Jesus’ Matchless Power

GOLDEN TEXT: “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” —Mark 5:19

MARK 5:1-13

THE “country of the Gadarenes,”—the geographical setting of today’s lesson—was situated along the southeast bank of the Sea of Galilee and extended southward beyond the lake called a sea. The miracle occurred southeast of Capernaum, which was on the other end of the lake. It was from this general vicinity that Jesus and his disciples had made the crossing by ship. It was while crossing Galilee on this occasion that a storm arose. Jesus “rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”—Mark 4:39

This was a startling experience even for Jesus’ disciples, and they asked, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (vs. 41) But another great miracle was about to be witnessed. When they reached the eastern shore of the lake—“the country of the Gadarenes”—they were met by one “out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains.”—ch. 5:1-3

Modernistic interpreters of the Bible insist that those referred to as being possessed by evil spirits were cases merely of mental illness, most of which could have been cured by the services of a psychiatrist. But this is not true, for the records distinctly speak about both the sick and those possessed by evil spirits.

The man in our lesson had lost all control of his own faculties and was compelled to do the bidding of the evil spirits which held him completely in their grasp. This is apparent even when he came out of the tombs and addressed Jesus. He said to the Master, “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.”—vs. 7

This man, who had never seen Jesus, and probably never heard of him—and certainly in his condition would have no understanding of who Jesus was—would not, of his own knowledge, have been capable of addressing him as the “Son of the most high God.” Nor would he know that Jesus had the power to “torment” him. Had he possessed this much knowledge, he would have known that Jesus could deliver him, and he would have rejoiced.

Here, then, we have a clear case of evil spirits controlling a human organism, even the powers of speech. When Jesus asked, “What is thy name?” the answer was, “My name is legion: for we are many.” (vs. 9) Then these demons pleaded with Jesus not to send them away out of the country. Nearby was a herd of swine, and “the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.” This request was granted, and under the influence of the demons the swine “ran violently down a steep place into the sea (they were about two thousand), and were choked in the sea.”—vss. 10-13

These “devils” were not the departed spirits of dead humans. They were the “angels that sinned” at the time of the Flood, and because of their disobedience have since been restrained in “chains of darkness.” (I Pet. 3:19,20; II Pet. 2:4; Jude 6. See also the booklet entitled “Spiritualism,” a Dawn publication.) The booklet “Spiritualism” shows that these demons are powerful, yet invisible. In Jesus’ day their most pronounced activity was in taking control of the minds of the unwary. They do that today, and also masquerade as the “spirits” of the departed dead in an effort to interest people in spiritism and to attempt to prove Satan’s lie that “there is no death.”

The fact that Jesus could deliver the man who was being used by a legion of these demons demonstrated the fact that in God’s due time even the prince of devils himself can, and will, be brought under control and, indeed, ultimately destroyed. Divine power through the agencies of Christ’s kingdom will heal the sick, deliver mankind from the influences of the Devil and his angels, and restore the dead to life. Could we ask for more?

The miracle performed, Jesus and his disciples returned to their ship, and the man who had been delivered from the devils wanted to join them. But, as our Golden Text states, Jesus told him to go home to his friends, “and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.”

QUESTIONS

Where was the “country of the Gadarenes”?

What great miracle preceded the one in today’s lesson?

Who were the devils who possessed the man who came out from the tombs to meet Jesus?

What will divine power accomplish for mankind during the Millennium?

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