Mark 5: 1-20 in the ESV Bible says, “They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before Him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For He was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So He gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged Him that he might be with Him. And He did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”

Dear brothers and sisters, peace be to everyone. We continue with the lesson on the Truimphant Gospel. In the previous episode, I shared with you all on the person from Gerasenes. He was demon-possessed but not mentally ill. Demon possession and mental illness are entirely different situations. However, a person with mental illness is easily demon-possessed while a demon-possessed person easily contracts mental illness. We earnestly ask the heavenly Father to help us so that we, who believe in Jesus, will not be demon-possessed or mentally ill. On the contrary, we are victorious over the mental disturbances and demonic forces. We are more than conquerors.

How do we know that this person from Gerasenes was demon-possessed? In the previous episode, I mentioned that he had insurmountable strength and eyes that could see from afar. He also feared the name of Jesus. Today, we take a step further to see verses 10 to 13. It was written that “And he begged Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So He gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.” He feared the name of Jesus even more when Jesus wanted to drive these evil spirits out of him. The demon said to Jesus, “Jesus, if you are driving us out, let us enter the pigs.” As a result, Jesus permitted them. These demons came out and shifted to the pigs. Please take note of the phenomenon of ‘transference’. It was a sign of demon-possession. Dear brothers and sisters, mental illnesses cannot be transferred. For example, after pastor has uttered a prayer of blessing on a mentally ill person, he would recover. However, it is impossible for the person next to him to have mental illness because of transference. On the contrary, when you cast out the evil spirit from a demon-possessed person, it may possess another person or object. Therefore, we should not bring our child, cat or dog for exorcism as the evil spirit may possess their bodies. The children’s willpower is weak and their mental faculties are not fully developed so they are easy targets for demon possession.

Dear brothers and sisters, you must always remember that typically, people are not prone to demon possession as God has created them according to His image. We possess the image of God. Even though the image was broken after sin had crept in, humans basically are still worthy so the demons cannot easily possess them unless they expose themselves to demon possession or they want to make use of the demons and vice-versa (such as the medium). When a person has clarity in reasoning, strong willpower and stable emotions, the demon will not possess him even if he is not a Christian. Therefore, what kind of people are susceptible to demon possession? Those with diminished powers of reasoning, emotional breakdown and no willpower. We implore the heavenly Father to help us have clarity in thoughts, ability to differentiate the right from the wrong and take a stand. May God enable us to have stable emotions and not panic or lose control of ourselves over any matter. In the same way, may we have strong willpower to do what we should do and refrain from doing what we should not. Amen? As a result, the demons will have no power over our bodies.

How do we know that this guy from Gerasenes was demon possessed? We can see in the passage here, “And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs.” How many pigs fell down the steep bank? The Bible tells us there were 2000 of them. Jesus asked what was its name? It replied “My name is Legion.” What did Legion mean? It was an army division. In the Hellenistic times, an army division consisted of three thousand to five thousand people. In other words, this person was possessed by many demons. Thus, after they were cast out, they entered the pigs so the pigs lost control, fell down the steep bank and were drowned in the sea.

Fifthly, how do we know that the guy from Gerasenes was demon-possessed? It is said in verse 15, “And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.” What did this mean? It meant that this person was immediately well again. On the other hand, a mentally ill person recovers slowly – he needs counselling and medicine and there may be a relapse. I was once a pastor in a small place in Malaysia. A young person with schizophrenia once came to our church and he was a believer of Christ. He regularly took his medication so his illness was under control. Later, he realised that after becoming a Christian, his physical and mental well-being had improved. He asked me if he could stop medication. I told him, “No! You must still take it. If the doctor tells you to take a tablet, you take half a tablet but you can’t stop medication.” Many years later when I returned to this place, I asked about him. His mental condition relapsed as he did not take his medicine. A mentally ill person needs long term medication. Of course, if his condition has improved (as Jesus can heal him), he can reduce the dosage but not refrain from medication. If the mental illness symptoms occur, he needs to take medicine immediately to control his illness. Mental health improves gradually but a demon-possessed person will recover once the evil spirit is cast out.

I know Pastor Guo from Sitiawan in Malaysia. He told me that he had once driven out an evil spirit. A couple brought their daughter to see him. She had strange symptoms, that was, drinking lots of Milo every day. She would continually consume one to two tins of Milo each day. Brothers and sisters, such consumption could result in death! Her parents brought her to a lot of gods and those in temples to help her but she was not healed. Later, someone reminded them to see Pastor Guo so they did. Pastor Guo knew straightaway that she was demon-possessed after taking a look at her. He told them, “I need your child to stay at my place so that we can cast out the evil spirit.” Her parents agreed. Then, the pastor invited a group of church members who took turns to continually pray for this child. They kept on praying…till something amazing happened. A week later, the ‘Milo demon’ came out and she no longer drank Milo. It was unfathomable. Dear brothers and sisters, a demon-possessed person has strange symptoms but once the demon is cast out, he will be normal again. However, mental illness requires medication and the recuperation is gradual. Therefore, this guy from Gerasenes was demon-possessed as the Bible tells us that he immediately regained consciousness.

Who is Jesus? Why is he able to drive out demons?

According to what we have read earlier “He is God, Son of the Most High God”. He is the incarnated Jesus Christ and comes from the eternal God. He is the embodiment of God and has come to this world. Therefore, Jesus, who is God and the Most High Lord, possesses great authority. He commanded the demons and they listened to Him and obeyed Him. Today, let us trust in Jesus Christ and open our hearts to him, allowing Him to transform us.

Jesus values human lives above all things on earth. How do we respond to that?

How much do 2000 pigs cost? If you own them, are you willing to sacrifice them in order to save a human life? Which does Jesus see as valuable (a human life or 2000 pigs)? Why? Do you know how much a pig costs? Let’s say 2000 pigs worth 8000 Singapore Dollars. Are you willing to use this amount of money to salvage a person’s life? Through Jesus, we see His love for us. He is willing to sacrifice 2000 pigs to save this guy from Gerasenes. You may say that those 2000 pigs do not belong to Jesus. No. He is the Lord, creator of heaven and earth. All creatures belong to Him so He has the authority to use any of His created being. Therefore, we should also be willing to sacrifice for others even if it is a great sacrifice. We should follow the example of Jesus. More importantly, Jesus values you above all other things. Jesus loves you. Dear brothers, sisters and friends, you need to come back and put your trust in the Lord again.

After this person from Gerasenes had recovered, he pleaded with Jesus that he might be with Him but Jesus did not permit it. Why? Firstly, Jesus wanted him to go and share his wonderful testimony instead of being with Him. His motives could be that if he followed Jesus, the demon would not return to possess him again or he could see God’s miracles every day! Fabulous! However, Jesus did not want him to do that. Jesus wanted him to be a good witness for Him. If we want to show our gratitude and repay Jesus, let our lives be a wonderful testimony for Him.

The guy from Gerasenes did what Jesus wanted him to do. Later, the Bible scholars discovered that he continually shared the gospel during that period of time and led many people to Jesus. A lot of people believed in Jesus in that area and their lives were transformed. Today, since we have received the gospel of Jesus Christ, do we accept the challenge from Jesus? Are we willing to sacrifice for Him? Are we willing to be a good witness for the Lord so that our life testimonies are a blessing to our family, relatives, colleagues and classmates who have not believed in the Lord? Because of you, they can also receive God’s love? This is our great hope. It is also the commission that Jesus has given us, sending us out. Let us undertake this mission and spread the gospel so that people will know that God, who has created heaven and earth and all living creatures, is also the Lord who is triumphant over demons. He is Jesus whom we trust.

Let us pray together.

Most High God, omnipotent Father, we thank you that you have given us new life in Jesus Christ. Our sins are forgiven and we have victory over demons and sins. From today, we are no longer afraid of demons but rather, they are fearful of us. May you work through our lives to live out your love and continually reveal the beauty of your glory. In doing so, our relatives, friends and classmates especially our family will know you, receive your gospel and experience your great love because of us. This is our prayer. May the Lord hear us. In the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.