One of the most pathetic figures in all of Scripture is the Gerasene (or Gadarene) demoniac. I mean pathetic in the most sympathetic way. The story is found in Mark 5:1-20. Are you familiar with the story? It’s the one where Jesus allowed the demons who had possessed this man to go into a herd of swine who promptly demonstrated their intolerance for such foolishness by running headlong into the lake and drowning.
I called this man “pathetic.” Part of the definition of “pathetic” is “pitiable” or “evoking pity.” You cannot read about this man’s life without feeling sorry for him. How awful to live your life like this! I know he was possessed by demons, and we cannot be so possessed today, but I’m not talking about the cause of his condition. I want you to just consider the condition itself. This man lived in the tombs away from the townspeople because he was so violent. He could not be bound even with chains. He didn’t wear clothes and he was in such torment that “…constantly night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones” (Mark 5:5). Isn’t that just horrible?
I have to tell you, my life doesn’t seem so bad. How about yours? You may very well have been in such agony (either in physical pain or in mental anguish) that you actually cried out. I have. Many people have. But how bad does your life have to be that you spend all night and day crying out and gashing yourself with stones? Why would a person do that? I have a theory. I suspect his mental anguish was so bad that the physical pain he was inflicting upon himself would have been a relief. Now that’s pathetic! That is worthy of our pity!!
I’m not completely sure whose idea it was for this man to approach Jesus. It could have been the demon’s idea, or it could have been a desperate attempt by the man himself to finally be free. Whoever had the idea, he found himself bowed before Immanuel (God with us). You may be the kind of person who, at the first sign of trouble, runs to God in prayer. That’s good and I commend your for it. Don’t stop doing that! However, you may be the kind of person who runs blindly in any direction at the first sign of trouble. Maybe you panic is your effort to find an answer to your problems. Sometimes even people who respond this way find themselves suddenly confronted with God and His Word. Regardless of your initial reaction to the threat, you have the opportunity to be free.
I really don’t mean this note to be about demon possession or specifically what to do when this problem or that assails you in life. I just wanted to offer a note of encouragement by looking at such a pitiable character as this man whose life was worse than I can even imagine and how he ended up. After the demons left and went into the swine, he was a different man. When the people from town came out, they “…observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind…” (Mark 5:15). After meeting Jesus, he was cured. He was free! His life was back to normal, well, on its way to normal, anyway. I’m sure he had a lot of convincing to do with some of his neighbors.
Your life and mine can seem pretty desperate sometimes, I know. Even with some preacher telling you (or writing you) that your life is not as bad as some guy who was possessed by a whole bunch of demons, your life may still seem pretty bad; your “demons” just as real. I will not try and argue with you and tell you that you’re not as bad off as you think. I WILL tell you that there is a place you can go for relief. That place is before Jesus on your knees. If you go there and humble yourself in His presence, give yourself completely to Him (obeying all His commands in faith) you will be as healed and freed of the things that afflict you in this life as this demoniac.
This story lifts me up and encourages me more than any other case of Jesus healing or feeding or working other miracles. I hope it encourages you. I want you to be free of whatever keeps you from being what God wants you to be. I want your mind to be at peace and God can give you that peace, if you will just take it on His terms. He offers peace because He loves you and I write this to you because I love you, too.
Donnie Bates