Self-Destructive Spirits

Mark 5:3-8, 12-13, 16-17

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.

The power, purpose, and possession of Jesus are on display in these verses. First, we see his power. The man with the impure spirit came to him despite not being able to be bound by man. It it not funny how Jesus always shows up where he is needed most. After everyone had abandoned this man, Jesus was there. This man's possession was with a self destructive spirit. The enemy comes to seek, kill, and destroy but Jesus came that we might have life more abundantly. The man with the self destructive spirit expected Jesus to treat him just as the devil did. The devil knows what God had to say; he only tells you half the truth. This man had a spirit of torment. Remember Jesus's mission to the broken-hearted, the captives and those that mourn when he stood in the temple and recited Isaiah 61:3.

Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 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!"

This man found what Jesus said about the sick being healed and the dead raised to be torture. He had seen enough supernatural things in his lifetime having been one himself with the unclean spirit. Jesus has the solution for every problem. This man wanted deliverance as seen in his request for Jesus not to torture him. For God to show his power in our lives, he needs our permission. God is a gentleman unlike the devil who always takes. This man wanted to be freed but not tortured. See the power of God. Even the devil recognizes it and comes to seek how he can serve him. Not only was the purpose of God to deliver the man but also to settle the spirit. Never more would he attack the people as he would had he been allowed to roam free. Had Jesus sent the spirits back to Satan, they would have been released again. The power of God demanded that the unclean spirits be settled. It is important to note that no matter how many these spirits were, they all behaved as one under the power and authority of the same master, Satan. The keepers of the pigs came in time to see the chained man set free, dressed, and in his right mind. They were afraid. Note the spirit of subjection. These people would often bind this man to serve them. They used him as a tool to accomplish their own purposes. When they could no longer bind him, he turned to Jesus. Sometimes God has to break the power of people over your life. Stop worrying about what people think, say, or do. Do not fear those in Matthew 10:28 which can kill the body; rather, fear him who can kill body and soul in Hell.

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.

When they could no longer use this man at all or the pigs, these people begged Jesus to leave their region. They did not ask the demons to leave, only Jesus. When you encounter people who would rather destroy themselves and others than have Jesus, pick another place. Jesus left this man here for a reason. He would be both a testimony and a terror to the people. Imagine the testimony of a man who no longer could be used by man and is now a son of God. He now tells those who used him and are now afraid of God what he has done. Jesus left this man to be a testimony against them in the spirit of Luke 9:5. This is the point of leaving witnesses as in Acts 1:8. Some people tend to focus on the places where they witness rather than the power of who sent them. Notice this power was meant to do something. The power was for those witnesses of what God has done.

Note, Jesus did not tell this man to go start a Go-fund-me, a church, or even a cult. He simply said to him and to the disciples to be his witnesses. The point of a witness is to tell the story of the one who sent them. They may act in the power and authority of the one who sent them. Imagine a man supernaturally possessed by Satan for destruction and now he is possessed by Jesus for deliverance of the region. These people who used him were afraid because they knew they were next. Some people cannot stand you because of what God did for you. Some people cannot stand you because they know he will change them too. The presence of God will not allow this region to remain the same. He will not allow the possessed person to continue to run naked, hurt himself and others, nor live like the pigs he kept. What makes you think God will allow you to bind such to bring about your own purposes. This is his will and his way. Jesus Christ brings a sword for he came to set households at variance with one another because of who he is in Matthew 10:34-36.

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.

The enemy could only touch what Jesus allowed. When the impure spirits entered the herd of pigs in verse thirteen, the pigs could not handle them; the pigs who by nature ate everything preferred to die rather than be possessed with self-destructive spirits. The slope they ran down was already there. They just found it with the demons' help. See the intentional disruption. For holding the man captive and a servant of these, God punished the people and the demons alike. Imagine with one voice the demonic army asking: 'this man is yours, God, how can we serve you now?' Life is allowed by Christ; all else is of God. Like the people who profited from the strategies of the devil, we too tend to react with horror and anger when he disrupts something for his glory. This is how he will judge the world. This is why he will judge the world for the harm caused his saints and for what has been done to him. He is suing for damages caused by the unbelieving. See the demons, Satan, and the angels lined up saying, 'how can we serve you Jesus,' as in Job 1:6. He sends them where he will until he stands in glorified form to split the Mount of Olives as wine for the people to drink in Zechariah 14:4. He continues to do so until the fullness of time has come and he sends a nightmare army. Only God could use something so evil for his glory according to Genesis 50:20. He will turn what was meant to hurt you into what delivers you.