Mark 5:1

Mark 5:1 says, And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Jesus and the disciples crossed over the sea to escape the crowds for a while.  Jesus wanted to be alone with the disciples at times so He could teach them more thoroughly what it truly meant to be a disciple.  We today as Christians need time alone with Jesus to understand more what it means to be His disciple.  Of course, we really cannot be with Jesus physically, but we can be with Him spiritually through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Verse two adds, And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, The way across sea was not restful for the disciples, because they as yet did not truly understand Who He was, but by His power they reached the other side, only to be confronted with a demonic man.  We might think that when Jesus delivers us from a troubling situation that we deserve a break, but we like the disciples and Jesus instead might find ourselves confronted with an even more troubling situation.  Verse three states, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:  Verse four adds, 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.  People had attempted to bind this man with chains, but he broke the chains.  He was a man to be feared, and yet he was a man that the disciples and Jesus were confronted by.  I don't know if the disciples were afraid or not, but considering their attitude on the boat, I believe they probably were. Sometimes, we may be confronted with by scary person or situation as we share God's word, but I believe whether we are afraid or not will be a result of whether our focus is on the situation or on Jesus. Verse five continues, And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. This man was not only a threat to others but to himself as well.  He was cutting himself with stones.   We may have never been that demon possessed, but until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are a danger to ourselves spiritually, and possibly to others too if we stand between them and God.  Verse six states, But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, This man, who was a terror to others, ran to Jesus when he saw him afar off and worshipped Him.  The man had been a threat to others and to himself, but he did not run at Jesus to harm Him.  Matthew Henry says that what men could not do with chains, which was to restrain the man, God did by His invisible hand.  No matter how terrible a person may be, if they recognize Jesus Christ for Who He really is and come to Him by faith, He will heal them spiritually.  It is not enough to just acknowledge Jesus as a great man, but we must come to Him recognizing that He is the only One Who can save us, and we must acknowledge Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse seven adds, 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. The demon, or as is later stated the demons, in the man cried out in a loud voice asking what he had to do with Jesus, acknowledging Him as the Son of God.  The demon recognized what too many people refuse to recognize, and that is that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. The demon, so powerful in the world and so terrible to those around him, had no power before Jesus and asked that He not torment him.  There is no being that can stand before Jesus Christ and be more powerful than He is, not even Satan himself.  Verse eight continues, For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.  There was not great battle.  Jesus simply said, Come out of the man, thy unclean spirit, and that was the extent of the battle.  We may see movies where demons almost defeat those trying to cast them out of a person, but I personally believe that if someone is doing this under the guidance and authority of Jesus Christ that there will still be no great battle.  The power of Jesus has not diminished.  As a matter of fact, Jesus said One even greater was coming, and that is the Holy Spirit.  The first step for the man was to recognize Jesus, and then to come and worship Him in faith.