Kerux: a portfolio of Calvin Theological Seminary - Volume 43.5 - 27 Mar 2009

Sermon: Mark 5:1-20

A chapel message

by Amos Groenendyk

Something to remember: Jesus is the central character of the gospel. We read this gospel to find out about the Son of God. So we read with this question in front of us: Who ... is ... Jesus? And what sort of things does he do? And especially for Mark 5, what sort of places does he go?

Jesus goes where no one else would go.

This is a dirty passage. It stinks with what, according to Old Testament law, would make you ritually unclean.

First. Notice the location. Jesus gets in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. Immediately after our passage, he gets back on the boat and crosses back over. So it would seem that Jesus goes out of his way to visit this region. Could it be that the place is important? And if so, what makes it special? The region of the Gerasenes is deep in Gentile territory. Gentiles are very unclean people. And these aren't just any Gentiles. These are Romans! Jesus enters the Decapolis region: the ten cities built to exert imperial dominance the area. Gentiles: They worship other gods. They are sexually immoral. They are offensive and disgusting. I suppose the area might have had reputation akin to Las Vegas. Sin city. And Jesus makes a special visit.

I risk overstating the case, but this is not our only clue. Jesus visits a man who lives among the tombs. Another red flag. Numbers 19 says that if you come into contact with corpse or touch anything associated with death, you will be unclean for seven days. You must purify yourself and if you don't, you defile the tabernacle of the LORD and will be cut off from your people. This guy hasn't just touched a dead body. He's living among the tombs—cut off from his people. He is unclean.

There's the obvious one too—right? The pigs that Jesus sends the spirits into later. Pigs are unclean animals. A symbol of paganism.

Where am I going with this?

Unclean region, Unclean place, unclean animals. And Jesus meets a man with a verse 2. The NIV says he meets an "evil spirit," but the Greek is pneumati akatharto: an unclean spirit.

Jesus goes where no one else would go.

He comes into contact with a man possessed with hundreds of demons. It says has he has superhuman strength. He's covered with dried blood and scars. People have tried to tie him down without success. This is a scary dude. Think of him like WWF guy from the late 90s: maybe like Stone Cold Steve Austin. You don't want to mess with this guy. You don't want to go near him. But Jesus does.

Not to preach a sermon—that's not what he needed. But to show mercy.

The man comes running toward Jesus and falls down before him and shouts, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!" Remember who we're talking about here. Stone Cold Steve Austin falls down before Jesus. As repulsive as this man may look at first appearance, it only begins to hint at the storm going on inside this man. A legion of demons. This man's life is out of control. He is self-destructive. He doesn't have any say in his own fate. He is helpless and unable to even speak for himself. When Jesus asks, "What is your name?" It is the host of demons who answer, not the man, "We are legion." It seems there is very little humanity left in him. But just as Jesus had stilled a storm on the lake, Jesus stills the storm in this man. He sends the demons into a herd of pigs, which go rushing down into the lake, into the abyss. By the time the townspeople show up, the man is sitting there clothed, calm and in his right mind. Jesus had restored his humanity. The image of God in this man was once more visible. His life transformed, forever changed. Jesus had given him his life back.

Jesus prepares to once more embark across the Sea of Galilee. The man follows Jesus and begs to go with him. From the same lips that begged Jesus not to torture him, the man—now healed—begs to follow him. Jesus denies him this request, but says "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

And now I pose the question, How much has Jesus done for you?

To answer, I think we need to back up a few paces and consider our condition. How are we like this demon possessed man? I don't know if the word "unclean" resonates with many of you or not. You strike me as a pretty sanctified bunch. But I think for a few of us feeling dirty is an appropriate description. Maybe shame is a better word. Or maybe, simply we wish we were better people. Maybe we find ourselves a slave to addiction or a worshiper of grades. Maybe it's lust or envy that gets us. I must admit, I don't think about my sin very often. But that doesn't mean I don't do it.

We all do it.

Another way some of us are like the man. It seems we have lost control of our lives. We don't know who we are anymore. A storm rages. Swamped by homework, family and church responsibilities. We can't even speak for ourselves, we just keep saying "yes." Maybe you are gripped by fear of what comes next ... after graduation, where you'll be this summer or where you'll be after budget cuts. Maybe you wonder where the money is going to come from. Maybe it's the future of the CRC that grips you with uncertainty. Or maybe it's a fear of failure. That I'm not really cut out for ministry.

Jesus goes where no one else would go. He reaches out to unclean people. A few chapters later in Mark, Jesus himself will find himself covered in dried blood, with his own scars, naked, outside of town among the tombs. Jesus goes where no one else would go: to the cross, to atone for all our sin, to make us clean, and to make us the holy, even. His Spirit enters those places inside ourselves that even we don't want to face in order to purify us. And Jesus goes where no one else would go: to defeat the powers that wreak havoc on our lives—those powers that storm inside and around us. He walks straight into the storm to set us free. To empower us to go on. To give us our lives back.

Amen.