Jesus, a Demon Army, and a Man.

Father, we confess before you that we are very, very influenced by our culture without realizing it.

And so, Father, texts like this can sometimes be very hard for us to get our minds around.

And some of us have almost an unhealthy preoccupation with evil spirits.

And, Father, to be honest, probably most of us live day by day almost as if we're atheists,

not even believing that such beings exist or trouble people.

We ask, Father, that the healing medicine of your word would come into who we are

and that we would be gripped by the gospel.

And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

So, we're going to talk about demons.

So, get your Bibles out and we're going to look at the story.

And we're going to talk about this story, which have demons as an important part of them.

Mark 5, verses 1 to 20.

Mark 5:1–20

Those of you who don't have Bibles, the words will be there as we go through this particular story.

And here's how it begins.

Again, in Mark 5, verses 1 to 20.

Mark 5:1–20

They came, that's Jesus and the disciples,

they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.

And we're just going to pause here for a second.

One of you folks, you know who you are.

Last Sunday, I guess I'd mentioned I was going to be preaching about this text.

And one of you asked me, it's a very, very good question.

Was it Gadara?

Was it Gerasene?

Or was it Gerga?

However you pronounce that word.

Like, which place was it that he went?

And maybe some of you have talked to people who are skeptics.

And they have a great deal of fun with this text.

Because one of the places that I mentioned,

if you look at one of the different gospel stories,

this story is told in three of the gospels.

They have different places.

The region of the Gadarenes, the region of the Gerasenes.

And some of them will say, actually, this other place called Gergesene.

And one of them, I think it's Gerasene, is about 30 miles.

That's a lot of kilometers from the Sea of Galilee.

So people, skeptics, will have a great deal of fun.

They'll say, can you just imagine these pigs running 30 miles before they plunge to the end of it?

It's like a pretty ridiculous story.

And they'll make fun of it.

And others, it just came this week.

I had a conversation with one of my friends.

And we got talking about the Bible.

And he made the very, very standard Canadian comment that,

well, the Bible has been translated so many times.

And it's been copied.

And there's so many ways incorrectly that you can't really trust anything it says within it.

So we just need to pause here for a second.

Some of you might or might not know that all those things are going on.

But it's, in fact, what goes on in the culture.

And they're very important questions.

So let's deal with the first thing first.

First, did this take place in the Gadara, or however you pronounce it, or Gerasa, however you pronounce it,

or the region of the Gadarenes, or the region of the Gerasenes?

Well, the important thing here is this very, very interesting word, region.

That's what's important here in this text.

If I was to try to tell you about a place that I used to go to visit,

well, here, we'll use a different example.

If I was talking to a group of people who are back to the Landers,

or used to be old hippies,

and I wanted to talk about a place that I used to visit,

I might say that it's in the region of Killaloo.

But if I was going over the border into the United States,

and I met a group of Catholic homeschoolers,

I would say to them that this place that I'm referring to is in the region of Combermere.

Now, why would I say that?

Well, maybe not only old hippies,

but anybody here in Ottawa who's gone and had a Killaloo sunrise beaver tail,

you might sort of at least know what the name Killaloo is.

And so if I said this is in the region of Killaloo,

you'll have a bit of an idea where that is.

Catholic homeschoolers who probably like beaver tails just as much as everybody else,

but if they're in the States, they've never had a beaver tail.

Well, a lot of Catholic homeschoolers in this whole part of the world know about Combermere

because Madonna House is there,

and Madonna House is a really important place for devout,

very, very conservative Roman Catholics.

And if I said, well, it's going to be in the region of Combermere,

I haven't contradicted myself.

Region is one of those nice words that can encompass many, many, many square miles.

Combermere and Killaloo are about 30 miles apart.

But there's a huge area in between

that's covered by this very, very simple word, region.

So there's no contradiction.

One author is using a word that certain people will go,

ah, the Catholic homeschoolers, ah, Combermere.

The people who like beaver tails, ah, Killaloo, have a picture.

The second thing to go on in this text is,

is, you know, what my friends just said.

You know, I have the hardest time in the world convincing my non-Christian friends

that what everybody in Canada knows to be true is wrong.

And it is just wrong.

But because it's so constantly repeated, people just think that it's correct.

It's actually a strength of the Christian faith in the Bible

that you'd have a bit of a question as to whether or not it's Gergesene

or whether it's the Gerasene, two different places.

And the strength of it is, is that unlike Islam,

which has really, in a sense, no critical study of the Koran,

even though there's not as many early copies

and there's lots of differences between them,

is that Christians want to actually know what the original text was.

And there's literally thousands of ancient texts

and there's an actual science that they go through.

And if you read an academic commentary,

if you read an academic commentary,

you'll come in this particular case to a footnote,

which is maybe half a page long,

which will go through all of the different ancient versions of the text

and how you figure out which one is the correct wording.

It's actually a strength of the Christian faith

that you're open to inquiry, open to reason,

to figure out what's actually true.

And the more they discover ancient texts of the New Testament,

the more confident we can be.

And all modern versions following the scholarship will have Gergesenes.

That's probably what the original word was.

But even if it isn't,

you know, if some other studies mean it's the other one,

it's not a deal-breaker.

My Combermere and Killaloo example still works.

But here's the really big takeaway that we don't appreciate

and Mark's original hearers would understand instantly.

Jesus has crossed the Sea of Galilee,

which is really just a big lake.

He's gone from the Jewish part of the Sea of Galilee

to the area which is primarily pagan.

In fact, it is an area that about 100 years earlier,

the Romans came in and conquered that part.

And when they conquered that part,

many of the residents they killed,

many of the residents they drove away.

But the main thing is,

is that what they did is,

in our modern language,

is they imposed their culture on 10 of the cities

and created 10 cities

that would be model cities

of the glories of Greek and Roman and pagan culture.

And that's what the Decapolis is.

And what Mark has done right here

is he's just said,

okay, Jesus has now gone into this area

where the occupying forces have conquered

and have imposed their culture

and it's a model of Roman, Greek, wisdom, and culture.

And that's where Jesus now is.

So that's an important part of the story.

So let's go back to the text.

So we'll read verse 1 again.

They came to the other side of the sea

to the country of the Gerasenes.

In other words,

they've come to the area

of model pagan cities

with not that many Jews

and mainly those who are pagan.

Verse 2.

And when Jesus stepped out of the boat,

immediately there met him out of the tombs,

a man with an unclean spirit.

Now just sort of pause here for a second.

What you're going to see

throughout the rest of the text

and what you see if you read the rest of the Bible

is that there's three different ways

in the New Testament

that the Bible talks about the same being.

Unclean spirits, evil spirits, and demons.

It's just three different ways

to refer to the same class of beings.

In the Bible here,

the New Testament very clearly teaches

that evil spirits exist.

And unlike in Islam or in other faiths

where it will teach

that God created both evil spirits,

they have different names for them,

and angels,

the Bible teaches

that that's not how things are,

that God created

only good spiritual beings,

which we would refer to them as angels,

but some of those angels

rebelled against God

and turned towards evil.

And that is what we now would call

an evil spirit,

an unclean spirit,

or a demon.

And this is a story

very specifically,

in fact,

sort of a very important story

to help us to understand

that the Bible is trying

to communicate to us

the reality,

the truth,

that evil spirits exist,

that it's not just mental illness.

If you go back

and you read the Bible,

even in the time of King David,

so a thousand years before Jesus,

so a thousand years B.C.,

and you'll go back

and you read the story,

and Jesus spends,

David spends some time

with a pagan king,

and David gets worried

that the pagan king

wants to kill him.

So what does David do?

If you go back

and read the story,

David pretends he's insane.

And the story goes,

the king said,

do I need more insane people here?

Get rid of this guy.

So even a thousand years B.C.,

in this part of the world,

they understood the difference,

but they might get it confused,

but they understood

the distinction

between mental illness,

just being crazy,

and demon possession.

But I sort of got

a bit ahead of myself.

But this is what's

at the heart of the story.

For some of us,

it's an easy thing to believe.

For others, it's a hard part.

But Jesus comes to this area,

a showcase for pagan culture.

He meets a man.

Well, let's read verse 2 again.

And when Jesus has stepped

out of the boat,

immediately there met him

out of the tombs,

a man with an unclean spirit,

a demon.

He lived among the tombs.

Pause again.

I was at Graveyard this week.

They're very peaceful places

in Canada.

In fact, you could almost

picture just sitting there

having a quiet moment.

You know, the bustle

of the city all around you.

It's green.

It's quiet.

It's very, very well maintained.

And if you have that image

of what's going on here,

you're all wrong.

Because what in the ancient world

it would have been

is that it would have been

a place, in some cases,

where there would have just been

some maybe covered structure.

Sometimes it would be like a cave

with doors that you could move

out of the way.

And the bodies are put there.

The bones are put there.

So what this text is trying

to communicate about this man

would be more like

if you're watching a movie

and the police go into a house

because they, I don't know,

there's been some complaint

of noise or whatever.

They're just trying to find

the person.

They go into the house

and as soon as they go

into the house,

they see that the house

is filled with skulls,

with bones,

and decomposing bodies.

Now, if you watch a movie

like that,

what do you know instantly?

The guy who lives here

is evil.

And there'd probably be

some type of musical sound effect

or maybe just an even more

awesome silence

to grip you with the power

of the evil.

That for a person to live

amongst bones

and decomposing bodies

is a sign of great evil.

It might be a turning point

in the whole movie.

And that's what you understand

here with this message.

This is a man

who chooses

or is forced to live

amongst decomposing bodies

and bones.

And by the way,

if you know somebody

who doesn't find

that as a sign of great evil,

you better keep your eye on them.

Because that's not a good sign

about your friend.

You better really

keep your eye on them.

So let's go back

to verse 3.

It's going to describe

the effect of this.

It's almost in a sense

it's like this very powerful

biblical picture

of the end result,

what it is

that an evil spirit,

a demon,

desires

if he has

more and more influence

over you

where he will push you.

And so the rest

of these first verses,

we'll read verse 3 again.

He lived among the tombs

and no one could bind him anymore,

not even with a chain.

Now this isn't like

a good example

of a spiritual power.

It's an image

of a man

who's so out of control

and does so many

violent things

that the people

want to try

to control him

and it's a type

of mad frenzy.

It's a type

of evil frenzy.

It's a type

of evil adrenaline rush

that's going on

inside of him,

not something

which is good.

He lived among

the tombs,

verse 3,

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.

This is a man

who is completely

and utterly

tormented.

You'll see it's

implied here,

it's made clear

in another version.

He doesn't wear

clothes.

That's not a good

sign.

It's not a good

sign.

He doesn't wear

clothes.

He lives where

nobody else lives.

He's completely

and utterly

tormented.

He's completely

and utterly

cut off from

other people.

And by the way,

the word that's

used throughout

this is a really

important word

in the original

language.

It talks about

him being

demonized.

And the reason

it's really

important is that

you see there's

a range of

being demonized.

There's everything

from just our

normal,

I'm going to

talk about it

more later on,

different types

of temptations

or different

trains of thought

which are bad

that might be

in a sense

encouraged by

an evil spirit.

And it goes

right from that

to something

which like you

see here where

somebody is

completely and

utterly overwhelmed

and consumed

and in a sense

possessed by

the actual

evil spirits.

And the word

is demonization

which implies

a bit of a

process,

a bit of a

range.

But here you

see the end.

So what

happens?

The man comes

to Jesus.

Verse 6,

And the demon

possessed man

when he saw

Jesus from afar

he ran and

fell down

before Jesus

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.

Now just

sort of pause.

It's really

a very

interesting

dynamic that

goes on here

in the

original language.

First of all,

if you read

the Gospel

of Mark

from the

beginning

to here,

you'll see

that this

is the

highest,

this is

the most

profound

statement

of the

divinity

of Jesus

seen in

the Gospel

of Mark

up until

now and

it comes

from a

demon

possessed

man.

Jesus

is the

son

of the

most

high

God.

He is

of the

very

nature

of the

most

high

God.

It is

a

profound

trinitarian

statement

and it

comes

from the

mouth

of a

demon

possessed

man.

At the

other

hand,

the other

thing about

I adjure

you,

what's

happening

in the

original

language

is that

the demon

possessed

man is

trying to

cast a

spell

on

Jesus

to

bind

him.

Isn't

that

interesting?

This

most

profound

Christological

comment

married

with an

attempt

by the

demon

possessed

man to

cast a

spell

on

Jesus

to

bind

him.

It

shows

the loss

of the

intellect

and the

irrationality

that goes

on as

we come

more and

more if

any person

comes under

the influence

of an

evil

spirit.

So what

does Jesus

do?

Of course

he can't

be bound

by a

spell.

That's

ridiculous

as we're

going to

see.

Although

maybe the

original

readers

would wonder

what's

going to

happen

because

this

demon

possessed

man

is

trying

to

cast

a

spell

on

Jesus.

So

maybe

many

of

the

original

hearers

maybe

in

some

pagan

cultures

if

they

were

hearing

this

for

the

very

first

time

they

would

wonder

what's

going

to

happen.

But

we

see

in

verse

8

for

he

was

bound

what

is

your

name

and

the

man

replied

my

name

is

Legion

for

we

are

many

and

he

begged

him

earnestly

not

to

send

them

notice

that

he

begged

him

earnestly

not

to

send

them

out

of

the

country.

Now

just

pause

here

for

a

second.

What

he

says

is

we

are

an

army

of

demons.

That's

what

he's

saying.

We

are

an

army

of

demons

inside

this

man.

It's

an

attempt

to

intimidate

Jesus.

And

then

the

going

from

a

he

to

a

them

shows

that

in

fact

as

we're

going

to

see

in

the

text

that

the

man

is

possessed

demonized

by

far

more

vastly

more

a

legion

is

anywhere

from

3 to

6

thousand

people

so

this

is

a

very

large

number

of

demons

which

are

in

this

particular

man.

So

what's

going

to

happen?

What

does

Jesus

do?

Is he

intimidated?

Once again

remember pagans

might go

whoa

what's

going to

happen

next?

We know

the story

we've

already

heard

but let's

look at

it

again.

Verse 11

now

now

a

great

herd

of

pigs

was

feeding

there

on

the

hillside

and

they

begged

him

they

begged

Jesus

saying

send

us

to

the

pigs

let

us

enter

them

so

Jesus

gave

them

permission

and

the

unclean

spirits

came

out

of

the

man

and

entered

the

pigs

and

the

herd

numbering

about

2,000

rushed

down

the

steep

bank

into

the

sea

and

drowned

in

the

sea.

Now

we

have

to

pause

make

sure

we

understand

what's

going

on

in

the

story.

First

of all

I don't

know how

many of

you know

this

logicians

actually

have named

a fallacy

after this

story.

If you

go up

and look

in the

internet

google

the

Gadarene

fallacy

you'll

see that

logicians

actually

talk about

this.

And

there's

two

versions

of the

Gadarene

fallacy

that come

from this

story

and it's

an important

way to

understand

another

a fallacy

means that

if somebody

says this

or believes

this

and they

believe it

should be

true

it's

actually

a fallacy

it's

something

that

confuses

them.

And one

version

of this

if all

of the

right

people

in all

of the

right

positions

are all

thinking

the same

thing

and all

going in

the same

direction

it doesn't

mean

they're

right.

All the

pigs

all think

the same

thing

they're all

going in

the same

direction

all go

to their

death.

This is a

really important

fallacy

for Christians

where so much

of the

culture

actually thinks

that things

are right

or wrong

and we

disagree.

We might

be the only

person in

the company

the only

person in

a room

the only

person in

a class

the only

person in

the faculty

that disagrees.

And that's

why the

second version

of the same

fallacy is

really really

important.

That if you

are in a

situation

where all

of the

people who

are in

the right

position

think the

same thing

and they're

all going

in the same

direction

and you

disagree with

them it

doesn't mean

you're wrong.

If the

people who

are all

in the

right

positions

all with

the same

view

and all

in the

same

direction

think you're

wrong it's

called the

gathering fallacy.

They still have to

prove you're

wrong.

They can't

just say well

you must be

wrong.

You know

like if

everybody in

the Starbucks

thinks that the

Bible is just

so many

translations and

so many

versions and

all that you

can't trust

it.

It doesn't

matter that

they all

think it.

They're wrong.

They have to

prove it.

They're sort

of surprised that

they can't.

That's the

first thing

here.

But here's

the most

important thing

about this

thing.

So Jesus

allows the

demons to

leave the

man to

go into

the pigs.

And that's

one of the

very important

signs that

this story

remember it

maybe you

don't remember

I didn't say

it at the

beginning of

the sermon.

What we're

reading when we

read Mark is

an ancient

biography of

Jesus and

a biography

where much

of it is

an eyewitness

account but

all of it is

based on

eyewitness

accounts and

written within

the time frame

of the

eyewitnesses

still being

alive including

eyewitnesses who

don't like

Jesus.

And Mark in

fact as most

of the gospel

writers gives

enough historical

evidence so

that when the

gospel is

written and

this particular

text might have

only been

written 17

years 16

years after the

death and

resurrection of

Jesus that a

person reading

it for the

first time could

go and check

and see could

he find the

herders could

he find the

man who had

the demons did

he hear about

this is it

true and so

the claim is

that this is

true and what

we can see

here is that

the man cannot

have been

mentally ill

because no

amount of

claiming about

mental illness

would explain

the behavior of

the pigs.

This is a

story which is

making a very

strong claim

about the

existence of

evil spirits

that they're

real.

That's the

first thing.

The other

thing though is

that this story

actually touches

at our hearts

and our value

because many

many many people

are troubled by

the death of

the 2,000 pigs.

Many are

troubled by the

death of the

2,000 pigs.

Such a waste.

Why did Jesus

allow it?

How can we

trust Jesus if

he allows

something like

that to happen?

So let's walk

towards it.

Here's what's

so wise about

the text and

so unwise about

our doubts.

And it's an

unwisdom.

Our doubts

might come from

one of two

sources or

both.

But here's

this.

Here's the

wisdom of

this.

Jesus says

the life of

one man is

worth more

than 2,000

pigs.

Do you

believe that?

Do you

believe that

one man's

life is

worth more

than 2,000

pigs?

You see

on the

left human

beings are

a bit of

a problem.

I keep

breathing out

stuff that's

destroying the

ozone.

I'm causing

all this

problem supposedly

that's going to

bring the

whole planet

to a collapse.

And so for

many of us

on the left

we go,

I don't

know if

one human

being is

worth more

than 2,000

pigs.

Really?

Shame on you.

Do you really

think that?

You really

think that

2,000

pigs is

worth more

than one

human life?

If there

was a

story in

the newspaper

and for

some reason

it was

able that

if for

some reason

whatever it

is, if

you killed

the 2,000

pigs a

child would

live, would

you hesitate

over that

decision?

If you

hesitate over

that position,

I say to

you, shame

on you.

And from

the right,

you go with

the economic

value of

the 2,000

pigs.

The right

aren't left

out of this

either.

We can't

just say,

oh, those

social justice

warriors.

No, no, no.

If you

go, oh, 2,000

pigs, that's

worth clicky,

clicky, clicky,

click.

Shame on

you.

Jesus is

wiser.

One human

being is

worth more

than 2,000

pigs.

Always

worth more.

And on

one level,

if all that

happens is

that for the

price of 2,000

pigs, a

very powerful

story about

the reality

and the

nature of

demons is

given to

us, it's

a very small

price to

pay.

But why

do we

even doubt

the goodness

of Jesus?

Like, what

is it about

our heart

that we

would doubt

the goodness

of Jesus

that for

whatever reason

that he

allows it to

happen, that

it's only for

good?

I'm just

going to ask

you one

for instance.

Remember I

told you that

he's in a

region that

about 100

years earlier

had been

occupied by

the Roman

forces.

The locals,

many of them,

of course,

were killed,

many of

them driven

out.

Pagans are

placed there.

They make

10 model

cities to

extol pagan

Greek and

Roman culture.

And we

might all

forget for a

moment that,

of course,

Jesus and

his disciples

are a

conquered

people.

They are

under the

thumb of

the Roman

authorities.

The Romans

are in

charge and

the Jewish

people are

a conquered

people.

And what

difference would

this make in

the entire

story if I

told you that

those 2,000

pigs were

meant to

feed the

army of

the oppressors?

Would it

make a

difference to

you in

that story?

Imagine

you're watching

a Second

World War

movie and

it's a story

about Holland

or it's a

story about

Norway.

And part of

the story is

that some

Norwegian or

Dutch,

we'll put

Norway,

some Norwegian

freedom fighters

are able to

go and

destroy pigs

that are

going to

feed the

Nazi troops.

We would

make a

movie of

that and

we would

cheer for

the Norwegians

as we

should.

No, I'm

not saying

that's what's

going on,

but have you

ever even

thought about

that?

Like, why

is it in

our heart,

brothers and

sisters, that

we doubt the

goodness of

God and

the wisdom

of Jesus?

Why is it

that we doubt

that he does

not have a

good reason for

why he allowed

that to

happen?

A reason

that when we

see him

face to

face, he

will tell

it to

us and

we'll go,

gosh, that's

a good

reason.

I am so

sorry, Jesus,

that I ever

doubted your

goodness and

your wisdom

in the

affairs that

are described

here.

So what

happens?

You see, in

some way, in

this story, if

verses 3 to

5, you

get a

picture of

what it

is that if

an evil

spirit starts

to have more

and more of

a hold or

role in your

life where

the demon

wants to

lead you,

in the rest

of the story,

you're going

to see a

very, very

simple but

powerful picture

of where

Jesus will

lead you,

where the

Holy Spirit

will lead

you.

Let's

look.

Verse 14.

The

herdsmen fled

and told it

in the city

about what,

you know, the

pigs all

rushing into

the sea.

They 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 the

legion,

sitting there

clothed and

in his right

mind and

they were

afraid.

He's sitting

with people.

He's in

control of

his faculties.

He's clothed.

He's having

a good time

with Jesus

and the

apostles.

That's where

Jesus will

always lead

you, to

free your

mind and

make it

work properly,

to lead

you to be

at peace

with others

and with

him.

To help

you regain

who you

really are,

that's where

the Holy

Spirit will

lead you.

That's what

the gospel

will do in

your life.

But notice

that people

are afraid

and here we

see something

which is

quite profound

and very,

very amazing.

amazing.

Look at

verse

16.

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.

Now this

is really

quite an

amazing thing

if you think

about it for a

second.

And it really

goes to the

very, very

heart of the

gospel and

how God

deals with us

as human

beings.

If you think

about it for

a second,

here's Jesus

by a mere

act of his

will can

cast out

thousands of

demons from

a man.

These people

can't tell

Jesus what

to do.

Like how

can they deal

with that

power?

But they

ask him to

leave and he

leaves.

You see,

what the

Bible describes

in the

overarching big

picture of

what it is

for us to

be human

is that God

made human

beings.

He made

you.

He made

you with

the purpose

and the

intent that

you would

know your

creator.

You would

know God

with love

and affection

and trust.

And then in

a sense,

in the cool

of the day,

you would be

able to walk

with him

and have

sweet conversation

and be

completely and

utterly naked

and completely

and utterly

unashamed.

And that's

how God

made us

to be.

That is

what we

were really

designed

to be.

And we

used our

freedom.

You can't

have love

without freedom.

And we

used our

freedom to

turn away

from God,

to seek

to be

a God

ourselves,

to no longer

trust God,

to think that

God had

evil purposes

and would

hurt us.

And we

turned away

from God

to be

God's

ourselves.

And as a

result,

we no longer

are comfortable

revealing who

we really

are.

And we're

no longer,

our relationship

with other

people is

always dealt

with in

problems,

some good

moments and

some bad

moments.

And our

relationship

with the

creation is

all messed

up.

And God,

in his love,

seeing our

freedom and

desiring to

preserve our

freedom, he

sends his

son to do

what we

cannot do.

And he

sends his

son who

suffers the

trials and

temptations that

we do only

without rebelling

against God,

accepting the

father's will,

never breaking

communion with

God, living a

life that even

his enemies

said was

sinless.

And out of

love, this

man who by a

mere act of

his will can

cast demons out

of a human

being, this

man allows

himself, he's

going to

Jerusalem to

die, he

dies on the

cross, how

could that

man be

bound?

The only

reason he

can be

bound is

it is his

love for

you and

me and

his obedience

to God

that puts

him on

the cross.

And on

the cross

he dies.

His

destiny is

offered to

you and

he takes

your doom,

your

wrongdoing,

he says,

I will take

upon myself

and I

offer you

my perfect

life.

And we

freely accept

or reject.

So it gets

right into the

heart of it.

But some of

you might say,

no, no, no,

no, George,

George, George,

George, George,

George, you

missed something

in the story.

He doesn't

really accept

the demon

possessed man

who's now

healed.

And I have a

worry that I'm

like that guy.

Yes, Jesus

might do

something in me

which is really

wonderful and

helpful, but at

the end of the

day when I

want to get

into the

boat with

him, he

won't pick

me.

He won't

pick me.

But that's

to not

understand the

story.

In fact, the

story ends

in something

very subtle