TUESDAY 23 March 2021 “Reputation”

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Hello my ‘Walking with Jesus” friends,

Reputations are a big deal aren’t they? Personal reputations are built in many ways including direct observation, reports, hear say, and in our day social media of course is very powerful in shaping a person’s reputation. As we are ‘walking with Jesus’ toward His Easter, His reputation was growing with every new event or report of what Jesus did or said. Join me today please in Mark 4 and 5 as we see two significant events which continued to shape Jesus’ reputation.

In Mark 4:35-41 Jesus invited His disciples to get in the boats and cross over Lake Galilee to the other side. This was something they did often, Jesus loved the water and so did several of His disciples who’d grown up and made their living fishing on that Lake. Several shoreline towns were frequented by Jesus including Capernaum, Tiberias and Bethsaida. Fishing on this lake was most often done at night, and squalls swept down from what we call the Golan Heights and stirred up storms very quickly on this lake.

Such, evidently, was the experience of Jesus and His friends in Mark 4, for Mark writes: “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 “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:37,38)

Now my friends, let me ask you. What do you suppose the disciples were expecting Jesus to do, help them bail out the boat, or maybe grab an oar? While they had already seen Jesus do some miracles, each new event further stretched their understanding of who Jesus really was and what miraculous powers He had.

Mark records: “Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Be quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Jesus then said to them ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Mark then gives us this summary statement: “They were terrified and asked each other ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” (Mark 4:39-41)

Some of them had been with Jesus when He had turned water into wine at a wedding. Some were there when He healed the man who’d been a cripple 38 years. Some had been there when a royal official son had been healed in a town several miles away from where Jesus was at that moment.

But this was now something new… this was Jesus exercising control over a storm! The wind and waves obeyed His word and the storm stopped suddenly. No one had ever seen anything like that before!

Well, with the lake now calm, I assume they picked up the oars and began rowing and perhaps Jesus returned to His cushion and His nap? Still stunned by what they had experienced, they arrived at the shoreline called the Gerasenes. This was the area we call today the Golan Heights. It was open country then with grazing land and one area with dangerous cliffs which dropped down to the lake.

A cemetery was up on the hillside and suddenly what appeared to be a wild man, a crazy man came running down the hillside from the tombs toward Jesus, screaming at the top of his voice. Dr. Luke also gives us this account and Luke says the man had nothing but rags on as clothes.

Listen to Mark’s description of this moment: “This man lived among 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 this man saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of Jesus. He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to me that you won’t torture me!’ For Jesus had said to him ‘Come out of this man, you evil spirit!’. (Mark 5:1-8)

As we stand here on the shoreline with Jesus and His friends who’ve just had quite a storm experience on the lake, what are they all thinking? Evidently this wild man had quite a reputation and my guess is these disciples are frightened, maybe looking around for a piece of driftwood or something to defend themselves with!

And then what they heard next must have stunned them: “Jesus asked the man, ‘what is your name?’ ‘My name is Legion, for we are many.” (Mark 5:9) “Legion” was a Roman military term, usually referring to a large battalion of soldiers, perhaps about 5000 in number! The disciples looked at each other and at Jesus. Was this evil spirit claiming that there were actually thousands of evil spirits tormenting this man who lived among the tombs?

Friends, depending on what part of the world you live in this matter of evil spirits, demons and such tormented behavior may seem ridiculous or mystical or something of the dark ages. It is real my friends, very real and very dangerous.

Satan leads a huge dark kingdom of rebellious angels and they are always opposed to Jesus, God’s people, God’s truth and God’s purposes! Ephesians 6:10-18 and 1 Peter 5:8 are two Scriptures where the Apostles Paul and Peter explain in some detail the work of Satan and his demons in opposition to Jesus.

Please note here in Mark 5 & Luke 8, we see some of the tangible evidence of the work of the dark kingdom among us in our day. May I point them out to you?

First this man lived among the tombs! (Mark 5:3) In some parts of the world above ground tombs are built ready to receive a casket or the wrapped body of a dead person, and then that tomb is sealed up. This man evidently used one of those as the place where he found shelter from the rain or hot sun. A person who has a fascination with death, or skeletons or cemeteries may well be under the influence of several evil spirits. God gives us a love for life, Satan gives us an attraction to death.

Secondly, this man cut himself with stones. (Mark 5:5) Self mutilation of any type can be evidence of the influence of evil spirits leading a person to harm themselves or reject the body God has made for them. While an evil spirit does not have authority to kill a person, they do have authority to tempt a person to harm themselves or even tempt them to suicide!

God gives us a desire to live and to care for the body God has created for us. Satan gives a person a hatred for life, a hatred for our body and a desire to do damage to ourselves and others.

Third, this man was uncontrollable even with chains! He not only had what appeared to be superhuman strength, he also was uncontrollably violent, destroying property and threatening other people. Such behavior is evidence of evil spirits having strong influence in a person. Often these people appear to be out of their mind and out of control.

Finally, Dr. Luke tells us “For a long time this man had not worn clothes…” (Luke 8:27) A distorted view of sexuality or sexual behavior is very often evidence of strong demonic influence in a person. Satan hates the wonderful, sacred gift of God that draws a married man and women together in holy intimacy and into this union God often reaches to create a new life.

Satan so hates the miracle of human conception and the commitment of a married man and woman to raise that child in a God honoring way, that Satan has mounted a multi-dimensional war against all aspects of sexuality, sexual expression, sexual purity and has distorted it into such evil, millions of people are profoundly damaged and wounded by sexual abuse or harassment every year.

As the disciples watched Jesus deal with this deranged, evil spirits tormented man, they were amazed! There was no fighting, no screaming and hollering, no threats or violence. Mark reports: “The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs, allow us to go into them.” Jesus gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. The herd of pigs, about 2000 in number, rushed down the steep bank and into the lake and were drowned! Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the nearby town, and people came out to see what had happened.”

It’s important my friends that we recognize the demons were fully submissive and obedient to Jesus. They recognized Him for who HE really is when they addressed Him as “Jesus, Son of the Most High God” (Mark 5:7) They understood they had no power before Him and thus they begged Him for mercy.

Do you notice the evil spirit did to the pigs what they wanted to do to the man. They wanted to torment the man to the point that he would eventually kill himself. But while this torment was terrible, God had not allowed him to harm himself to the point of suicide, until Jesus could come that day and set the tormented man free! This my friends is what God is doing all around our world today!

Do you know anyone who may be under some terrible influence of the dark kingdom and Jesus would like to bring freedom to that person? Could it be your friendship, your prayers, your reading of Scripture to that person may be what God would use to set them free?

Mark reports what the people found as they came to Jesus: “…they saw the man who had been demon possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind, and they were afraid! 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 Jesus. But Jesus 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.’ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.” (Mark 5:15-20)

I have a question my friends, in closing today… why would the people ask Jesus to leave their region, rather than like the Samaritans did, invite Jesus to come back with them to their town and help other people with their needs? I think I’d like to leave us pondering that question today! Is it possible people in your town would prefer Jesus NOT come to your town? Why? What happens in your town when people tell the stories of what Jesus has done for them? Let’s pause right here and talk to Jesus about this and about our towns.

Today’s Scripture is Mark 4:35-41 and Mark 5:1-20.

Choose below to read or listen.

Mark 4

Mark 5

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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