Eternal God: send us your Holy Spirit so that we may receive your preached Word and believe it. Glorify your Word in our hearts and comfort us by it to eternal life — for the sake of Jesus, your Son. Amen.
Introduction
Like a play at the theatre, our text today consists of three acts. In Act 1 we hear about a man tormented by impure spirits, and how Jesus releases him from his bondage. In Act 2 we hear how the nearby townspeople respond. In Act 3 we hear how the man responds.
Let’s take a look at each act in turn.
Act 1. The condition of the man and the exorcism
When we’re not well we go to the doctor for a diagnosis. Doctors typically have a checklist which they (mentally) tick off.
For example, try to guess these conditions from their symptoms:
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea
- Cold sweats
- Discomfort or pain in your chest
- Discomfort in your arm(s), shoulder(s), neck, jaw or back
- Diagnosis: heart attack
Another example:
- Fatigue
- Stomach cramps
- Nausea with or without vomiting
- Headaches
- Mood swings
- Food aversions or cravings
- Swollen abdomen
- Diagnosis: pregnancy
Jewish writings, originating from shortly after Jesus’ time, list four symptoms for madness:
- Spends time in a grave
- Tears clothing
- Walks around at night
- Destroys anything given to them
- Diagnosis: madness or insanity
The man who encounters Jesus on the side of the lake has all four of these symptoms.
2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. (Mark 5:2–5)
Later in verse 15 we hear the man is “sitting there, dressed” (Mark 5:15), implying that previously he hadn’t been properly dressed, but had torn clothing.
Mark is saying this is a textbook case — the diagnosis is madness. This man is possessed by impure spirits that have driven him insane. He has exchanged life among the living, for torment among the dead in the tombs. He has been cast out of the town, abandoned, even locked in chains by his former brothers and sisters.
Mark emphasises the severity of the man’s condition to emphasise what happens next.
Jesus steps out of the boat, and immediately his very presence affects this man. He comes running to Jesus, falling down on his knees. “Whadda ya want with me?” the man asks. “Please don’t torture me!”
What irony! It’s alright for the impure spirits to torment the man, but they beg Jesus not to torment them. Talk about double standards!
Yet through this story we’re allowed a glimpse at Jesus’ power. By his power the legion of impure spirits are sent packing. They’re outwitted and sent into the herd of pigs to hurdle over the cliff and drown in the lake, banished to the deep chaotic waters of the abyss.
Jesus is strong enough to subdue these impure spirits. Jesus is the “Stronger One” that John the Baptiser has foretold (Mark 1:7), the one who can tie up the “strong man” (Mark 3:27). And by his power Jesus changes people. Jesus embraces those who have been cast aside. Jesus sets free the trapped and imprisoned. Jesus brings people back from the brink of death.
Jesus not only does all this for this tormented man, but he does this for you, today. Through his death and resurrection Jesus changes you. Jesus embraces you, who was once cast aside. Jesus sets you free from your prison. Jesus brings you back from the brink of death.
We just confessed this truth using words from the Small Catechism:
Jesus rescued me when I was lost and sentenced to death.
He set me free from all my sins, from death,
and from the power of the devil.
It cost him more than gold or silver; it cost him his life.
Even though he was holy and innocent,
he suffered and died for me.
(Small Catechism, Explanation to the Second Article)
Act 2. The reaction of the townspeople
We might expect that having shown “the LORD’s great love” (Psalm 89:1) the townspeople would be pleased to welcome Jesus into their community.
However, their reaction is the total opposite.
14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. … 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. (Mark 5:14,17)
The townspeople arrive, hear and see what Jesus has done, but are afraid of his power. Jesus is powerful, and they want him gone!
What if Jesus comes and changes our way of life? What if Jesus sends the rest of our livestock into the lake? What if Jesus changes us?
The apparent interest of the townspeople is not the deliverance of the man, but further loss of livestock. The locals are apparently more concerned for their way of life (herding pigs) than for life (of this man) or the Lord of Life himself (Jesus).
This story confronts us with our own priorities. Are we more interested in “business as usual” (our own pigs) than we are in the power of God? Are we afraid of what changes Jesus might bring to our disordered lives and the lives of those around us? Do we celebrate God’s power to liberate, or do we cower in fear before it, because God might ask us to change?
Act 3. The reaction of the man
The released man rushes up to the boat as Jesus is leaving and begs to go with him. He wants to answer Jesus’ call, “Come, follow me.”
Yet Jesus has different plans. See the Jesus who delivers is also the Jesus who sends.
So the formerly insane, tormented man is sent to proclaim the power and mercy of God to the very people who had tried to chain him, those who had left him alone and howling in the tombs. Where does Jesus send this man? He sends him back home.
Jesus said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19)
Sometimes we can have this distorted picture of missionary work. We wrongly think that missionary work is only done overseas, or in exotic locations. Yet the old saying “charity begins at home,” is true for mission too — “mission begins at home.”
In fact we are all missionaries. And Jesus sends us home. Jesus releases us and sends us back to the ordinary. We are sent to the people we live with every day. And to us Jesus says, “Go home to your friends and family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.”
This is where we do our kingdom work — at home. Writing about “your kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer Martin Luther says, “the kingdom of God comes of itself, without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may also come to us” (Small Catechism, Explanation to the Second Petition). We pray that the power and kingdom of God may come to us, where we are, in our homes, as we go about our daily lives.
So as you are sent home this week, remember how much the Lord has done for you. Remember what mercy he has shown you. As you return to the ordinary, to the dirty dishes, the paddocks, the ironing, and grease and grime, tell your own friends and family what the Lord has done. And may God’s kingdom come to you and your family at home. Amen.
