Mark chapter 5 has a detailed account of Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee to the land of the Gentiles to seek and save a lost man. Everyone gave up on him. Mark tells us that this man lived naked in a graveyard and on the mountains "crying out and cutting himself with stones." That's because he had not just one unclean spirit but a whole Legion of them. A Legion meant between four and six thousand. This man had a lot of demons.
They didn't know what to do with a guy who lived in a graveyard. His friends and family, or perhaps the civil authorities, tried to help him, but to no avail. Mark tells us that no one could bind him "anymore 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."
I often think about this man. People always have friends. Where’d they go? I wonder if his mom and dad were alive. Perhaps he had brothers and sisters. Who knows, maybe he had a wife and children? But one thing is sure; everyone gave up on him.
I don't understand demon possession. I don't know how much volition people have when they are possessed, let alone by four to six thousand of them. Mark says that "when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tomb a man with an unclean spirit." Jesus specifically left the land of Israel and ventured into the pagan area of the Ten Cities for one purpose, to save a man who could not save himself.
I relate to this man because I have had people who totally gave up on me. Don't get me wrong; it's not like I didn't deserve it. When I crashed, there wasn't anything in my life that I didn't smash into smithereens. And that was by God's design, to bring me to the end of myself. I couldn’t have my secret sin and minister the gospel of Jesus Christ as an ordained pastor. God wouldn’t allow it. Even though I wasn't demon-possessed, I was in league with the devil by my disobedience to God's Law. I was deemed unredeemable by the one dearest to me and she gave up on me. But God didn’t!
I can also relate because there was no other way to save this man except for the "Jesus factor." Everyone gave up on him. Everyone except Jesus Christ Himself. That's how it is with our Lord. He takes the broken, the rejects, the outcasts, those who everyone would throw on the garbage heap of life, and He seeks them out and saves them. Jesus confronts the demons, the sin, the disobedience, the denial, the self-justification, the mess, and He redeems and restores it all.
At the close of this account, we see a man "clothed and in his right mind" sitting at the feet of Jesus.
One thing that can get lost is that some people may think, "I'm not as bad as all that." This is the big lie. Satan doesn't care if you are a moral person highly respected in the community. Far too often, the most difficult people to save are those described in Luke 15 as the "ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." Oh, they need repentance alright, but they don’t think they do. I have more hope for demoniacs and 100th sheep than I do for people who believe they are good people who have nothing for which to repent.
After setting him right, Jesus gave this man perhaps the most challenging task he gave to any of His disciples. As Jesus was getting into the boat to leave, this man "begged Him that he might be with Jesus." The Bible says that Jesus 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.’" Jesus sent him back to preach to the Ten cities filled with paganism, immorality, and hostility to the gospel.
I hope this gives hope to demoniacs and 100th sheep.
In the end, I guess I am writing to those who have someone in your life you've given up on. Perhaps you are thinking about divorcing your spouse. Maybe you are a parent who has had it with one of your children. Maybe your friend hurt you too many times. Whatever your situation, remember that as bad as it may seem, no person is beyond the ability of God to redeem and restore.
If Jesus Christ healed the demoniac and me, the 100th sheep, He can change your loved one. He could even heal you. While you may think someone is beyond help, always remember the Jesus Factor. Hold fast to those you love and don’t let go! I know God won’t.
