, and cutting himself bleeding all over the place.  Pretty scary to say the least.  Not the guy you want over after church on Sunday.  This guy may have been somebody's baby at one point but at this time and place he was nobody's baby and he was definitely not on any body's list to share the gospel with.  

The man was:

out of friends - he was an outcast, separated from society
out of control- possessed by demons he had no control over his life or body insane and bent on self destruction
and out of hope-he was physically abusing himself

Then the man meets Jesus v 6-13

Immediately the man responds by running to meet Jesus and worships Him.  Up to this point the man had no control of himself and no interaction with anyone until Jesus steps on the scene.   We also learn that the man had a host of demons inside him, possessing him, leading him in this lifestyle of insanity and destruction.   The demons testify to who Jesus is and are very afraid of Jesus.

Side note:  Why is it that so many men are out of church today, are bored with church today?  I think it is because we have allowed feminism to water down who Jesus is and we have lost some form of true worship of the real Jesus.  Jesus is not the clean garment, perfect hair, pale skin guy in the picture.  Jesus is God eternal, King of King Lord of Lords, a man's man, the perfect image of masculinity, manhood, Jesus is the hero of the Bible and all of history and he kicks demon behind and takes no prisoners and the demons know it.  I think if men really knew this Jesus they would truly worship Him, would truly love Him, would truly serve Him.  This guy has possibly thousands of demons in him who are all scared of Jesus. 

NOW BACK TO THE LESSON - The demons actually beg for mercy, for Jesus not to torture them.  Isn't it funny how satanic demons don't have a theological problem with Jesus?  James 2:19  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

The man is changed by Jesus v 14-17

Jesus gets a hold of the demons, Legion v9 possibly meaning 3-6 thousand, and drives them out of the man.  Jesus not only drives the demons out of the man but apparently ministers to him as well by giving him clothing for when the people in the town hear of everything that has happened, hear about the great loss of the pig heard, they have to go see what all the commotion is about.  What do they find?  Dead pigs and a cured man.

The man who was once naked, breaking chains, throwing people around the cemetery like a wwf superstar, cutting himself and bleeding all over the place while screaming is now fully clothed, he is sitting, he is at rest, he is fellowshipping with Jesus.  This guys who was once out of control is now in control.  This guy who once had no one now has Jesus the great physician, the King, the High priest in his corner.  This guy who was once out of his mind is now in his right mind, clear headed.  Everything the demons had done to the man had been met and restored by Jesus.   

v 16-17

Of course the entire town rejoiced and praised Jesus for the incredible miracle He had done in this man's life right?  Wrong!  They were more concerned about the financial loss of the pigs than they were about the man.  They were more concerned about bacon than they were about another man's life, more concerned about money than another person's soul.  Jesus said we are to love God and to love people and to use money.  These people loved money and used people and probably tried to use God when they could.  They ask Jesus to leave!  We don't want you here Jesus, we don't want you saving people, transforming lives, it might cost us some more pigs!  The people asked Jesus to leave because they were afraid what they might lose, the man came to Jesus and worshiped Him because he had nothing to lose.

Central Truth:  To fulfill Christ's mission I need to be experiencing and sharing His wondrous works.

 v 18-20 The man begs to go with Jesus but Jesus commands him to stay and to share. 

18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed."

So the man shares with his family, his friends, the milkman, the mailman, the KUB man, the kid at the drive through, he starts sharing with everyone in the surrounding 10, Decapolis, cities and what does he share?  How much Jesus had done for him, how Jesus saved him, how Jesus miraculously changed his life forever, how Jesus healed him physically, mentally, and spiritually.  The man shared how Jesus befriended him when he had no friends, how Jesus love him when no one would love him.  And the people were amazed.

Think of all the people you know, you love, you interact with at work, the people in your family, your neighbors.  Which ones are without Jesus?  Which ones are you desperate to see saved, to know Jesus as Lord, to have the experiences you have had, to read their Bibles and to get excited like you have, to see their lives change for the better like Jesus has changed yours.  Who are they?

Who is beyond hope on your list?  Which ones have you given up on?  Why? 

Application:

When did Jesus last come to me?
How did I respond to Jesus when He came?
What is it I am afraid to lose if I am totally committed to Jesus?
What great things has Jesus done for me?
How can I share those things with others?