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In his letter to the church at Ephesus Paul writes:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions
and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this
world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now
at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them
at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following
its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of
wrath. (Eph.2:1-3)
The Walking Dead
This story in Mark 5 is a good description of someone "dead in their transgressions and sins". This man had made his home among the dead, in the tombs (caves), a common practice amongst some of the very poorest of that day. When we think, as Paul urges us, to consider what we were (or if unconverted what we are) this may be a helpful picture. The unsaved are dead to the things of God and inhabit a world populated by the dead, just as this man was dead to civilised society around him and living in a community of the dead.
We are told that many attempts had been made to bind him, perhaps in
an attempt to still him and bring him to his senses. But not even chains
could bind him, for he had often been chained
hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons
on his feet. He must have had enormous strength, even supernatural strength,
which should come as no surprise since he is described as a
man with an evil spirit. What strikes me, however, is that no
matter how strong he was it must have hurt when he tore his chains.
I picture a man doing himself untold harm in order to break free of
them. Again, this is no surprise since we are told he was prone to self-abuse:
Night and day among the tombs and in the hills
he would cry out and cut himself with stones. In our sins we
often work against our own best interests and bring harm on ourselves
thinking we are serving our own best interests.
When he had broken his chains he must have been exultant, thinking himself free. Yet without those physical chains he was as bound as he was before, still harming himself, still in torment among the tombs and hills. This was a false freedom, much like the freedom we think we have when we speak about doing things our way, making our own choices, using our "free agency". But his chains, spiritual and temporal, were already an established fact, just as are our own chains if we are living our lives for ourselves instead of for Christ. The freedom we have outside of Christ is a false freedom. It may be apparently moral, religious and upright but we are still bound.
Authority and Power
It is interesting that the man came to meet Jesus. You would have expected him to stay well away wouldn't you? There is something about Jesus that provokes the most extreme reactions. In Matthew's account there are two men and when Jesus appears they cry out:
"What do you want with us, Son of God…have you
come here to torture us before our appointed time?" (Matt.8:29)
In his letter James writes about faith and contrasts idle faith with
active faith. He challenges us, You believe
that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.
(Ja.2:19)
The reaction of this man is the reaction of demons that "believe" - and shudder. There can be no doubt that Jesus spoke with authority, to judge - they recognised an "appointed time" for judgement and punishment. There can be no doubt, also, that Jesus spoke with power - in Luke's account of the same story the demons begged Jesus not to throw them into the Abyss (Rev.9:1) but they knew when he spoke they had to obey. Jesus has both authority and power and perhaps that is why he holds a morbid fascination for those who are violently opposed to him, while he brings a comfort and confidence to those who know and trust him. We all look at him but while some see their Saviour others see their nemesis.
In his Right Mind
In his letter to the church in Rome Paul wrote of God's attitude towards those who denied him:
Furthermore, since they did not think it worth
while to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved
mind, to do what ought not to be done. (Ro.1:28)
Later in the same letter he wrote:
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Ro.12:2)
In our story from Mark's gospel we find the difference between these
two states of being is clearly illustrated. Before Jesus came along
the demon possessed man was given over to a depraved mind, dangerous
to others as well as himself and unable to discern the difference between
chains and true freedom. After Jesus came along his neighbours saw
the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there,
dressed and in his right mind. Like this man, the person who
has been freed from their transgressions and sins is in their right
mind. May we conduct ourselves this week as people in our right minds
and may we clearly show the mind of Christ in our thoughts, words and
actions.
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