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Tell Mercy
Presenter: Larry Kirkpatrick
Location: Bonners Ferry Seventh-day Adventist Church, ID, USA
Delivery: 2011-06-04
Publication: GreatControversy.org 2011-06-06 15:46Z
Type: Sermon
URL: http://www.greatcontroversy.org/gco/ser/kirl-tellmercy.php
In chapter five of his gospel, John Mark tells us a story. You will find it in Mark 5:1-20.
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, 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? In God’s name don’t torture me!’ 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.
A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.’ He gave them permission, and the impure 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.
Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 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.
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 (NIV 2011 ed.).
One way to approach the gaining of an understanding of the story would be to gather up the parallel accounts in the other gospels (Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-39), pull together all the details that we can, and look for a comprehensive result. Another is to try to listen and to let our focus settle distinctly on the story as Mark is telling it. That is what we are doing here today.
The disciples are with Jesus (verse 1), but in this case are almost incidental to the story. Almost the same thing is true of the demons. Jesus was not trying to change their minds; their desire—to destroy and to cause misery—are nothing new. Marks story is really about the choices made by three parties: Jesus, the demon-possessed man, and the people of the local community.
Jesus, just previous to this, had with a word calmed the storm (4:35-41). Now they bring the boat to shore, and Jesus gets out. He has only just made it to the beach when the a man approaches; a man under the partial control of demons.
Verse 2 tells us that he came to Jesus; verse 6 says that when he saw Jesus, he ran to Him. Remaining at a distance, he falls to his knees. And, we are told the why behind this mixed response.
The man had an impure, or unclean spirit. He was, we can say, demon-possessed. Look at his situation. He was the local outcast. He lived among the tombs. He had been chained hand and foot, but several times had gotten loose, and no one tried to chain him anymore. Night and day he was in the tombs or in the hills, crying out, cutting himself with rocks, maybe even howling at the moon.
I say the man is only partially in control of himself; enough to run to Jesus for help, but not enough to control the words that come out of his mouth. The demons are in control of that. And so, he runs to Jesus, falls to his knees in submission, but the dialogue that begins is between Jesus and the demons. The man, or, we should say, the demon, shouts loudly, for he is at a distance and this is near the beach. What do you want? he asks. He identifies Jesus as Son of the Most High, and pleads with Him not to torture him. Jesus had asked him to come out of the man, but not yet enforced this. Jesus asks his name. We find that actually, the man has been possessed by many demons. They identify themselves as legion. In Mark’s world, a Roman legion was usually about 6,000 men strong.
There are pigs feeding nearby, about 2,000. The demons beg Jesus to let them go out into the pigs. He permits this, and out they go. The pigs, in terror from the demons, run down into the lake and are drowned. Some people were tending the pigs. They this and proceed to the town to tell what has happened.
Word spreads rapidly. Soon, people are coming out of the countryside and from the town. Approaching Jesus, they see the man who had been demon-possessed. Now he is dressed, and in his right mind. Their reaction? Fear. There must have been fear before, for they had chained him several times; that had proven futile. Then he had been allowed to roam, to howl and shout and cry out in the hills. But now the 2,000 pigs are dead and the man is whole. Jesus came. He intervened. Their problem is solved. But they are afraid. What do they say to Jesus?
They plead with Jesus to leave the area. Imagine that. Asking Jesus to leave! But they ask this. Jesus’ reply? He gets back into the boat.
The demons pled not to be tortured yet. Jesus didn’t torture them. They pled to be permitted to go out into the pigs. Jesus allowed it. The people pled for Jesus to leave. He was leaving. Now, one more plea; the man who was released from demonic thralldom, who was now in his right mind, now asks Jesus to let him go with Him. Surely Jesus will let him come.
Jesus says, no.
Jesus tells him to go back to his own people, to tell them what He did for him, and to speak of the Lord’s mercy toward him. He does so. The reaction is that the people are amazed.
Jesus Refused?
It seems amazing to us that the people would ask Jesus to leave their area. We expect that they would overlook the dead pigs and be overjoyed that the man was restored. But we are not them and they are not us. Look at it from their perspective. There is a thriving pork business there. Or, at least there was. These were not Jews observing kashrut (clean and unclean laws). They have their own projects, their own values, their own priorities.
Jesus is one who has power to overthrow these things. If He can cast out demons, then He’s not safe. Look at the thrown-away man, living in the tombs. Maintaining the status quoem> was more important to the Gadarenes than the possibility of anyone’s being released from bondage. They were afraid of Jesus. Jesus meant possible change. They weren’t up for that.
Fortunately, Christians are always up for change. When God speaks to us we jump immediately and say yes, and do exactly what He says. We are not like those filthy, bacon-eating Gadarenes. And we are not motivated by something so base as fear.
Fear on the Lake, Too
But before we tie this off and go our way, thankful that we are the good guys, is there more to the story? In fact, in Matthew, in Mark, and in Luke, every single time, immediately before this story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we find the account of Jesus calming the storm. So, let’s go back exactly one story, to Mark 4:35-41.
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’
They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’
Craving For Certainty and Sameness
When the storm came up and threatened to kill them, they were afraid. But when Jesus calmed the storm with a word, they were more afraid. Yes, they were following Jesus, but demonstrations of power as Jesus wielded it also brought fear. Nor was this fear in terms of respect, but of terror. They were glad that He had saved them, but nervous of His authority to use power. Remember, these were Jesus’ own disciples.
So, maybe Christians are not quite so high and mighty. Maybe they are not always ahead of the non-Christian. The Gadarenes were afraid of Jesus because of His power; the disciples of Jesus were, too.
There seem to be certain constants in the human experience. Among them, all of us have an aversion to change. And, all of us have an aversion to uncertainty. Oh, we talk about change. Come to Jesus, He can change you. And He can. But when it actually gets down to our changing, to changing the situations with which we have grown comfortable, we turn all Gadarene, don’t we?
We, who may sometimes imagine ourselves as the fount of Present Truth, when push comes to shove, where are we? Unsure of Jesus’ love, nervous about His power, and more often than not, thinking of what is most comfortable for us.
This preference for having things as we are used to them has its twin, which we mentioned—namely, a preference for certainty. It is good to know that you have food in your cupboard; to be able to look at your gasoline gauge and be certain that you have fuel in your tank; to see the marriage license signed and ready to register with the county clerk. But other certainties carry more danger—like the certainty that one has the truth. After all, if you are certain that you have the truth, why look further? You can close your mind, tie it off, and go all permanently-smug. There were some—the Pharisees—like that in Jesus› day. How did that work out for them?
No, we are not trying to introduce doubt today; but is there room for a deeper humility in us? Humble people learn more. They are not so full of themselves that they cannot hear others.
Consider this whole scenario from the perspective of the healed demoniac. Don›t you think that he was as sure as sure could be that Jesus, after granting all those other requests to demons and unconverted people, would surely grant his trivial request to a new believer—to remain with Jesus? But right here Jesus surprised him. He gave a different command. What was it?
It was to go back to the region he was from, and tell mercy. The command was, “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.” The man had a change of lifestyle. He was clothed. He was in his right mind. He looked different to people. The eyes no longer had that manic glare; his face was now ruled by his intelligence, his heart was now receptive. He had only the shortest time with Jesus. And yet, Jesus sends him. The people He sent them to were rejecting Jesus, but even as he was leaving them, Jesus was sending them a missionary.
I don’t know if you’ve every thought about this, but there are two qualities always true of authentic missionaries: (1) They are willing to leave behind their status quo for Jesus, and (2) they are willing to be changed by Him. They know exactly what the Lord has done for them and they tell exactly what the Lord has done for them. And that is what the demonic, that is, the restored, now former-demoniac, did. The result was, those who heard him were amazed.
Conclusion
We have learned a lesson very simply, just listening to Mark. Its awesome to be in the boat with Jesus, but more awesome to be changed by Jesus, and more awesome to be sent by Him to tell mercy to others. Our Lord is looking for even one heart who will go and tell mercy. GCO
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