Observations from Mark 5.1-20

1. The Gaderenes only hope was to bind this crazed-demonic man so he could do no more harm to himself or others. Jesus solution was to go beyond the physical–He went inside the man’s body and excercised the 2000+ demons. Jesus’ healing always starts inside and moves progressively outward until the whole person is healed, delivered–saved.
2. Demonic forces enjoy isolating their victims.
3. Gaderenes/Gerasenes are gentile people living on the East side of the Jordan river.
4. No one could physically subdue this man!
5. He was gashing/cutting himself due to the extreme possession.
6. There seems to be some duality of conscious in this encounter. We see the man come to Jesus and worship, next we see the demons use his vocal chords to speak to Jesus.
7. The man’s case seemed to be the strongest possession Jesus encountered in the Gospels.
8. The touching of a grave was considered polluting. (Numbers 19.16)
9. It’s interesting that demons can enter human beings and animals.
10. Demons long for bodies because it is the only way they control and participate in the physical world.
11. A Legion was 6000 Roman Soliders.
12. The Gaderenes would rather have pigs than Jesus.
13. Demons are quite possibly fallen angels, but angels don’t seek bodily possession because they know that “The body is for the Lord.” Human beings were built to be in-dwelt by God. So one reason demonic forces invade bodies is to distort that relationship dynamic between God the Spirit and human beings. They try to haphazardly achieve what God only can.

Salvation is NOT for Sale.

Salvation is not for sale. We don’t peddle Jesus like Oxy Clean. Frantically going over all the amazing benefits of this cleansing product. We don’t try to convince people that Jesus is the logical conclusion to the question, Why are we here?

Salvation is the process (not destination) in which Jesus by His Spirit will transform us into His image, i.e. character. Jesus does it–not us. So what do we do? We preach what Jesus preached! We teach what Jesus taught! We lift Him high with our words and our deeds so that people can see Him and vigorously applaud (Matthew 5.16). 

One common thread relentlessly weaving it’s way into the fabric of the American church is the idea that salvation requires  no repentance at all. There is no need to turn and go a different direction. Simply believe.  All you must do is simply agree to some facts–and you’re in! You’re saved a.k.a. going to heaven when you die. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We need preachers and teachers who are not afraid to offend the carnal mind. We need people to stand up and say, “You’re lost! You’re dead! Do you want to live in God’s kingdom now? Then repent and believe in the gospel Jesus preached (Mark 1.14,15). Dallas Willard always ask the poignant question, “Does the gospel I preach make disciples or converts?” We need disciples.

But in order to grow numerically the church declines spiritually.  Worshipping the growth-god pastors throughout the land choose to preach watered-down, feel-good truth and thus makes their followers two-fold more the child of hell than they themselves are (Matthew 23.15).

Help us Jesus

 

“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace…Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian ’conception’ of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins…In such a church the world finds a cheap covering for it’s sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered form sin…Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner.”
Dietrich Bonehoeffer
The Cost of Discipleship, Pg 1.
Published 1937 

Guarding Instruction

“Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her for she is your life.”
Proverbs 4.13 

Reading this morning I stumbled over a passage of scripture and it stirred my affections once more for Jesus. There is truth in the Proverbs. It is reliable, sound and concrete. And it is Jesus-soaked. (Colossians 2.2,3)

Where do you receive instruction? Where? I have found that Jesus has all of the wisdom and knowledge I need for actual living. He embodies the Proverbs–He lived them. 

So my goal is to take hold of them. Grasp them and never let go. I do let go. Sometimes I forget. I get lazy and complacent. That is why this Proverb rang true in my ears this morning. Once you find this instruction, guard it! Protect it! Watch over it! Cultivate it! Why? It  is because it is the narrow path that leads to life. 

There are so many things I have learned in the last four or five years. Little pieces of instruction that have proved to be like seeds, bursting with life inside. At times I have guarded them with braveheart-like-faith and other times I treat them complacently, like a gardener carelessly forgetting to water his plants day in and day out.

One piece of instruction that has proved life giving is waking up at 6 AM and discipling myself to Jesus: praying in the shower or study, reading and praying through the Psalms, reading through the Gospel of Mark, journaling about my experiences, memorizing large amounts of scripture, blogging, watching the sunset as I skim the Proverbs and reading my favorite authors. All of these things are instruction Jon–never let them go–guard them. 

It is these that draw me closer to Jesus and transform my character more and more into His. That is all I want.

Seek the Kingdom,
Jon