NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON’T —- HIDING IN THE TOMBS
PART TWO
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? In God’s name don’t torture
me!” Mark 5:6-7
Do you see him? Jesus is standing there and the man is on his
knees in front of him. Can you feel the
tension? The community is afraid with
this man outside the tombs. When he
stays in the tombs, at least they feel safe.
Then he is shouting. The sound
causes everyone to step back. Everyone,
except Jesus and Jesus knows the voice is not the voice of the man. It is the voice of an impure spirit.
For Jesus had
said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure 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. Mark 5:8-10
Cliff notes: Mark 5:8-14 The
impure spirit is named Legion and does not want to be sent out of the area. I guess the demons thought they could leave
the man in the tombs and move quickly into the souls of the locals. What is a demon without a soul to control? This seemed like a good plan until Jesus did
as they begged. Into the pigs they went
and into the lake went the pigs. Bye,
bye Legion. The people came to see what
was going on.
When 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. Those who had seen it told the people what
had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to
leave their region. Mark 5:15-17
Put yourself back into the story. Right in front of you sits the man who was
possessed. Are you wanting to go hug the
man? Are you wanting to shake his hand
and join him in praise that he is in his right mind? Are you wondering what is wrong with all the
people standing around? Why are they
still afraid of this man? And why did
they want Jesus to leave their region?
What would you be doing? Would you go get your crazy uncle (we all have
at least one) and bring him to Jesus to be healed? Would you bring your child to be blessed? Would you fall on your knees? Or would you tell Jesus to leave?
All the blessings this community
could have had… All the wisdom Jesus could have taught them… The gift of
eternal life… and they were mad because their money ran into a lake and drowned. They wanted the man to be back in the tombs. That is what they understood. They knew how to deal with that. But this …..
This man had to leave.
As Jesus was
getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with
him. Jesus did not let him, but said,
“Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you,
and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the
Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.
And all the people were amazed. Mark
5:18-20
Please picture the man who used
to live in the tombs one more time. He
is walking away from the boat. His
shoulders droop and he is looking at the ground. He hears one more voice telling him no. Why did Jesus say he could not go with him? He had begged.
Jesus said no. How that hurt. Jesus had given his life back. He wanted to be with him. He wanted to serve him.
It was with that thought, that
the man stopped. He stood up straight. He looked back over his shoulder and realized
Jesus had not told him no. Jesus asked
him to serve as a witness to the people in the Decapolis. Instead of hearing Jesus agree to what he
wanted, the man finally heard what Jesus wanted, “Go home to your own people
and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on
you.”
Watch just a minute more. What man do you see now? Do you see a man who lived in the tombs? Do you see a man with a story to tell?
Take your eyes off the man and
look toward the boat. Jesus is watching
as the man walks away. He sees the
stooped shoulders and that he is looking down.
Jesus knows the man is disappointed, but he had to tell him no. Now Jesus is smiling. He sees the man stand tall. He sees the man stop and look over his
shoulder. He sees the man give him a
thumbs up as he turns and walks toward his own people.
—————————————
Do you see the man in the tombs
differently? Or are you seeing the man
for the first time. Admit it. These verses are fun to read because we like
the image of the pigs running into the lake.
We like to shout and clap when Legion drowns. We skip the part about the people asking
Jesus to leave because we picture him as the good guy, wearing a big white hat,
and sailing off into the sunset. And no
one remembers that the man no longer lives in the tombs.
There are so many lessons in
these verses, but what do we remember? We
remember the pigs ran into the lake. We
forget that a man was so tormented that he cut himself and cried out. We forget the man who lived among the tombs
because he was taken over by an impure spirit.
We forget that a man was told he could not go with Jesus. We forget that the man, who no longer lived
in the tombs, had a story to tell. And
what an amazing story it is.
Remember: The body is a weapon that a demon can use in
attacking God.
REFERENCES:
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhm/mark-5.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/my-name-is-Legion.html
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-5/
No comments:
Post a Comment