The following year, Captain Chavasse was severely wounded whilst carrying a wounded soldier to the Dressing Station. Despite this, he refused to leave his post and for two days continued to perform his duties, in addition to repeatedly going out under heavy fire to search for and attend to the wounded who had fallen. During these searches, without food, worn by fatigue, faint from his wound, he assisted to carry in a number of badly wounded men, over heavy and difficult ground. He was awarded a Bar to the Victoria Cross for his devotion and gallantry despite his personal injuries. Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse subsequently died from his injuries.
Not only is this an example of denying oneself for the sake of others it also reminds us of how difficult it is to deny ourselves, but this is exactly what Jesus demands of us. Turn with me a few chapters ahead of tonight’s passage to 8:34-37.
This is clearly telling us we must deny ourselves for the sake of Jesus Christ. He must be the first and foremost in our lives. But, what does that mean? What is it we must give up? And, does this apply to everyone?
Tonight’s passage is a familiar one, but it is one where the focus is sometimes misplaced. It’s about the man who is possessed by demons and is subsequently cleansed by Jesus and sadly this is where many sermons stop. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is an important part of the message, but it is not the entire message and we must take into consideration everything that Mark has included here in order to grasp what Christ asks of us.
Before we look at the whole passage, let’s see what we already know about the man who confronts Jesus. What can you tell me from the passage? Who is this man?
‘man with evil spirit’ v2
‘lived among tombs’ v2
‘No-one could bind him’ v3
‘often chained hand and foot’ v4
‘often tore chains apart and broke the irons on his feet’ v4
‘no-one was strong enough to subdue him’ v4
Wandered the tombs and hills day and night v5
‘cry out and cut himself with stones’ v5
He knew who Jesus was v6-7
He was possessed by many demons v9
So, he lived among death, that is the tombs (v2), he was known by the villagers and they feared for their lives (v3-4), he had super-human strength (v4) and he suffered great internal pain, both mentally and physically (v5). This demon-possessed man was obviously someone of great power and strength and bowed to no man.
Yet in verse 6, we see him running and falling at the feet of Jesus as he steps off the boat. This was not in a mocking manner either, like the Romans did to Jesus whilst he was being flogged, but in a sincere worshipful manner. This demon-possessed man who bowed to no one, who refused to stay chained pleaded with Jesus in verse 10 and verse 12, again and again not to be sent out of the area. He implored Jesus, the Son of the Most High God to swear by God not to torture him (v7)
Jesus responded to this sudden confrontation by listening and allowed the demons to set the agenda for negotiations. Christ wanted to save the man, but agreed to the terms given by the demons, he allowed them to flee into the herd of pigs. Did Jesus know what would happen to the pigs after the demons possessed them? Did the demons?
From other areas of the Gospels, I tend to think that Jesus knew exactly what he was doing allowing the demons to flee into the pigs. The demons needed to be destroyed. They were evil, we get that from the detailed description of what they had done to the man from verses 3-5. Jesus sought to destroy their hold on the man as he came to destroy Satan’s hold on us. He knew the pigs would die and destroy the demons in the process.
In regards to the demons, did they know? Perhaps they did. Knowing who Jesus was and now accepting they had no choice but to leave the man, and knowing the power Jesus had over them, perhaps their final assault on the people was to kill their livelihood, their pigs. 2000 pigs (v13) would have been extremely important to the people of the area for food and economy, killing them would have caused further suffering to the ones who had often bound him with chains and irons. A lasting blow, if you will. Even if they did not know what would happen, the reaction from the pigs in v13 shows the demons had no intention of changing their ways, if, indeed, they had been given a choice. They sent the man crazy, they sent the pigs crazy.
Anyone notice the power and authority Jesus had over the demons? (v13) ‘He gave them permission’.
Now, if Mark had ended the story there, the readers would be cheering that Jesus had conquered the demons and cleansed the man and I said, that’s where many sermons stop but what about the people? 2000 pigs died that day. 2000 pigs amounts to a large amount of income. Apparently, the average cost of a fully grown pig can bring in up to £400, meaning this herd would cost in the region of £800 000 in today’s money. So we can imagine the income from this herd would have been large but, every single one was lost. What a cruel act by Jesus, killing all the pigs in one swift blow. I suppose, it’s like the stock market crashing in one night, bringing all financial transactions to a halt, where everything becomes worthless and every company going into administration due to financial strain.
This was a deep blow Jesus had done to the people in Gerasenes.
How did they respond in verse 17? They wanted rid of him.
This seems a little odd. Given everything we know about Jesus, to respond like this seems bizarre. However, it is clear the people responded like this because to them, Jesus was asking too much of them. Which begs the question, what was he asking?
Take a quick look back at 4:38-41, Jesus and the storm.
The disciples, Christ’s chosen 12, feared for their lives whilst Jesus slept on a cushion knowing full well what was happening. They pleaded with him to save them. He did do. In so doing, he focused their attention upon him. V41 ‘Who is this?’ Their faith took them on a path of life.
In our story tonight, the demons did not need to focus on Christ, they already knew who he was (5:7). Jesus was not intending on saving the demons, they had already chosen their path and the very act of making the pigs crazy proved they would not change their evil ways. Their chosen path took them to death.
The act of saving the possessed man forced the man to focus upon Christ (v18). He chose Jesus and lived.
Therefore, Jesus chose to send the demons into the pigs to make the people of the region dependent. This very act forced the people to focus on him. Jesus was saying, ‘your pigs are gone, but I am here, rely on me completely and you will live!’ Verse 15, they saw what he had done and were afraid and then when they heard about their pigs, in verse 17 they pleaded for Jesus to leave them – they rejected him. They could not handle what he was offering and what it meant for them.
In each case, and indeed throughout Mark’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly points people toward himself. His own message is Christ-centred. His purpose is for us to have faith in him. He wants us to deny ourselves and rely completely on him. He wants us to make a choice. He may let us think we are setting the agenda in negotiating with him, making the choice on our terms, like he did with Legion, but, ultimately, there are only two choices.
1: Deny yourself and follow Christ completely. Christ must be the first and foremost in your life. Your faith must be completely in him. Like the man who was cleansed, Christ will restore your life from the horrible and filthy sin eating away at your soul. He will rescue you from the pain, the anguish, the crying out and the hurting. Give your life, do not fear death, though it is inevitable, do not fear it – Christ has power over death – we are lucky, we live knowing that Christ has already defeated death on the cross. If you give up your selfish desires, your dreams to make your life better, turn your driving force in life toward him and trust 100% in him, your life will be made whole, like the demon-possessed man.
2: Deny Christ and make our own choices in life. Legion was already doomed, being demons, they needed to be destroyed and they had already made their choice. But the people of the surrounding region, had not made a choice yet. Jesus took everything away from them and forced them to make that choice. He let them feel the pain the man felt whilst possessed. He made them feel dependent, he took the very thing that gave them security and forced them to focus on him and make a choice. Either follow him and have life or live by their own means and taste death. It’s Christ or nothing! It is that simple. No other figure is able to do what Christ did for us. No one else is able to save us from our death-directed sin. No one else can take our sin and turn us into the clean, sane person the man became in our passage. Only Jesus. If we reject him, we reject life. If we reject Jesus, we reject the sanity, the rescue, the forgiveness, the atonement, the opportunity to have our debt expunged completely, in essence, we are saying that Jesus is not worth it, he is not capable of saving us, only we are. We are saying he is a deceitful liar, a conman. If we deny him, if we reject him, we are saying we are better than he is, better than the Son of the Most High God (v7), not even the demons think like that!!!
If we want rid of Jesus, he will leave us to our own devices. He will not force us to follow him. He did not force the people to choose him, but left them (v18). If we choose ourselves, our selfish ambitions, our greed, our self-glorified abilities over him, he will leave us, as painful as it is for him, he will leave us. And we will taste death.
If, however, we deny ourselves. We ignore what others think, ignore our own pain and suffering, like Captain Chavasse in WWI and focus entirely on Christ we will want to go with him. His response is found in v19 “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you’. We won’t be bothered about our own lives, what provisions we will need or what others will say.
Of course, this needs to be truthful, faithful and thorough, not half-hearted, not when you feel like it, not just when things are going well for us, but completely, 100%, every day, every hour, every minute and every second. We must deny ourselves for the sake of Christ, because that is what he did for us – gave his all, denied his life, for us to have life.
And in case you are thinking, this call to complete faith doesn’t apply to you, this story does not involve the disciples:
V2 – When Jesus got out of the boat … to meet him
V6 – When he saw Jesus from a distance … in front of him
V7 – “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
V10 – And he begged Jesus …
V12 – The demons begged Jesus …
V13 – He gave them permission …
V15 – When they came to Jesus …
V17 – Then the people began to plead with Jesus …
These people are not even Jews, they are Gentiles, like you and me. Jesus is saying this message to each and every one of us. We must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and not let the worries of this world, our jobs, our finances, our children’s futures, the next big thing, good clothes, food on the table, ill health get in the way of Christ. Rely on Christ and he will bring you into life eternal.
John Calvin wrote, in his book: Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke:
“Though we are not tortured by the devil, yet he holds us as his slaves, till the Son of God delivers us from his tyranny. Naked, torn and disfigured, we wander about, till he restores us to soundness of mind.”
Many of us save for a rainy day, prepare things for the future, keep that thing in case we need it again. We like to feel secure by whatever means. The fact of the issue is, you may not ever experience that demon-exorcism moment or some Road to Damascus moment, that spectacular moment in life where Christ presents himself to you. In today’s financial climate, you are more likely to experience losing everything, having your safety net removed from beneath you, your security demolished and yes, unless you have accepted Christ today, you may find yourself at a crossroads with Christ saying, ‘Rely on me completely!’
Either way, why should we procrastinate. Why wait until that moment of despair when everything we hold dear is taken from us? Why wait for that spectacular moment that may never happen in our lifetime? Christ is offering himself now. He wants you to rely completely on him, deny everything else, including yourself and his promise of complete forgiveness and atonement will be yours.
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