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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. 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. Notice first off, the Christ 
who finds men. We have here first off, if I 
can break this up into four pieces, 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 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, 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. 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. 
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. 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 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. 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 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. 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.