Mark 5:1-20 - the demoniac of Decapolis.
Jesus came to the other
side of the sea of
Galilee, into the country of the Gerasenes. As he and his disciples stepped from the boat onto the
shore, they met a man who was demon-possessed.
His life was literally controlled by them, and he was in anguish. He called himself Legion, because he was oppressed and tortured by a
legion of demons.
He was so tormented that he couldn’t
even live around people
anymore. So lived alone in the cemetery. Confused and full of suffering, he would cry out,
night and day as he wounded himself with stones, seeking to find some relief
for his emotional pain through causing himself physical
pain..
This
story of the deliverance of Legion shows a person so inwardly bound that he suffers intense inner pain
and confusion. He is unable to control what is going on in his mind and emotions. The inner pain is so severe that he does himself harm to try to
find relief, yet it
provides no solution or peace. It only brings more self destruction.
Inner bondage leads to desperation, which can lead to
deliverance. Legion became so desperate that he came and fell at the feet
of Jesus. We see that at last, he had come to the right place. Jesus delivered
him from his inward bondage. He set this man free and he came to his senses and was a completely new person. The inner struggle was gone. His need to
engage in destructive behaviour was no longer there. He sat at the feet of Jesus, with a teachable spirit, listening to every word Jesus said.
Jesus Christ delivers from inward bondage, emotional pain, desperation and self
destruction. When we become desperate enough to cry for help, and we reach out to Jesus, we will find the help we need.
“Dear
Lord Jesus, by your cross and resurrection and by your Spirit – set me free to live
in a relationship with you where I am safe from the harm that evil can cause in
my life! Amen.”
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