29 May, 2016

Introduction:

Evil is not good - but Jesus is

Mark 5:1-20

Friends, one of the things I have noticed recently is the way that people understand what is evil & what
is good. And really, I think our society has now become very confused about what is good or what is
evil. Indeed, some people - especially so-called educated people say that evil does not exist - at all.
And I think this is why you will sometimes hear people describe good things, or things that they enjoy- by
using words which were once used to describe evil, or bad things. For example, have you ever heard
someone use the word wicked? Now, a generation ago you would say something was wicked if it was
evil, immoral or wrong. But today people freely use the word wicked to describe things that are cool &
fun. Or think of the word mad. A generation ago someone was described as being mad if they were
angry or mentally insane. But today, people regularly use the word mad to describe anything that is
impressive or good. And friends, if are driving around the streets of Bankstown & you hear someone
describe a car as being fully sick- then please understand that they do not mean the car is somehow
sick or doesnt work. No!... when they say a car is sick- they mean the car is awesome & incredible!
Now of course, the Bible is very clear about what is good & what is evil. Indeed, as we read about the
life of Jesus, & his death & his resurrection - we see what good actually looks like. You see, Jesus explains
what is good - to us, Jesus demonstrates good - to us, Jesus shows us what love & goodness is, & Jesus
shows us what love & goodness does in real life. But here at the beginning of Mark 5 we see the opposite,
dont we? here we see what evil looks like & we see what evil does in someones life. And friends, Jesus
shows us here that evil is not cool, evil is not fun, evil is not good. Look at Mark 5:1-5
Jesus & his disciples arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes.2 When Jesus
climbed out of the boat, a man who was possessed by an evil spirit came out to meet him. This man lived
among the tombs & graves. No one could restrain him. He had been tied up many times with chains &
ropes, but he broke the chains & snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night & day
he roamed through the graves & the hills, screaming out & cutting himself with sharp stones.
1

Friends, how would you describe this mans life?... fun? cool? good?...or brutal? You see friends, the truth
is that evil is brutal. Evil oppresses you, evil hurts you, evil controls your thoughts & your actions, & evil
makes you less than what God made you to be a person who lives surrounded by the goodness of
God, extending Gods goodness to others & receiving goodness from others . And this poor man really is
lost, isnt he? I mean, although this man is strong, he is strong in the wrong things. And he is completely
alone, & night & day he roams through the graves & the hills screaming out & cutting himself with sharp
stones. And the only companions this man has are the demons that live in him & that are harming him &
using him. Friends, this mans life is evil to the extreme & no one can help him except for Jesus. Look at
verse 6
When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran to him & bowed low before him. 7 With a shriek, he screamed,
Why are you interfering with me, Jesus Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, dont
torture me!
8 Because Jesus had already said to the spirit, Come out of the man, you evil spirit.
6-8

Now friends, notice the authority & power that Jesus has over evil here. You see, although no natural
human power & no human effort has been able to control, or tame, the evil that is inside this man, Jesus
& his goodness have complete & easy control over what is wicked, harmful & evil. And friends, I think it is
very important for the followers of Jesus today to understand that this is the true nature of evil. I mean, so
often evil looks strong, & it is - but here we see that Gods goodness & power is stronger than evil. Indeed,
Gods goodness has an easy, calm power over what is evil. Let me assay that again: Gods goodness
has an easy, calm power over what is evil. And friends, I think this is why the apostle James can so calmly
give us the following advice about how to deal with evil & the devil, today. Look at James 4:7. James
says:
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God & he will
come close to you.
7

Friends, James is telling us that if we want to defeat Satan & evil in our lives, today then we need to do
two simple things. Number 1/ We must humble ourselves before God. In other words, we must humbly
come to God because God is good & because what God says is both true & good for us. You see, the
great battle for us is to have enough confidence in God, that we do what he says. And I think this is what

it means to 2) Resist the devil. To resist the devil means to not do what is wrong, but instead - to do what
God says. And if you think about friends, if we are becoming a person who simply refuses to do anything
wrong (no matter what is happening to us) & if we are instead committed to always trusting & obeying
God (no matter what is happening to us) then what can the devil to do us? I mean, what power does
the devil have over a person like that?...well, the answer is none! You see friends, the strongest power
that the devil has over people are the LIES that he speaks. And the biggest LIE he speaks through a
million different ways today, is that God is not completely good & so you cant really trust him & so you
have to try to control life by yourself doing things your way not Gods way! But friends, James says if
we resist the devil. You know, if we simply refuse to live our lives as if God is not completely good, if we
refuse to try to control the situations & the people who are around us, & if we trust God by simply doing
what he says then the devil cannot control us. Really, the devil has nowhere to go - except to run away
from us & to try again later on which of course he will do. Friends, Gods promise is that if we humbly
come to him - by trusting him & obeying him God will come near to us & he will save us from evil.
And really, I think these words from James describe the demon possessed man, very well. Now, I could
be wrong about this, but friends could it be that in his great struggle against the demons & the evil
thoughts & evil ideas that controlled him, in one last great effort to be freed from evil, this demon
possessed man came & humbled himself before Jesus? Look at verse 6 again.
When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran to him & bowed low before him. 7 With a shriek, he screamed,
Why are you interfering with me, Jesus Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, dont
torture me

6-8

Friends, this demon possessed man, this man whose life has been so brutal & who knows no goodness comes close to God, & God comes close to him. And the demons are absolutely helpless before the son
of God & they have nowhere to go - except for some pigs that are grazing nearby. look at v11
11 Now

there happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby.12 Send us into those pigs,
the spirits begged. Let us enter them. 13 So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the
man & entered the pigs, & the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake
& drowned in the water.

Friends, in typical demon style, these evil spirits once again do evil & they destroy all the pigs. And the
owners of the pigs bolt away as fast as they can, & they tell as many people as they can what has
happened. And so pretty soon a crowd starts to gather around Jesus, & his disciples & the demon
possessed man- who is now sitting with Jesus, fully clothed & perfectly calm. And so of course when the
people from the nearby towns see what has happened to their poor neighbour, they are filled with joy &
relief that he has been released from evil. Right? wrong! Look at v15.
The man was now sitting there fully clothed & perfectly calm, & the people were all afraid. 16 Then those
who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man & the pigs. 17 And the
crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away & leave them alone.
15

Friends, what a strange thing for these people to do. I mean, you can understand the people being
scared but why do they beg Jesus to leave? Well, the only explanation I can think of is that they are very
unhappy that they have lost 2000 pigs Now, yes, I must admit that is a lot of bacon & eggs. they have
missed out on! But you see friends, this shows you, doesnt it? that normal, everyday people really do
value the wrong things. I mean, the great evil that was in the life of this poor man has been defeated. he
is now free & the source of this great goodness, Jesus, is right there in front of them & he can help them
too. But these people are blinded to the goodness & power of God because they are looking at the
wrong things. You see, they are worried about the pigs. In other words, they are worried about what they
will eat & what they will wear & what they will drink. And so they are not free to experience the power &
goodness of Jesus. You see, these people will not come close to God & so God will not come close to
them because God respects their decision. But friends, for the one person who has come near to the son
of God, Jesus, he has experienced the love & power & goodness of Jesus. And his life will never be the
same again. look at v18
Later, as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with
him. 19 But Jesus said, No, go home to your family, & tell them your story & how merciful the Lord has been
18

to you. 20 So the man started off to visit the towns of that region & he began to proclaim the great things
Jesus had done for him; & everyone was amazed at what he said.

Friends, this free man now wants to freely follow Jesus with all his heart, he wants to live his whole life with
Jesus. But notice what Jesus says here. Incredibly, Jesus says to the man, Dont come with me. Instead,
go home to your own family & tell them & everyone else you know about how good God has been to
you. You see friends, not everyone whose life has been changed by Jesus has to leave family & friends to be able to share the good news of Jesus with others. No!, sometimes, perhaps for most people, the
best thing we can do is to stay where we are, with the people we already know, so we can show them
how good God has been to us. And if God does want us to leave, he will show us- at the right time & in
the right way- in a way, that even we can understand.
Conclusion:
Friends, I think this story shows us that evil is not fun & it is not good. The truth is that evil is brutal! Evil hurts,
evil damages people, evil destroys relationships & evil oppresses people. But friends, Jesus has power to
save, because Jesus is Gods goodness come into the world to save us from evil, to free us from the lies of
the devil, & to save us from the curse of our own sin & disobedience. And when we humbly come near to
Jesus, a miracle happens God comes near to us & we begin to experience the power of Gods
goodness in our lives. A power that is strong enough to free us from all wrong. Lets pray