An Unlikely Preacher Part 2

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 We continue the story of the Gerasene Demoniac in Mark chapter 5. We first mentioned that he lived in an unlikely place but he also had an unlikely behavior (verses 3b-5). Obviously, the reason for his behavior was that he had many demons residing in him and therefore he acted utterly strange and sometimes dangerous.

Why an unlikely behavior?

1) He had an unlikely strength.

"But he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces". People had tried to subdue him several times but with no success:

 "And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, . No one had the strength to subdue him." This shows us how serious a demonic possession is. Can you imagine yourself wrenching chains apart and breaking shackles into pieces with your bare hands? I think not. It would have to be some supernatural forces giving you the strength to do that. In this case they were demons, and many.

Never minimize what demons can do. They're in a constant battle with God's people in the spiritual realm, especially if you are doing what God is calling you to do. Expect resistance. Christians can't be demon-possessed ("There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus") (Rom 8:1) but they can be oppressed. In this case, this demon-possessed man hadn't quite come to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior because he hadn't had an encounter with Jesus just yet. He was still "possessed".

2) This man was extremely dangerous.

      A) To himself V5b

"He was always cutting himself with stones"

       B) To others V5a

"Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out...." 

The Gospel of Matthew even goes on to say that everybody was afraid of passing by where he was:

"And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes (Gerasenes), two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way" (Matt 8:28)

Now, you could ask the question: How come Matthew is talking about two men? And that would be a fair one. But the Bible doesn't contradict itself. Most scholars believe that Mark picks the worst of the two and narrates his story. Let's not get on another tangent here. Let's go back to the Mark 5 story. The fact of the matter is that this Demoniac had an eractic behavior ,running up and down the hills, scaring everybody away and hurting himself but all of that was about to change.

What do you do when you you meet people with an unlikely behavior? Not to the extent of meeting a demon-possessed person, although that's possible. But, do you turn that person away? Or do you try to minister to them?

I have known pastors who have prayed for demon- possessed people and the demons have gone away but what about less severe situations. Would you have the courage and love to minister to those people in need? Undoubtedly this Demoniac was in dire need of being healed. Stay tuned and we'll see what happens next time.



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