Welcome to part four of our series on soul care. I pray that this series has been helpful and insightful.
We are all on a journey and the good news is that we are not alone. God has given us a supernatural helper, the Holy Spirit. He will lead and guide us into Biblical truth. God will also send people into our lives to help us face our challenges and to help us heal. Thank God for the body of Christ, Pastors, Christian counselors, and dear friends that we can open up and share with. There is nothing worse than feeling isolated and all alone.
Today we are looking at the story of the man from Gadarenes. This is found in ( Matt 8:28-34, Mark 5: 1-20, and Luke 8:26-39 ). The very fact that Jesus just came through a violent storm to reach this one man was compassion in action. I think Jesus knew in the spirit that he was going to encounter this man. If Jesus can travel great distances to bring deliverance to this one person he can do it for you. He loves you that much. Let’s talk about this man from Gadarenes. Luke 8:35 (NKJV) -35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. I bring up this last part of the story to show you the transformation of this man. He was delivered from demons, clothed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, and in his right mind. The Bible says he was in that condition for a long time. No situation is hopeless! A tremendous miracle and healing took place that day. Your day of deliverance took place two thousand years ago through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This man was no longer violent, out of control, naked, and no longer cutting himself. No longer a desire to hang out among the dead and in his right mind.
He was mentally stable, sober, coherent, and in control of himself again. We have to realize that the condition of this man did not happen overnight. It was a slow process, a slow spiral downward. How did he get to such a state mentally and physically? To the point where he was no longer in control, totally demonized? The Bible doesn’t say but we can deduce from his actions. It’s my opinion that this man was involved in some kind of sexual perversion. He could have been a victim of sexual abuse as well. The Bible says he was demonized by an unclean spirit. Unclean spirit was associated with something unclean, morally impure, something foul. Look at 2 Peter 2:7-8 (KJV) -7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;). This is regarding Lot in Sodom and Gomorrha and the perversion he saw day and night.
The word vexed means to torment, cause pain, or torture. I believe that this demonized man’s condition began with what was happening in his soul. The Bible says he was cutting himself. We see this when Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal. ( 1 Kings 18:28 ). The prophets of Baal shouted to their god in worship and cut themselves. The word Baal means possesser, lord, and master. (Jer 19:5, Numbers 25:1-3, 1 Cor 10:8). Involving many idols, it is overtly focused on sexual immorality, depravity, elevating the body over everything, and sacrificing their children in the hope of winning favor. This man could have been involved in some kind of sexual idolatry. The Bible says he was in the mountains. Baal worship usually happens in high places. Another thing is this man was living in a gentile, non-jew country and was given over to Idolatry.
I don’t know if this is the same as what this demonized man was doing but it made me think about youth today. We hear of youth so emotionally traumatized that they are cutting themselves. Here are excerpts from the Mayo Clinic,” Nonsuicidal self-injury, often simply called self-injury, is the act of harming your own body on purpose, such as by cutting or burning yourself. It’s usually not meant as a suicide attempt. This type of self-injury is a harmful way to cope with emotional pain, sadness, anger, and stress.” “While self-injury may bring a brief sense of calm and a release of physical and emotional tension, it’s usually followed by guilt and shame and the return of painful emotions. Life-threatening injuries are usually not intended, but it’s possible that more serious and even fatal self-harm could happen.” It goes on to say some causes,”Past experiences of neglect, sexual, physical or emotional abuse, or other traumatic events may increase the risk of self-injury. So can growing up and remaining in an unstable family environment. Other risk factors include questioning personal or sexual identity and social isolation.”
Getting back to our story. It is amazing how the townspeople dealt with this man. They tried to chain him with shackles, they hired animal trainers to try and tame him. Of which neither worked. Yet one encounter with Jesus made all the difference. This man ran to Jesus and worshiped him. This is very interesting that he had the will to run to Jesus in his demonized state. Maybe this was for a brief moment of clarity until the demons took over again. If we will and want to be delivered we can be delivered. Jesus can set us free. Whether it’s one demon or a thousand. It doesn’t matter to Jesus. Jesus has all authority and he has delegated that authority to us. ( Luke 10:19-20 ). Without question, the demons had to leave this man’s life at the command of Jesus. These demons recognized Jesus and submitted to his authority. The Bible says they were permitted to go into the pigs nearby. Pigs were considered unclean animals. Demons need some kind of fleshly beings to operate through. There goes the pig market and the town wants Jesus to leave. People are more concerned about their livelihood than some tormented soul getting delivered.
We see this man sitting at the feet of Jesus with humility and worshipping him. He was clothed and I love the phrase that he was in his right mind. How my heart aches for those not in their right mind. Those dealing with mental illness. Those afflicted with paranoia, schizophrenia, long-term depression, anxiety disorders, paralyzing fear, and a host of other mental conditions. I’ve ministered to people over the years in hospitals and have seen their struggles. ( Only the grace and delivering power of the Gospel can set them free. Having been set free they need the power of the Holy Spirit and discipleship in the Word of God to maintain their freedom ). At some point in this man’s life, he directly or indirectly opened the door to this demonization. It didn’t happen overnight, it was a process. Yet Jesus started a new process in this man’s life with his deliverance and Jesus wanted him to let others know. Mark 5:19 (NKJV) -19 However, Jesus did not permit him, (note: He wanted to go with Jesus) but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” This precious human being is now in his right mind. What a beautiful thing. This is the will of God for everyone! It is the will of God for you to be emotionally healthy. This man’s case was extreme. Yet regardless of where a person may be God wants you well spirit, soul, and body. ( 1 Thess 5:23 ). You are not beyond the reach of Father God. Jesu paid the price by giving his life for you to be well!
In Christ’s love;
Brent and Linda
If this has blessed you in some way please let us know and share with a friend.