Mark chapter 5, we're going to consider this evening the Gospel in the Graveyard. We read this morning from Mark chapter 2, the healing of the paralytic. Mark chapter 5, we read the account of Christ casting the unclean spirit out of this demon-possessed man. And the exercise tonight, hopefully, will not take any liberties with the Scriptures.
And what I mean by that is, we certainly affirm the certain historical veracity of the account that we read in Mark chapter 5. That is, the historical truthfulness. It is straightforward narrative. However, what we're going to do this evening is consider the evangelical use of this particular passage of Holy Scripture as it sets forth a picture of the saint and his Savior.
And so we're going to read at Mark 5, but you've found your way there if you can back up to Mark 4 at verse 35. And we'll read through the portion of Mark 5 to verse 20. I know it's a lot of Holy Scripture. but a lot of Holy Scripture is a good thing. So why don't we begin reading in Mark 4 at verse 35.
This is on the same day that Christ Jesus was speaking and teaching in parables. Verse 35 of Mark 4, On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.
And a great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern asleep on a pillow. And they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still.
And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But he said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? and they feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.
And when he had come out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces. Neither could anyone tame Him. And always, night and day, He was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting Himself with stones.
When He saw Jesus from afar, He ran and worshipped Him. And He cried out with a loud voice and said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God that you do not torment Me. For he said to him, Come out of the man unclean spirit.
Then he asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion, for we are many. Also he begged him earnestly that he would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.
So all the demons begged him, saying, Send us to the swine that we may enter them. And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine. There were about 2,000.
And the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned in the sea. So those who fed the swine fled. And they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened.
Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed and about the swine. Then they began to plead with him to depart from their region.
And when he got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged him that he might be with him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how He has compassion on you. And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him and all marveled. Amen.
Well, let's open with a word of prayer. righteous and holy Father, we just bless Your name again that we can gather tonight to read from Your holy Scriptures, to have Your holy Word preached to us. And we would just pray that You would bless our time, that our time would be unto the praise of Your grace and glory. We thank You for this passage of Scripture and what it tells us concerning the compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fact that He gives attention to one single soul. And we just pray that we would gain much from the preaching of Your Word.
And Lord God, that You would help us to live our lives in a manner worthy of it. We pray in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, just a couple things by way of introduction here. First off, what's going on in this passage? We're reading a passage about the Lord Jesus Christ casting out an unclean spirit from a man. And for a little bit of background information, if you would just want to turn back to Mark chapter 1 for a moment, just to see something of what is going on when Jesus Christ is coming.
Jesus Christ coming into this world and engaging in various activities that His ministry would be marked by. And the casting out of an unclean spirit most certainly is a witness to this particular aspect of Christ's ministry or the purpose for which He came into this world. Verse 14 of Mark chapter 1, Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God and saying, The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel. Jesus Christ came into this world and one of the aspects of His ministry, in addition to the healings, in addition to the preaching of the Gospel, in addition to many other things.
The casting out of unclean spirits is a witness to the fact that Christ was coming to disclose. He was coming to disclose and to confirm the fact that the Kingdom of God had now arrived. Jesus Christ says elsewhere that if I cast out demons, then you will know that the Kingdom of God has come upon you. And he goes on to tell about the binding of the strong man and the plundering of his goods.
This activity of Jesus Christ in Mark 5 confirms that the Christ, the Son of the living God, has come. It confirms all the pronouncements, the announcements of the prophets concerning that Daniel 2.44 coming of the kingdom that shall not be destroyed and that Isaiah 35 announcement of the coming glory of Zion, that God's glory would be manifested, that His excellence would be manifested, and that it would be enjoined by the Messiah, healing those who are blind, giving those who are deaf their hearing. casting out unclean spirits and freeing those who were in bondage. So we have here a confirmation that the coming of the Kingdom had come upon those who were witnesses before the Lord Jesus Christ. And also a qualification here regarding passages of Scripture like these.
This is a passage of Scripture where men can spend too much time in matters secondary to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what I mean by that. We should not or we ought not come to passages like these and spend an inordinate amount of time upon subjects such as demonology. We don't come to Mark 5 to get enraptured with a subject that is secondary to Christ Jesus coming in power and in authority to bring peace to an individual's soul.
Spurgeon put it this way, he said, it is the case that all too often in the church, and I am paraphrasing, but he said it is the case that all too often in the church people can come to places in Scripture and spend hour after hour upon certain things that are somewhat inconsequential to things of an everlasting nature, to their eternal souls. He said something like, men will spend hour upon hour in Revelation chapter 20 without spending such as a minute on the third of John or Romans VIII. People will contemplate matters of eschatology, the shininess of the trumpets and what they look like and what they mean and go on for hours and hours about the meaning of particular things. without getting the thrust and the gist of what we are to take from that. And in Mark 5, we're to take that Christ Jesus in power and with great authority and with great compassion brings peace to His people.
And so that will hopefully serve as a wholesome introduction as we get now to the content of the sermon. And it is fourfold. We're going to look first off at the Christ who finds men. the Christ who finds men. Secondly, the condition He finds them in.
Thirdly, the condition He brings them. And fourthly, the commission He gives them.
The Christ Who Finds Men
Notice first off, the Christ who finds men. We have here first off, if I can break this up into four pieces,
Christ's Attention to the Individual
the attention Christ gives to an individual soul. We ought not to miss that from this passage. It is not just luck. It is not just chance because those things do not exist in a universe governed by Christ who upholds all things by the Word of His power.
But it is not luck and it is not chance that Christ comes across the other side of the Sea of Galilee and just happens across a man with an unclean spirit. This was by sovereign and divine design that Christ would travel across the stormy sea to give attention to an individual soul. And that's what He does. Again, this isn't just happen chance. haphazard happen chance that Christ comes across this demon-possessed man.
It was by divine design, and we need to see in this, that Christ in His grace, Christ in His mercy, gives attention to individuals. And it's an amazing thing here. If we can somewhat allegorize what's going on here, if we can apply a picture of what Christ is doing, Christ is coming through the stormy seas in order to save an individual from his sins, in order to free an individual from his bondage. And is that not what Christ does in salvation?
This boat here that Christ is on is baptized, if you will. It's immersed in the waters of the Sea of Galilee. Much travail. Much violence and danger.
In fact, the disciples themselves say, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Christ Jesus comes through a mighty storm across the Sea of Galilee to free one from bondage. And that's what He did in time and in history to free His people from bondage. the baptism with which His Father had prepared for Him, that is, the persecution of His people unto His unjust murder at the tree of Calvary so that sinners might have peace with God. Christ Jesus gives attention to an individual soul.
And secondly,
The Condescension of Christ
the condescension of Christ ought to be seen here. The condescension of Christ. That means that Christ in a position, having a position of glory and honor, descends in a manner with which he is not necessarily obligated to do so. Christ Jesus descends in time and history with regards to His incarnation.
He comes, He descends from the praises of angels, the glory that He shared with His Father, and He comes into that lower ignominy of human existence where He did not have a pillow with which to lay His head, and He saves sinners to the praise of His Father. Well, here we see an example of that condescension. We see Christ as the one who has mastery over nature. Christ who has mastery over His creation.
Coming from that, the narrative moves from mastery over creation to mastery over the soul of one single individual. It's a blessed thing, the condescension of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who upholds all things by the Word of His power comes to this man and He upholds him. It's a wonderful expression or a wonderful movement of the narrative from Christ as the one who has mastery over creation to the one who has mastery and takes attention over an individual's soul.
Turn to Psalm 29 for a moment, just to get another portion of Scripture that speaks to the amazing condescension of God. And we're going to, Lord willing, read through this quickly. And by quickly, I don't mean so that we might do violence to the text of Scripture, but rather so that we can see this almost out-of-place aspect to verse 11 given in the context. Psalm 29, considering the condescension of Christ.
The Psalm of David. Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters. The God of glory thunders. The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful.
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf.
Lebanon and Syrian like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare. And in His temple, everyone says, glory. The Lord sat enthroned at the flood and the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to His people.
The Lord will bless His people with peace." Do you see? shift or the movement there from this God who is sovereign over all creation, this God who the psalmist commands those mighty ones to give unto Him glory and strength. He speaks of the Lord with just a small expression of His power and of His majesty can cause the cedars of Lebanon to stiff like a calf. And the movement goes from that mastery, that sovereignty, that majesty to this declaration of what the Lord does. Verse 11, the Lord will give strength to His people.
The Lord will bless His people with peace. It's an amazing reality, brethren, that the God, the Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the One by whom galaxies turn and the one by whom kings reign will give us attention, will give sinners attention, will come to sinners and will bless them with strength and will bless them with peace. We see also, if you can go back to Mark 5,
Christ's Authority Over All Opposition
we see also the authority and the power of Christ. We should see that quite clearly if we can skip past the first portion of Mark 5 and go to verse 6. Mark 5, verse 6, When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I implore you by God that you do not torment me. for he said to him, Come out of the man unclean spirit. Then he asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion, for we are many. Also he begged him earnestly that he would not send them out of the country." Now notice that activity, those characteristics of this demon-possessed man in contrast in contrast to verses 1-5, and his strength displayed, his violence displayed, and his damaging activity displayed.
This man comes to Jesus and the text says that this was what the man was marked by. He was dwelling in the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. Verse 3, he had his dwelling among the tombs. No one could bind him, not even with chains.
Because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, neither could anyone tame him. The activity of this demon-possessed man was such that he displayed great strength. This man, by virtue of the fact that he was possessed by a legion of demons, was such that he displayed immense power and immense strength. He was bound with shackles and chains, but they did not bind him for long.
The chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces. No one could tame him. And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ comes. And of course, the Lord Jesus Christ is not restricted.
The Lord Jesus Christ is not hindered. The Lord Jesus Christ sees no opponent in this particular man, but rather He comes with power and with great authority. And this demon-possessed man, previously shown as strong, is now weak and cowards before the Lord Jesus Christ. We see that here.
The language of verse 6, of course, isn't that this demon-possessed man in a saving relationship with the triune God of Scripture is worshiping the coming Christ, but rather out of fear, cowering before the One who has mastery over creation, the demon runs to Jesus Christ and worships Him. Again, the authority and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ displayed. And is this not the case in salvation? Is this not the case with regards to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ?
There is nothing that will get in the way of the Lord Jesus Christ in conquering the hearts of sinners who are to be saved by amazing and victorious grace. Nothing can keep Christ from His people. Nothing will stave off Christ to be able to come to His people to raise them up and to cause them to walk in everlasting life. Jesus Christ has great power and great authority over all and anything that would get in the way of His people.
And fourthly, regarding the Christ who finds man, the exclusivity of Christ.
The Exclusivity of Christ
The exclusivity of Christ. Jesus Christ here is the only remedy for this man. People had tried to do what they could in order to bind and to shackle and to chain this man, but none of it worked. People had tried to tame this man dwelling among the tombs, but nothing worked.
We read that in the text. Neither could anyone tame him. Verse 5, And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. There is nothing that men could do to bind and to tame this particular demoniac.
It was impossible. But Jesus Christ comes again by divine design upon the scene and He brings peace. In power and in great authority, He brings peace to this man. And we see in that the exclusivity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nothing else works for men. Nothing else works for sin, save for salvation by Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Men will try to find ways to tame the heart. Perhaps it's by legislation and the imposition of laws.
Now, those things are good. The imposition of law. We ought to have law. The law of the Lord is a good thing.
We delight in it. That law or the aspect of the law that serves as a restraint for evil, for wickedness in this world is a good thing, but we need to understand that the imposition of law might restrain men, but it does not free the heart from the bondage of sin. The imposition of law or legislation cannot change the heart. It takes a sovereign act of God in order to change the heart and cause that heart of stone to be removed. and a heart of flesh to be put back in its place.
So we need to understand here the exclusivity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just the way that men will try to think of ways to overcome the sinfulness in the world. I'm always marveled at a study that was done. I remember watching a video in a psychology class in college.
And the video was on It was on the depravity of man. They didn't use that language, but it was something like that. And there was a study done, I think it was in the 70s, and they brought a bunch of students into sort of a mock prison. I'm just remembering vaguely, but into a mock prison to try and study when people are given particular authority over others.
They had some of the students acting as prisoners, other students acting as the prison guards. And they were trying to figure out when people are put in positions of authority with the ability to inflict harm on others, what is the cause of that? What's the issue in people? Why are people brought to such a point where they delight in inflicting pain upon people?
They had people with a switch. being able to inflict electrical surges into the other students. It was just a really weird thing. But all this money, all these resources put into studying the psychology of depravity, when we have the answer in our Bibles, John chapter 3, the Lord Jesus Christ saying what the problem is. That men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
We don't need to spend money and resources. We need to read our Bibles and to see the simple picture of man in depravity, man in his nature as being dead in trespasses and sins and loving darkness rather than light. The exclusivity of Christ is seen in this picture where he comes to this man, this demoniac dwelling among the tombs. who is characterized by absolute madness. And he comes and he brings peace to this madman, this man inflicted with unclean spirits.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only way by which one can be saved. And we need to always assert that exclusivity of the Lord Jesus Christ. anything or does not do anyone any good. And people certainly do no service to Christianity when they entertain people's spiritual ambiguity regarding salvation.
Oh, as long as you express faith. Oh, as long as you go about the aspects and the characteristics of your own religion, then all will be well with you and God will accept you. That's a lie straight from the pit. We need to understand and we need to joyfully show people and bring to people the exclusivity of Acts 4 and verse 12.
That there is only one name under heaven given among men by which we can be saved. That being the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Condition He Finds Men In
Now, secondly, after the Christ who finds men, we have the condition that He finds them in. We read that already, but we'll just read it again briefly. The condition that Christ finds men in. Verse 3, speaking of this man who had an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, Neither could anyone tame him.
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones." It's a sad picture of an individual with regards to the straightforward narrative here. A very sad picture. And we see the malintent of the devil here in inflicting one of God's creatures made in his image and causing him to act with such madness, with such insanity. But as we look at this picture of this man, or as we look at the narrative with regards to this demoniac, we cannot and people, generally speaking, should not get carried away looking down their nose upon this man and saying, what a wretch of an individual.
Because a sinner untouched by grace, a sinner who does not know the Lord Jesus ought to look in a mirror, not of their own opinion, but a mirror fashioned by the Word of God, and they ought to see themselves standing before them as this demoniac living among the tombs. There is a wholesome use of various aspects of Holy Scripture in order to take that portion of Holy Scripture and to see ourselves or to see particular realities before us. And what I mean by that is, we would be remiss, for example, if we went to the Gospel account of Jesus calling Lazarus from out of the tomb. We would be remiss if we did not come to that and we did not see salvation by amazing and victorious grace alone, not by anything in man, his will nor his works.
Jesus comes to Lazarus dead in the tomb. After four days, his body is stinking and rotten. And by sovereign and effectual grace, he says, Lazarus, come out. Lazarus, as a response to being saved by amazing and victorious grace, or in that aspect, being raised by God's effectual power, he comes out of the tomb.
And it's a picture of God's amazing and victorious grace. We come to this passage of Holy Scripture and we can see Man, sinner, set before us in the picture of this demoniac. Man cannot be tamed. Or the sinner, untouched by grace, cannot be tamed.
Turn to James for a moment. The book of James. We'll get to it in a moment, but men always have a high estimation of themselves and they need the Bible to knock them down many rungs on the ladder. Even as professing Christians, we can think of ourselves higher than we ought to.
And we need to come to the pages of Holy Scripture that we might be laid low, that the Lord Christ might be lifted high. James 3, we'll pick up reading, You can pick up reading at verse 5 of chapter 3 regarding the tongue. James speaking about the tongue and its characteristic of being untamable. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature. And it is set on fire by hell.
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." Isn't that such an indictment upon mankind? All of the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the reptiles and the creatures of the sea are tamed and have been tamed by mankind. but man's tongue cannot be tamed.
And man's tongue is attached to a human individual. That man cannot be tamed. That sinner cannot be tamed. That sinner is just like this demoniac dwelling among the tombs who although many people have tried, who although many people have sought to bind him, shackle him and chain him, nevertheless, he always broke through those things and could not be tamed.
This is the sinner. We need to understand, and the Christian church at large needs to understand, sinners need to know that the picture that the Bible sets forth is right and their own self-estimation is wrong. People in the church today can often set forth, not often, they do often set forth man's malady or the picture of the sinner as just a man with a little bit of a cut on his arm and all he needs is a My Little Pony Band-Aid and all things will be well. The Bible sets forth the problem of man quite differently.
The Bible sets forth the problem of man like Paul sets forth in Romans 3. In Romans 3, we have, if I can use this language, a wonderful picture of mankind. A sad picture of mankind, really, when we compare it to what the world would like to think or what many within professing Christendom would like to set forth with regards to the nature of mankind. Romans 3 at verse 9.
The condition that Christ finds men in is this, What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside.
They have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have practiced deceit.
The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes. You see, man who thinks himself propped up or puffed up by a self-estimation, a high estimation that he is brought into this world as essentially good, maybe with a few faults here and there, needs to look into the mirror that the Bible grants him, that the Bible commands him to look into. That perfect law of liberty. He needs to look into that and he needs to see himself.
Not as the polished and clean individual, but as the dirty and the bloody demoniac living among the tombs who needs the sovereign Christ to intervene and to make him at peace. That Christ who is the only remedy. The condition that Christ finds man in is one that is beyond repair. One that is characterized by being without strength, without hope in the world, but there is one who does repair.
There is one who can repair. And that is the crucified and risen and exalted Christ. And just going back to the condescension of Christ. And maybe kids, this isn't just for you, but it seems to be that the younger generations can be carried off a little easier maybe than the older generations.
But you need to have a proper understanding of biblical condescension or wholesome, right and proper condescension. Very often the kind of condescension that people can glory in is when a rock star up on a stage takes off his sweaty shirt, throws it down into the crowd to giggling and screaming and crying girls and they think it's the best thing ever. You know what I'm talking about. We think it's an amazing thing when the people that we prop up on pedestals as stars and as models and as whatever in our lives, we can look at them and we can look at them as idols, as those that we just glory in, as those that we just marvel in.
And when they ever take steps to condescend and shake our hands, When they ever condescend to take steps and wink at us and smile at us, it's the most amazing thing in the world. This can even happen in the Christian church. People lining up for eight hours to get their book of so-and-so signed with an autograph. Oh, you're the best.
You're the most amazing. You're just fantastic. That cult of personality, that cult of amazing condescension that needs to be passed into the depths of the sea. Condescension that is to be marveled at, condescension that is to be gloried in, is the pre-incarnate Christ, who is the praise of angels, whom angels can't even look at but through covering of wings. that pre-incarnate Christ who comes in the fullness of time to give His life for vile and guilty sinners to rise again, to ascend into heaven, and to ever live, to intercede for those vile creatures whom He saved.
That is the condescension that we need to glory in. The condescension that we need to glory in is the Christ who upholds all things by the word of His power, who causes galaxies and stars to be fixed in place, who nevertheless has the time and compassion to save an individual's soul. That's the condescension that we need to glory in, and in no other condescension in God's good earth.
The Condition Christ Brings Them To
Thirdly, the condition that Christ brings them to. We look first off at the Christ who finds men. Secondly, the condition He finds them in. Thirdly now, the condition that He brings them to.
Notice the text. beginning at verse 14, "...so those who fed the swine fled. They told it in the city and in the country. They went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind." It's a wonderful picture.
First off, the straightforward narrative, of one who had been previously untamable. One who had been previously able, with this power, to break shackles and chains. Many men would have heard him. Many men, women, boys and girls would have heard him crying out and cutting himself with stones in the mountains while he was dwelling among the tombs.
And now they come and they lay their eyes upon this man and he is seated and he is clothed and he is in his right mind. And it's a wonderful picture again of the sinner, now the saint, saved by amazing and victorious grace. Because previously to being seated and clothed and in our right minds, we were not in our right minds. That was the condition that Christ found us in.
Not in our right minds. Living according to madness. That's what that wise man Solomon said in Ecclesiastes. Madness is in their hearts while they live and after that they go to the dead.
By virtue of the fact that this demoniac was in his right mind after Christ healed him, after Christ cast out the unclean spirits, We know that he was not in his right mind previously. Well, it is such the case as the sinner. The sinner untouched by grace. The sinner unmet by the living and true Christ is not in his right mind while he carries out his life in this lower world.
You think about just the fact or the rejection of creation. The rejection of the fact that God's created order speaks of His glory and speaks of His majesty. It is madness of mind to reject and to not recognize the Creator. One man once was interviewed, and I think I've shared this before.
I think I know I have shared this before. One man was interviewed with regards to the Human Genome Project. If anyone wants to know what that means, don't ask me. But basically, it was a study where doctors, scientists were going to the human genome to study it, to map it, to try and figure things out, how our body works, if you will, with regards to genetics.
And one man said that it was an act of intellectual suicide or intellectual ignorance to look at the human genome and not to say that there is a creator. Now, we need Scripture, of course. We need God's special revelation in order to come to a saving knowledge of Christ. We know that for certain.
We need God's revelation of salvation in Holy Scripture in order to have a saving relationship with Christ. But that same Bible tells us that God's general revelation, His creation, speaks of the fact that there is a Creator. Well, this one scientist, again, speaking to the intellectual suicide of individuals who can study the genome but then reject the living God, he said that they, in doing that, or rejecting creation, is excuse me, is like, or creation science, rather, he was saying, is like the elephant in the living room. You've probably heard that comparison before.
The elephant in the living room. Creation science is like that elephant. It's dwelling in the living room, it's taking up a lot of space, it's eating a lot of hay, it's stinking up the place and bumping into lamps and coffee tables, and yet the person dwelling with that elephant has to swear that he isn't there. That's the madness of mind.
That's the wrongness of mind that the unbeliever lives in. He rejects the elephant. The elephant's knocking things over, stinking the place up. That's creation.
And the person rejecting the Creator has to swear that that elephant isn't there. That's the madness of mind, again, that the sinner finds himself in, in rejecting the Creator who created him. And now though, Christ comes in power and in authority, in condescension and with great compassion. And this one previously in wrongness of mind, in wrongness of head, is now seated, clothed, and in His right mind.
Christ comes and He brings
Peace Through the Blood of the Cross
The announcement of Christ coming into this world, we have that reality set forth by the announcing angel, by the singing heavenly hosts, that Christ would bring peace. This is Luke 2, beginning at verse 13, And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, one in which or by which that same Christ would bring peace to mankind. And when we come to this passage and we read, an on earth peace, good will toward men, we must understand what that does not mean. That very often around a particular time of year, near December 25th, People will use that verse, and we could say the spiritually ambiguous might take that verse.
They might not be Christian, or loosely so. And they'll take that verse and just think, you know, people will just be getting along. The peace that this season brings is just one where everybody is singing, and everyone's happy, and there's giving and receiving, and things are just really nifty. That's not the sort of peace, and that's not the sort of goodwill that Christ brings.
You can almost picture that their idea of the peace that Christ brings is some man wearing a fedora and a raincoat, flipping a coin to a poor orphan boy, and that's the peace that Christ came to bring and the good will that Christ came to bring. No, the peace that Christ came to bring is the peace that we read of in two other places in Holy Scripture, but not limited to those two places. Romans 5, verse 1. This is the peace that Christ came to bring.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By Christ Jesus, we have obtained that reconciliation. That reconciliation that we could not obtain by any other means. That is the peace that Christ brings.
The peace that comes with justification. And the means by which that peace is obtained Colossians. The book of Colossians 1. There's a couple places in Holy Scripture speaking of peace.
Many more. But the means by which that peace is obtained. Colossians 1, beginning in verse 19, For it pleased the Father that in Him, in Christ, all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. That announcement of the angel in Luke 2 had in view the coming cross.
It had in view the coming events of Calvary where Christ Jesus, previously the pre-incarnate God who would come in the fullness of time to save sinners from their sins, that One who enjoyed the glory and the majesty, the singing of the praises of angels, would come into time, into history, and He would effect peace. born of a woman, born under the law, and then 30 years roughly later would die upon the cross of Calvary and affect peace for guilty sinners. You want to seek peace. If there's any sort of peace that you want to seek, peace with family is good. Peace with friends is good.
Peace, nationally speaking, is a good thing. But the peace ultimately that ought to be sought, the only peace, that ought to be sought after is that peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is something, boys and girls, if you are sitting here in the pews this evening, and you're sitting there maybe because you're forced by your parents for good reasons. You're brought to church because this is where Christ is proclaimed.
This is where Christ is preached and taught. This is where you'll be instructed in things that you ought to be instructed in. It is very good for you to obey Father and Mother and come to church. But if you're not in Christ Jesus, if you do not believe, the only peace that you will find is in Christ.
Peace feels good when mommy and daddy don't yell at you. That's a good thing because it's peaceful. But the peace that you ought to seek after, the peace that you need, the only peace that you will ever find to be true and ultimate is the peace that comes by the salvation that Christ affords. So believe in Him and you will have peace.
The Commission He Gives
Lastly, with regards to our passage, and then we'll close, Mark 5. We have, fourthly, the commission that He gives. The people that He finds. Those people that He found in a horrible condition.
Those people that He found in a horrible condition, but then brought to a peaceful one. He gives them a commission. And this is the commission. Mark 5 and verse 18.
And when He, speaking of Jesus, got into the boat, He who had been demon-possessed begged Him that He might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how He has had compassion on you. And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him and all marveled." You see the progression of the activity with regards to salvation of saint and sinner. of the saint and His Savior. The Savior comes.
He finds one of His lost sheep. He finds that lost sheep in a condition that is beyond all repair save for the remedy and repair that Christ Himself brings. He brings that one who was beyond all repair to a place of repair. He brings him peace.
He brings him everlasting salvation. And when He does so, He commands them to go therefore, or in your going, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And lo, I am with you even to the end of the age." Christ Jesus saves this individual and He tells him to go, therefore, to go out and to tell all those around, in his case, in the region of Decapolis, to speak to them concerning the compassion of the Lord and the fact that He saved him from such a place. And that is likewise our commission We are to go out to our Decapoli and to preach of the Christ who had great compassion on us. were to go out to our various places, to our friends, to our homes, to our families, and to proclaim the riches and the excellencies of Christ Jesus, our great Lord, who saved us from such a condition, who brought us to such a condition, and who is such an amazing Savior for sinners.
And
Application
I just want to close here briefly with just a couple points of application. Very brief, and then we'll close in prayer. First off, for the Christian, realize and appreciate the hole of the pit from which you were digged. language of Spurgeon. It is a good thing for us to dwell upon where we were, where we were saved from.
Spurgeon said something like this. He said, it is good for the sinner to often revisit the hole of the pit from which they were digged, the rock whence they were hewn, so that they might all the more proclaim the riches and the excellencies of Christ Jesus their Lord. It is a good exercise to consider that we were once like this demoniac living among the tombs. In fact, we were not only dwelling among tombs, but we were those who were dwelling in the tombs.
We were dead in our trespasses and in our sins. Very often, that aspect of our former selves is not highlighted enough. We were dead. We were just as good as Lazarus, dead in that tomb, rotten and stinking.
And by the sovereign words of our Lord Christ, we're brought to newness of life. It's good for us to dwell upon where we came from in order that we might glory in the place that we now are by virtue of the Christ who brought us there. Now, secondly, for the Christian, the mundane and the ordinary is a good thing. How do we get that from this text?
Well, the Lord Jesus Christ did not permit this man to come with Him on His earthly ministerial exploits. He said, go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you. Very often, Christian activity is defined by the mundane and by the regular. It's all too often the case that people, when they're saved by amazing and victorious grace, the shed blood, the Lord Jesus Christ, they want to go off and save the world in China or in North Korea or Sri Lanka or wherever.
Very often, almost always, it is the case that that is not their calling. And they ought not to rail against the fact that that is not their calling. It is a very honorable and a very righteous thing where you have been planted to speak of the riches and the excellencies of Christ Jesus the Lord and to glorify God in all that you do. And thirdly, tell people about Christ.
Tell people about Christ. That is the commission given to this former demoniac, no longer a demoniac, but rather seated, clothed, and in his right mind to go out and to speak concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought to pray daily that we would have that opportunity. Wherever God finds us, that we would preach the riches and the excellencies of Christ Jesus and tell sinners about such a Savior.
And now for the non-Christian, very briefly, see yourself as the Bible sees you. Do not prop up before you a mirror manufactured by the confusions of your own opinions, that you look sharp, you're fantastic, you're aces, nothing can go wrong, all is well with your soul. If you're not a Christian, nothing is well with your soul. You're like this demoniac.
You might not be going out and cutting yourself. You might not be crying out in the mountains and in the tombs. You might not be breaking chains and shackles and all that sort of thing. But you are untamable.
You're in such a place where you are dead in your trespasses and sins. You are in bondage to your Father the Devil. And you need to see yourself like that. You need to see yourself as the Bible sets you forth.
And it isn't to cast you down and to go through some sort of unbiblical routine of self-loathing. It is so that you might see yourself before the law of God and before His holiness. and that you might look upon the Saviour as the only Saviour for your souls. Please do that this evening. Right now, if you are not in Christ Jesus, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Know that you're a sinner. Know that there is a Saviour and that He saves you perfectly to the praise of His name. And that was actually my last point of application. Brethren, we ought to glory in, we ought to revel in this Christ who condescends, this Christ who gives attention to individual sinners.
And we ought to remember the place whence we were hewn, the place that Christ brought us to, and we ought to go therefore and tell others of the compassionate Christ, the saving Christ. And let that always be our prayer that we might have those opportunities where we can tell others of His riches and His excellencies. Well, let's pray.
Closing Prayer
Righteous and Holy Father, we thank You so much for the fact that we're able to consider Your Scriptures, that we can read from them, that we can read of our great Christ. We just praise You so much for our Jesus that we can call Him ours, that He had first called us His. And we just ask, Lord God, that You would help us daily to live in a manner worthy of our risen and exalted Christ We pray that we would have many opportunities to tell others of our Christ. We ask, Father, that You would put before us people and opportunities that we might sing and speak of His excellencies and His so great salvation.
We ask, Father, for those who do not know You, that even Lord God, as it is possible for You, that before they leave, before they depart these two doors, they would have closed with Christ. that they would be resting solely and alone upon the salvation that He affords by His shed blood at Calvary's tree and His resurrection three days later. We just ask, Father, that You would help us as Christians to depart from this place, to come into the upcoming week, and to live our lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in His name that we pray. Amen.