Mark 5:1-20
Tormented By Demons
Outline:
I. \\#Mark 1:1-15\\ Introduction
A. \\#1:1-8\\ Jesus Was Announced
B. \\#1:9-11\\ Jesus Was Authenticated
C. \\#1:12-13\\ Jesus Was Proven
D. \\#1:14-15\\ The Bridge
II. \\#Mark 1:16-2:28\\ Meet Jesus
A. \\#1:14-2:12\\ Jesus’ Authority
1. \\#1:16-20\\ Jesus Has Authority over Men
2. \\#1:21-22\\ Jesus Has Authority in Doctrine
3. \\#1:23-28\\ Jesus Has Authority over Demons
4. \\#1:29-39\\ Jesus Has Authority over Sickness
5. \\#1:40-45\\ Jesus Has Authority over Disease
6. \\#2:1-12\\ Jesus Has Authority over Sin
B. \\#2:13-28\\ Jesus Cares for Sinners
C. \\#2:13-28\\ Jesus Is Not Like Others
1. \\#2:13-17\\ He’s not like everyone else.
2. \\#2:18-22\\ He’s not like the disciples of John or the
Pharisees.
3. \\#23-28\\ He’s not like the Pharisees.
III. \\#Mark 3:1-35\\ Things Are Changing
A. \\#3:1-6\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the Pharisees
B. \\#3:7-12\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the People
C. \\#3:13-19\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and His Disciples
D. \\#3:22-30\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the Scribes
E. \\#3:31-35\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and His Family
IV. \\#Mark 4:1-10:52\\ The Words and Power of Jesus
A. \\#4:1-20\\ Bad Weeds Kill Good Seeds
B. \\#4:21-34\\ Parable Epilogues
C. \\#4:35-41\\ Faith
D. \\#5:1-43\\ The Tormented Delivered
1. \\#5:1-20\\ Tormented by Demons
We are still in the "WOW" section of Mark \\#Mark 4:1-10:25\\. Jesus
definitely wowed the twelve disciples in the boat, and I believe He
wowed the people in the village as well. Chapter five gives the
account of three being tormented.
I. \\#5:1-20\\ A Man Tortured by Demons
II. \\#5:21-23, 35-43\\ A Family Tortured by Death
III. \\#5:24-34\\ A Woman Tortured by Disease
All of them were gloriously healed and delivered when they came to
Jesus. WOW!
I. The Possessed:
Mark 5:1 And they came over unto the other side
of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship,
immediately there met him out of the tombs a man
with an unclean spirit,
3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no
man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 Because that he had been often bound with
fetters and chains, and the chains had been
plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken
in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the
mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting
himself with stones.
A. The man’s story is found in two other texts
\\#Matt 8:28, Luke 8:26\\.
B. We do not know this man’s name.
1. He is known by his affliction and location, the demonic of
Gadara.
2. Gadara was one of the ten major cities called Decapolis.
a. In the Greek, "deca)" means 10 and "polis" means city.
b. Together, Decapolis means 10 cities.
c. Although the cities were mostly in the original land
of Israel, these cities were still largely Gentile
and under the influence of the Greeks.
3. Gadara was located on the opposite side of the Sea of
Galilee from Capernaum and the other locations where Jesus
commonly ministered.
a. Matthew and Mark indicate that this event took place
after the calming of the sea.
b. That was one busy day for Jesus.
C. Before meeting Jesus, the demoniac…
1. \\#3\\ "dwelt among the tombs." \\#Lk 8:27\\ added
"neither abode in any house."
2. \\#Lk 8:27\\ "wore no cloths"
3. \\#Mark 5:4\\ "no man could tame him" - uncontrollable
a. He couldn’t control himself.
b. No man could control him. He broke chains and
fetters.
4. \\#5\\ "always, night and day… crying and cutting himself
a. I do not know that much about demons.
b. The Bible does not tell us how demons possess a
person, and I have never sensed or known for certain
that I was near a person who was possessed.
c. However, a common symptom of demon possession in the
Bible is that the demons hurt the body of the host
they inhabit.
d. In this account, once the demons take possession of
the herd of swine, they run violently off a cliff and
die.
D. People wonder how this could be relevant to their lives. In
at least two ways:
1. The power that made this man act the way he did is the
power controlling many lives today.
a. What was that power?
b. It was the devil.
(1) \\#Mark 5:1\\ "unclean spirit"
(2) \\#Luke 8:27\\ "had devils a long time"
(3) All three of the texts record the conversation
between the demons and Christ.
c. The lost world and even many who call themselves
Christians have been lulled into believing the devil
and demons aren’t real.
d. Not only are they real, they are inhabiting and
controlling an increasing army of people today.
2. Understanding who that power is should help us to make
some better choices in our lives and in the lives of our
loved ones.
a. People are getting worried about a second civil war
breaking out in America.
b. Friend, we need to be concerned about the spiritual
war that has been raging since God created the human
race.
c. If God’s people could get the upper hand in that war,
it would calm this world down tremendously.
II. The Demons
Mark 5:6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran
and worshipped him,
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What
have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the
most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou
torment me not.
8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man,
thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he
answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are
many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not
send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains
a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send
us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the
unclean spirits went out, and entered into the
swine: and the herd ran violently.
A. The demons within this man took a name that was defined by
their presence and power.
Mark 5:9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And
he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we
are many.
1. These demons called themselves "LEGION, for we are many."
a. A legion was between 6 to 12 thousand.
b. That doesn’t have to mean there were 6,000 demons in
this one man; but there were enough to be referred to
as MANY.
2. Now what might a demon call himself today?
lust, anger, jealousy, perversion, murder, fear,
bitterness, delusion, greed, discontentment, hatred,
sorrow, phobia, pessimism, depression, insomnia, panic,
psychosis, schizophrenia, grandeur, pride, wicked,
unforgiving, arrogant, vulgar, snide, profane
3. I am not saying that everyone who commits such a sin is
demon possessed.
a. We have a fallen nature and are able to do plenty of
wickedness on our own.
b. Yet, anyone in their right mind would say that things
are getting perpetually worse!
c. Why? Because the human race is being acted upon by
forces that it cannot see and does not want to
acknowledge.
(1) Why?
(2) Because if we acknowledged demons were real, we
would also have to acknowledge the Bible is
true, and Jesus was God.
B. Demons were certainly common in the New Testament.
1. There are 37 references to the plural word "devils" in the
gospels.
2. But we don’t see them being manifested today.
3. Have they decreased?
a. No!
b. Demons are spirits, and spirits don’t die.
4. But because they are spiritual and invisible to the human
eye, we cannot see them and will not know they are there
unless either they reveal themselves or God somehow
reveals them
5. But that is the way it was in Jesus’ day as well.
a. Demons were possessing and afflicting people BEFORE
Jesus came, but no one knew until Jesus came.
b. When Jesus came, He started making them speak and
casting them out.
c. Sometimes, the demons would address Jesus first.
6. We apparently lack the power Jesus had and the demons lack
the fear of us, so we don’t know they are there; but they
are.
C. What can we learn about demons from this passage?
1. \\#7-9\\ Demons virtually control the host! It was the
demons who were speaking, reasoning, and doing.
2. \\#9\\ Demons can co-operate.
a. Many demons were working together to torment this man
and others through this man.
b. I would suppose that the more demons there are, the
stronger they become.
3. \\#13\\ Demons apparently need to co-inhabit something,
human or animal.
4. \\#7\\ Demons show no mercy but will ask for it.
5. \\#13\\ Demons have no regard for physical life.
a. The demons had no more regard for the man’s life
than for the swine.
b. God just wouldn’t give the demons permission to kill
the man..
6. \\#6\\ I’m not sure but I wonder if demons can keep a
person from being saved.
a. In verse 6, the man came and worshipped Jesus.
Mark 5:6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran
and worshipped him,
b. But we do not have a Biblical record of anyone getting
saved while they were possessed.
c. The first actions always seems to be the devils are
cast out.
7. Casting out a demon is not at all like Hollywood makes it
out to be.
a. A religious person does not just tell a demon to move
out.
Acts 19:13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews,
exorcists, took upon them to call over them
which had evil spirits the name of the Lord
Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul
preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a
Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus
I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was
leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed
against them, so that they fled out of that house
naked and wounded.
b. And nothing gets rid of a demon for good except
salvation.
Matt 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out
of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking
rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house
from whence I came out; and when he is come, he
findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven
other spirits more wicked than himself, and they
enter in and dwell there: and the last state of
that man is worse than the first. Even so shall
it be also unto this wicked generation.
c. So even if a demon is cast out, if Jesus is not
invited in, things will only get worse.
D. The questions for which I wish I had answers:
1. How does a person become possessed with one demon, let
alone thousands?
a. I do not think it is to either extreme.
(1) I do not think the devil has to appear and get
your name on a contract.
(2) Neither do I think he can just seize you.
b. My guess is that you would have to invite him to take
you, but that doing so is not as difficult as some
would think.
c. I believe sending him an invitation may be as simple
as repeatedly enjoying his company.
(1) Watch his movies.
(2) Listen to his music.
(3) Like the things he promotes, i.e. fornication,
drunkenness, violence, pornography
(4) Enjoy drugs with him—and I believe that sends
him a gigantic invitation.
(5) Delve into his religions - horoscopes, Ouija
boards, channeling, spells, anything that is
occult or rebellious to God.
d. Now I cannot prove to you that these things cause
demon possession because I cannot prove demon
possession except from the Bible, but I can prove to
you that people who do these kinds of the things
move further and further away from God and become
more and more like the devil himself.
2. How does one cast out a demon?
a. I do not know.
b. But I would say you get as close to God as you can and
then get those who may be filled with the devil as
close to God as they can get, and something is going
to happen.
c. Either the demon will get out of the person or the
person will get away from Jesus.
d. Demons don’t seem capable of staying close to Jesus
for too long.
III. The Man
A. I don’t know that we met the man in this event until AFTER
the demons are out of him.
B. Question: What is a man like who is completely freed of
demons? Not only freed from possession but even freed from
oppression?
Mark 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him
that was possessed with the devil, and had the
legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right
mind: and they were afraid.
1. \\#15\\ Tamed: That is, sitting with others.
2. \\#15\\ Clothed
3. \\#15\\ Right mind
4. \\#18\\ Desire to follow
5. \\#19\\ Willingness to serve at home
C. Would it not be nice if all of God’s children lived like the
devil was not influencing them?
There is always more to be said, but I close noting the people then
asked Jesus to leave. Jesus never actually made it into the city of
Gadara. The demoniac met Him before He entered the city, and—as far
as we know—Jesus returned to the same boat that brought Him and went
back across the Sea of Galilee.
This was the only man helped or won by Jesus in that area, at least
on that trip; but like the woman at the well, he became Jesus’
missionary to those people.
Mark 5:20 And he departed, and began to publish
in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for
him: and all [men] did marvel.
Isn’t it amazing how far Jesus will go for one? Isn’t it amazing
what one sold out for Jesus can do? Will you be the one?
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