Mark 5:1-20 is the second of four miracles that display Jesus’ power as God in flesh. At the end of chapter 4, Jesus calmed a storm by rebuking it. Creation bowed to its master as the wind and waves obeyed. The creator is sovereign over His creation. Mark 5:1-20 shows us that Jesus also holds power over the spiritual realm, the armies of Satan, and the kingdom of darkness. When Jesus arrives at the opposite shore of the Sea of Galilee, a man enslaved by unclean spirits meets Him. Mark provides significant detail regarding this man’s hopeless and tormented condition (v. 1-5). As the narrative progresses, we learn that a legion of unclean spirits inhabits him. But even thousands of demons cannot withstand His authority. Jesus triumphs over the host of enemy powers with the same authority and word that stilled the storm. Jesus has come to set the captive free. This man’s circumstances are extreme, but they are not the only picture of someone enslaved to Satan’s kingdom. Without Christ, all of Adam’s descendants are held under Satan’s power (1 John 5:19; Eph. 2:1-2; Col. 1:13-14). If Jesus can conquer the army garrisoned within this man, He can free any captive and save any soul enslaved by sin. There are several twists in this narrative involving suicidal pigs and a howling graveyard dweller, but as we have seen before, Jesus is the "Son of the Most High God" (Mark 5:7) and possesses the power to bring the kingdom of God into the darkness. Mark ends this passage by displaying how the townspeople and the recently delivered man respond to Jesus. One is commissioned, while the others beg Jesus to leave.
I. The Plight Of The Enemy’s Slave (v. 1-5)
II. The Power Of The Sovereign Son (v. 6-13)
III. The Responses To This Lord & King (v. 14-20)
In Christ,
Jason Velotta
worship-connect-serve