in Matthew chapter 8. The same
story is told in Mark and Luke, and you may be familiar with
that. And only one of these two men is singled out and spoken
of in those two books in Mark and Luke. There are accounts
of this same story. You've heard, I'm sure, of the
madman of Gadara, or the man who was possessed with devils.
Well, there's two men mentioned here, and apparently the one
um, was more outwardly noticeable in his, in his possession. He was the one that was cutting
himself and was so fierce that none dared go near him and was
possessed with a legion of devils. And most likely he was the only
one who spoke to the Lord. And so he was singled out by
Mark and Luke, but Mark and Luke don't say that there was only
one, so there's no contradiction here, of course. Now remember
from the previous text in Matthew chapter 8, our Lord was thronged
with the multitudes, but he chose to leave them. He chose to go
somewhere else, away from the huge crowd of people that thronged
him. He demanded to go to the other
side of this body of water, in a ship, to another place, away
from the multitudes. And when he gave commandment
to go on to the other side, nobody else knew it. But he was going
to meet these two men. He had an appointment with them.
And nobody knew that but him. until he kept that appointment.
He left where he was, where there was a great multitude, and came
where two madmen were. And we can't pass over this text
or any like it without thanking God for his sovereign, distinguishing
mercy and for coming where we were. when we had no thought whatsoever
of coming to him. What hope had these two? If the foolishness that passes
for a gospel in the mainstream religion of this world is true,
what hope had these two? If our Lord is like the religious
masses claim that he is, and he's trying to save as many as
he can randomly, then surely he would have stayed with the
multitude, and these two would have been forgotten. And if he had stayed where the
crowd was, what hope in this world had these two wretches
that everybody else in the world only wanted to avoid? If you don't see yourself there,
then you just don't see yourself. And let me ask you this, if the
religious mainstream is correct and God is doing his best to
save everyone, but he's waiting on me to make the first move,
then what hope do I have? Because you see, I'm like these
insane madmen possessed with devils. If I'm dead in trespasses
and sins, how can I take the first step? How can I make a decision for
Jesus when I'm full of the devil and utterly insane and have no
ability to think a thought that is not altogether evil and selfish? What hope is there for me? I'll
tell you who my hope is. It's this one who comes where
the vilest and wildest and most hopeless of sinners is and has
mercy upon them by his almighty power and grace. And think of
this concern in our church. Thank God that the Lord Jesus
decided to come here to this country. He commanded to go to
the other side and he came into the country of the Gadarenes,
it's said here it's called the Gergesenes. These two cities
were nigh unto one another and were kind of synonymous in that
area. And that's why the different
language there. But thank God he decided to come to this country. He went once to the country of
the Gergesenes and he came one day to the country of the Middle
Tennesseans. And I'll tell you this, where
He is, the blessing of God is. Where He is, the favor of God.
Where He is, the gospel is. Where He is, salvation is. And
don't let's take this great privilege for granted, for there's so many
places concerning which He has commanded, let's go to the other
side. So many places around this country and around this world
where darkness prevails. He shines his light in the most
unlikely places and upon the most unlikely wretched devils. And remember, I have to remind
you again of the context thus far in the book of Matthew. It's
essential to an understanding of what our Lord is doing here,
what he's teaching. In his Sermon on the Mount, he tells what a
believer, a child of God, is. and how a sinner is to come to
himself for salvation. Then he shows our need as sinners
in the cleansing of the leper and how that need is met by his
mighty power to cleanse us from all of our sins by his precious
blood. Then a centurion with a beloved
servant seeks mercy from the master. teaching us to intercede
with Him for our loved ones, to present their case before
His throne and to sue for mercy. And this centurion acknowledges
the supreme sovereignty of the Savior. He said, I'm not worthy
that you should come to my house. Just say the word and my servant
will be healed. That's all you have to do. He acknowledged the sovereignty
and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to save whom he will.
And our Lord identifies this as true and remarkable faith,
faith from God that bows to the sovereign savior and seeks his
sovereign mercy. And then our Lord touches the
hand of Peter's mother-in-law so that she's able to minister
to himself and to his people showing how our sin renders us
unable to serve or do anything for God, to do anything good.
But by his saving touch, he shows that I can do all things through
Christ, which strengthens me. And then leaving the multitude
and going across the lake in a ship, a great storm is raised
up. Christ here shows us the urgency
of our sinful case. The storm of God's wrath rages
and there's nothing we can do in the face of it. He shows his great power and
peace, the peace that he wrought by the blood of his cross when
he spoke to the very winds and the waves and said, peace, be
still. Only the Lord Jesus can cause the storm of God's judgment
to be satisfied and to cease. And now they get where they're
going in that little ship, Christ having calmed the storm, and
they're met by two possessed with devil. You see how our Lord, time and
time again, in various diverse and sundry ways, is teaching
us concerning His sovereign mercy and grace in saving sinners.
This world exists because God has a people, an elect people,
that He's purposed to save, and He came to this world to save
them, and He did so. by His righteous representation
and by His sin-atoning death. They come to these possessed
with devils and all of these events, these events are describing
the same problem and telling the same great gospel of Christ
and His redeeming power. These events are describing the
problem in different ways that identify it and show us the urgency
of it the all-inclusiveness of it, the hopelessness of our case,
the desperation of our case. And here we see sin not only
as a disease of leprosy which taints our very blood and ruins
all of our members, making us stinking and vile in the sight
of the Holy God. It's not only a paralyzing infirmity
like that which plagued the centurion's servant that rages in us and
makes us incapable of obedience. or service to God. And it's not
only an urgent violent storm. God's judgment is pictured in
the storm throughout the scripture. It's a violent storm that pictures
the very judgment of God that rages against us. And how that
as we are in our natural state, we're unable to weather it. Unable
to reach the desired haven without a miracle of his mercy. And this
storm can only result in our ultimate shipwreck and destruction. But our sin is this also. It
is a satanic influence that controls us, making us utterly insane,
mentally insane, in so much that we think the unthinkable, say
the unmentionable, and do the unimaginable. Like this man. These two. We're given more detail
in Mark and Luke, and we'll read Mark's account in a moment. The
one mentioned there displays the effects that I've described,
the effects of our sin in a physical way. But understand that it's
a spiritual problem that we have before God. And that's taught
so clearly in the text also. When he spoke, when this man
spoke, He did so with the very voice of devils. And what he did was self-destructive
and disgusting. And that's our situation in our
natural sinful condition before God. If we had any idea of what
we are, if we had the slightest idea, picture this terrible wretch
Possessed by demons and when he opens his mouth, it's the
voice of devils that comes out of it. Picture how he looks with
old scars from cutting himself and fresh ones that are bleeding
and infected. See him wandering through the
tombs and crying out and cutting himself even now. and so frightful
that no one would dare go by. And when someone, well, let's
read about it in Mark. But let me say this again before
we do. We have no idea what we are, and if we did, it would
scare us to death. We'd do nothing else but cry for mercy. We'd
never do anything but cry for mercy if we knew what we were
before God. And I very sincerely believe this. I know this is
right, that God deliberately and graciously dulls our sense
of what we are. so that we're able to not be
utterly overwhelmed and are able to function in this life in a
way that's honoring unto Him. He gives us enough of an understanding
to cause us to seek Him, to depend on Him, to honor Him, and to
thank Him. He knows how much revelation
to give and how much we can bear. Paul got a glimpse of what he
was before God, and he cried, Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? And he answered his own cry,
I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord. The text there says that these
two men were possessed with devils. It means literally to be under
the power of devils. Well, what are you teaching,
Chris? Do you mean to say that those who do not know and love
the Lord Jesus Christ, who are not believers in Christ, who
are not recipients of his grace or demon possessed, that's exactly
what I'm saying to you. You are under the power of the
devil and his servants. Turn to 1st Timothy 2.24. Let's
look at that before we look at Mark 5. 1st Timothy 2.24. I want you to understand, first
of all, that who we're reading about in Mark chapter 5 is you.
It's not some miserable wretch, you know, that you feel sorry
for and somebody that lived a long time.
We're reading about you and me. First Timothy 2.24, Paul is teaching
Timothy concerning the ministry of the gospel. He says, the servant
of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt
to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose
themselves. This madman was killing himself. He was cutting himself. and living
among the tombs, and sought no medical help or help of any kind.
He was opposing himself. If God, peradventure and meekness
instruct them, that's what sinners need. They need to be taught
the truth of God in Christ, to know Him as salvation. This is
life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God.
And He gives that knowledge by the preaching of the Gospel,
by instruction in righteousness, the Gospel of Christ. Instructing those that impose
themselves, if God peradventure, he doesn't have to. He has mercy
on whom he will. He doesn't have to, but he might.
He gonna have mercy on somebody, I know that. If God peradventure will give
them repentance, that's what's gotta happen. It ain't about
them doing something for God, it's about God doing something
for them. That's what salvation is. God, peradventure, will give
them repentance. And when he does, they'll acknowledge
the truth. They'll quit arguing and debating and rebelling against
the truth. And they'll say, that's the truth
of God. Amazing grace, how sweet the
sound. That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I was blind. Now I see that's God's
truth. God, give me repentance and I
acknowledge his truth. And when that happens, here's
what's happening to that. They may recover themselves out
of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him. What does possession mean? It
means to be under the power of. At his will. Snared, captured,
and ruled by Satan's will. And if you suggest to somebody
like that, that they don't have a free will, you might get a
glimpse of that satanic spirit that's in them. You would have if you'd have
told me that before I acknowledged his truth,
by his grace, by his gift of repentance and faith. And understand
this now, we're not unwitting victims of Satan. This is what
we chose. This is what we chose. This is
what we want. Bless God, our savior chose to
come where we were and have mercy on us, to save us by his power,
to cast the devils out of us. and to give us a new heart, a
new spirit, a right spirit will I create within you, will I put
in you. He cast the devils out and brings
us to himself and what a change. Turn to Mark 5, let's look at
this account of it. In Mark chapter 5, we read Matthew,
the end of chapter 8 of Matthew. Look at Mark 5, verse 1. And
they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country
of the Gadarenes. It's the same country, Gergesenes
and the Gadarenes is right there together, two cities together.
And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him
out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. Notice the description here.
It just says in Matthew that they were possessed, they're
under the power of the devil. Here, what a description of our
nature. Our spirit is unclean, vile in
the sight of God, unacceptable. Who had his dwelling among the
tombs, a man with an unclean spirit, and who had his dwelling
among the tombs, and no man could bind him, no, not with chains,
because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains,
and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters
broken in pieces, neither could any man tame him. And always,
night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying
and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus, afar off
he ran and worshiped him. And cried with a loud voice and
said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of the
Most High God? I adjure thee by God that thou
torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out
of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy
name? And he answered, saying, My name
is Legion, for we are many. And he besought him much that
he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was
nine to the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all
the devils besought him saying, send us into the swine that we
may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them
leave. And the unclean spirits went
out and entered into the swine. And the herd ran violently down
a steep place into the sea. They were about 2,000 and were
choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled
and told it in the city. and in the country and they went
out to see what it was that was done and they come to Jesus and
see him that was possessed with the devil and had the legion
sitting and clothed and in his right mind and they were afraid
and they began and they saw they that saw it told them how it
befell to him that was possessed with the devil and also concerning
the swine. And they began to pray him to
depart out of their coasts. And when he was coming to the
ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that
he might be with him. Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not,
but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things
the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
We could do that from now on and not run out of things to
say. And he departed and began to
publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him. And all men did marvel. There's
so much teaching here. I've heard this passage preached
on several times. It's something new. Each time
it would take several messages to cover verse by verse, but
I just want to look particularly at this man and what the Lord
did for him. Notice the difference, first
of all, in the man's thinking. He chose before the tombs to live among the dead. That
was his will, to live among the dead. But now, in verse 18, after
he met the Lord Jesus Christ, after the Lord came to the country
where he was, In verse 18, it says that he that had been possessed
with the devil, prayed him that he might be with him. That's
a difference, isn't it? By nature, we're dead ourselves. That's why we like dead. We like
death, spiritual death. We surround ourselves with the
spiritually dead and rejoice. in our own decay and corruption
and in theirs. But when the Lord Jesus comes
where we are, we just want to be with him. Notice the difference in his
words. His words before were the very language of devils.
When he opened his mouth, it was the devils that spoke. And that's us by nature. When Peter, even as a believer,
I'm pretty sure, said something to the Lord once. The Lord said,
get thee behind me, Satan. Our nature is unclean. But notice his words now in chapter
5, verse 20 of Mark. He's publishing the glories of
Christ. He's going around telling everybody,
look what Christ did for me. What a change. His actions before
were threatening. No man dared pass by that way.
Frightening and self-destructive. But now, they're Christ-honoring
and right-minded. There's a reason for the change.
Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Therefore, if any man
be in Christ, he's a new creature. He's a new creation. Old things
are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. Notice that it said in Mark 5
in verse 3 that no man could bind him. No man could bind him. This is beyond the ability of
man. Our problem can't be fixed by
man. Paul said, my gospel is not after
man. It wasn't given me by man. It
doesn't concern man. It's God's gospel and it's God's
salvation. This is beyond religion tries
to put the bindings of legal morality on a madman. And he may appear for a while
to look sane. It may limit his evil showing
itself on the outside for a while, but he going to bust out of that
sooner or later. Man cannot even keep the outward behavior under
control. Much less can he affect the mind
and the heart, like our Lord. Even if you manage for a while
to chain up a madman, a religious madman, and make him religious,
outwardly moral, and this is attempted by religion, by binding,
that is, putting a man into bondage, legal bondage, by threatening
hell and promising rewards. And that's the only method that
religion has at its disposal. But even if you threaten and
promise and bind a sinner outwardly with religious moral bondage,
you still just have a madman in chains. Christ doesn't do
anything to restrict this man's movements. He didn't say, stop cutting yourself,
stop crying out like that. He didn't do anything with regard
to the outward. He just simply gives him a right
mind. And that changes his thoughts,
his words, and his actions. That's what happens spiritually
when he saves a sinner. It's not just a moral changing
of the outward, the symptoms of the problem. You see the cutting,
the crying out, the threatening and the satanic talk, those are
just symptoms. And all religion can do is try
to clean the outside of the cup. Christ said to the Pharisees,
you clean the outside of the cup, but inwardly you're full
of corruption. But what the sinner needs is
a change on the inside, a new heart, And that'll change everything. All things are become new then.
When you're a new creature, not just an old creature with new
habits, you're a new creature. He cut himself and lived in the
tombs because he was a madman. And our Lord doesn't just come
teaching him not to cut himself or to come out of the tombs.
He changes a madman into a child of God. A whole other creature
and the child of God thinks and speaks and acts differently.
In the verse 6 in our passage there in Mark 5, when he saw
Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him. It was when he saw Jesus
that he stopped cutting himself. How does the Lord save us? How
does he give us a new heart? How does he change us? How does
he make us new? By revealing himself to us. When he saw Jesus, he quit cutting
himself. He came out of the tombs and
he ran to where the Lord Jesus was. When Christ came where he
was, he flew to Christ. And that's how it works. We come
to him because he came to us. We love him because he first
loved us. Once he saw the Lord, you know
something? He never made another cut after that. Never again. He came out of the tombs and
went into the city. He ran to the Lord Jesus Christ,
and nothing was ever the same again. He saw the Lord and ran
to the Lord because the Lord was there. The Lord came where
he was, and that's when you'll see him too, when he comes where
you are. And I'm sure also that he saw
the disciples that were with him too, don't you imagine? There
were some that came over in the ship with him. There were other
little ships, there was no doubt a small crowd with the Lord there,
but he saw the only one that could do him any good. And he ran to the only one that
could help him. And this is an awe-inspiring
scene, isn't it? This man was under the power
of demons, and yet he ran to the Lord. Just like he was. Still horrible. Still just nasty, I imagine,
don't you? Living in the graveyard and had
been cutting himself. Scars and blood and infection
and filth. Vile, a terrible sight. Disgusting
and wild. But worshiping the Master. He
ran to him and worshiped. And I said, where to come? Don't
tell God, as soon as I clean up my act a little bit, I'll
come. No, that's not gonna happen. That's not gonna happen. You don't come to Christ having
cleaned up your act. You come to him for cleansing.
For cleansing. and bowing before the master,
that satanic nature in him now still rebelling. He come, he ran to the Lord Jesus
Christ. He opened his mouth and he still
spoke like a devil. That satanic nature is still
in us now, but Satan's not. There's a difference. When I
call our nature satanic, what I mean by that, and what the
scriptures mean by that is, and what the Lord meant by that when
he called Peter Satan, is because our nature is evil like Satan. It's just like, our nature is
just like him, our old nature, just like him. We want to be
God, just like Satan wants to be God. He exalted himself, he
said, I'll be like them other times. That's what we said in
the garden. Satan said, you'll be his gods, bring it. That's
what I want. And we walk around in this earth
as though we were God. And our wrath is upon anybody
who conflicts with that. And that nature is still satanic. But under the power of Satan, Not once we see the master and
flee to him and worship him. Not once he comes where we are. Being under the power, being
possessed under the power of Satan and his devils is a thing
of the past. We still have in us the evil
nature that would submit to Satan, if not for his grace, wouldn't
it? The Lord said, the devil has
nothing in me, but I'll tell you that he had something in
you. We still have that evil nature
that caused our problem to begin with and caused us to submit
to Satan and obey Satan and to willingly be under the power
of Satan. But now that Christ has come where we are and we've
seen him and by his grace fled to him and worship him, he says
to us, sin shall not have dominion over you. Certainly there's sin
in it. Certainly we still have an evil
satanic nature, but not under the power of Satan. Sin shall
not have dominion over you. It's still necessary for us to
be exhorted to be sober and vigilant concerning our adversary, the
devil, but possessed under the power of the devil, never again.
Christ is on the throne in glory, and he's on the throne of my
heart. Read Matthew chapter 12 and verse 29 in the context around
it when you have time. One who is stronger has bound
the strong man, and he's the head of the house now, and Satan
never will be again. And then this world, they wanted
Christ gone, didn't they? They wanted him, they prayed
that he'd depart out of their coast. But this madman, who was
always known, look at verse 18, always after this, he was known
as he that had been possessed with the devil. Isn't that wonderful? He that had been possessed with
the devil. He had a different desire now
than everybody else. His first desire now was to be with the Lord.
These people said, we want you out of here. And that man who
had been possessed with the devil, he said, I'm going with you.
I'm going with you, Lord. I want to be with you. I want to depart with you. and
be with you, like Paul said, I have a desire to depart and
be with Christ. That's our first desire. But he that had been possessed
with the devil said this, if I can't do that, if the Lord
won't let me do that yet, I'll at least go tell everybody what
he did for me, like he told me to do. Can we do that? Oh, may
He give us the grace and the wisdom and the gratitude and
the heart to tell everybody what He did for us. Let's bow in prayer.