Speedlight Sermon

Hey pple! Today's sermon by WeiHao(?) was awesome so I'm here to share it with you. It's gonna be a longg one.

Mark 5:1-20 Account of Jesus' deliverance of the demon-possessed man

Many people feared and avoided the dp man because
1) He fulfilled all conditions for being mad.
- Apparently, there's this 5 Ways-You-Can-Tell-A-Person-Is-Mad list. I'm not really sure abt it.
2) He was supernaturally scary.
- Need I elaborate? Anyone who went ard day and night screaming and hitting himself with stones, with strength that even chains and shackles could not bind would scare the living daylights out of me. And he stayed among the tombs! WEIRDD.
Pause. I need to clarify here that he wasn't insane. In verse 7, the demon called Jesus 'Son of the Most High God' which reveals supernatural knowledge. The man was aware of both Jesus' human and Deity's name although it appears it was his 1st encounter with Christ. Cool hah. It shows he was possessed by demonic powers who knew the true identity of Christ.

Another thing i wondered too is why Jesus had to ask twice to get the spirits out (vs 8). The question "What is your name?" is addressed to only one unclean spirit (demon) while in contrast all of them speak in vs 12. The one demon was spokesman for the many that had possessed the man. Therefore, first time ard Jesus cldnt get just the one demon to leave, because there were still the rest. I guess?

First Qns: Why did Jesus cross the lake to this place?

Tired and wanted to withdraw from the crowds? Nope, Jesus was both man and God and knew what was happening/ going to happen. Evidence is when He told Peter that he will betray Him thrice before the cock wld crow and it did. Jesus left that huge crowd to save that one demon-possessed man. We'll see later the great consequences of His actions. =)
AQ: How do we as present day Christians react to people around us who needs help, but we are too caught up with the things of the world to stop and help/hear them out?

Second Qns: Why did the pple of the region become afraid and pleaded for Jesus to leave after they found that the demon possessed man had been delivered?

Afraid means 'phobia'. In counseling, the Theory of Stability [so physics!] states that everyone needs an amt of it in their lives, be it from good or bad avenues. When Jesus came and delivered the dp man, he changed everything the town pple knew. He rocked the stability of the town? Or was it the monetary loss? The large herd of pigs wld have cost them a lot. Perhaps it is because they cldnt deal with the power of Jesus? What supernatural power that chains and shackles cldnt bind, he had conquered. Then again it cld be a combination of all three factors.

There's this part that WeiHao said Jesus shld not only be our Saviour, but our Lord as well. To not choose to see some parts of Him only, but follow all of Him wholeheartedly.

Third Qns: Why did Jesus respond in this way to the man in vs 19, asking him to go back and tell of what Jesus had done for him?

In the last verse of Mark 5, we see that He didnt want pple to know of the miracle- that he'd revived the man's dead daughter. At that time too, Jesus didn't think the Apostles were ready yet. So why did He ask the man to tell his friends 'what wonderful things the Lord has done' for him? Did Jesus think the man was up to it?

What was so special abt this man?

1) The location was Decapolis (Ten Towns) where it was mainly Greeks, Gentiles. And the Gentiles without having any Bible knowledge will react most to these signs and wonders (similar to present day unbelievers). This man would be a living testimony for God (with his changed life that wld leave a great impact on the pple who knew him best) where it'd be much easier to evangelise unlike the Apostles who had to undertake the difficult task of erasing the ingrained Jewish teachings in their land.

2) Let's ask ourselves 'Why did this man react so differently to Jesus as compared to his own community? They wanted to chase Jesus away while he wanted to follow! The man had nth to lose so it was easy for him to give up whatever he had to follow Jesus. He had everything to gain. The town pple in contrast (and perhaps, us too) had things to lose. Also, he was the only one to have seen in Jesus not someone to fear, but to love.
AQ: What is our reaction to whatever happens in life? Do we take the viewpt of the ex-dp man or the town pple?

The results of the dp's testimony to Decapolis (undoubtedly stemming from Jesus' decision to cross the lake just to deliver him) were fantastically amazing. In Mark 7:31-37, when he went back to Decapolis, they brought all the sick pple for him to heal. Wow. This also foreshadows (Lit!) what God can do for us! :D

Phew! I'm done. If I've made any mistakes, left out anything, feel free to edit k. Seeya pple and take care! Have a blessed week!

-cheryl =)