Mark’s account of the demon possessed man in region of the Gadarenes (Gerasenes) is always intriguing.  This man certainly comes closest to the idea of “demon possession” of any person in scripture.  Demonization is usually the more accurate term when a person is afflicted by a spirit from time to time, but not controlled 24/7.  This man seems to be possessed because he was tormented day and night.  

Mark writes, “They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones” (MK.5:1-5).

The story of Jesus setting this man free by allowing multiple (Legion) demons to enter into a herd of swine which then rushed down a hill and drowned themselves in the sea is dramatic and memorable.  But the part I want to focus on in this blog is the man’s response after he had been set free.

We don’t know how long this man had been in this ultra-tormented state, but it seems like it had been more than a few weeks. These tombs in which he lived were along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  On still nights he shrieking as he cut himself could be heard for miles across the water. It is likely that even Jesus had heard him from time to time.  If any consciousness of “self” remained in this man, he was truly a tormented soul feeling helpless to control his body.  

One question I have always asked is how did this man become susceptible to this many demons?  Perhaps, he had become involved in the occult and had lost himself to witchcraft through which he invited “spirits” into himself.  Modern day witches invite demons to take up residence within them because they draw power from the demons.  As we draw power from the Holy Spirit, witches and Satanists draw power from unholy spirits.  Perhaps, this man did as well and it simply got out of hand. We often see spirits of witchcraft afflicting the children of parents or grandparents who were involved in the occult, so perhaps he was the victim of generational curses. 

Whatever the source, this man was in overwhelming torment and without hope…until Jesus.  After Jesus commanded the demons to leave, we are told that he was dressed and in his right mind.  The locals who had witnessed the miracle and the destruction of the swine, begged Jesus to leave.  As he was getting into a boat, this formerly possessed man begged to go with him.  I certainly would have done the same.  I would have expected to be rejected by most people as a man who used to run naked among the tombs screaming at night.  More than that, I would been terrified that those spirits whom Jesus had cast out would return without his presence and protection.  I would have been terrified that I would have found myself in the same torment as before.

I would have expected Jesus to understand all that and take me with him, if I had been that man.  Afterall, Jesus had some other formerly demonized folks who travelled with him…Mary Magdalene for one.  But Jesus did not let him get in the boat. Instead, he told the man to, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you” (MK.5:19).  

This command of Jesus to a man who had been tormented and humiliated by the devil, is the heart of evangelism.  So often we feel unequipped to share the gospel with others.  We think we need more knowledge, more answers to possible objections to what we are declaring. What most of us need is not more Bible before we share the gospel, but a testimony of what Jesus has done for each of us.  People may try to argue against our understanding of scripture, but it is hard to argue against our experience with Jesus.  Remember the Samaritan woman at the well.  She did not go back to her village trying to convince them that Jesus might fit the profile of Isaiah’s prophecies about the Messiah.  She simply said that she had just met a man who told her everything she had ever done. That testimony drew people out of the village and when they themselves had heard Jesus speak, they believed.

Perhaps, like the Gadarene, we should spend more time thinking about what Jesus has done for us and more time sharing those experiences rather than continuing to think we need more Bible knowledge before we can share our faith.  More Bible is always good but Jesus did not command him to go to Torah school and become a Rabbi.  He told him to go and tell those he knew what Jesus had done for him.  By the way, when Jesus returned to that area, crowds were waiting to hear him.

When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. Matthew 12:43-45

Jesus told this parable as a warning to each of us to constantly monitor the contents of our house…meaning our body, heart, mind, and our spirit. This individual had been demonized by one evil spirit. This was not possession, but one spirit that had been given a assignment against this man or woman. A single spirit typically works to undermine and distort one slice of our life through temptation and lies expressed in persistent or even obsessive thoughts and actions. The unrelenting nature of those thoughts is experienced as bondage. They will continue and typically get stronger until the spirit is cast out.

Deliverance or freedom is an amazing experience, but there is a danger that Jesus warns about. The “house” was vacated by the spirit and some semblance of balance and order returned to the persons life. However, the house was not filled with the word and the Spirit of God, so a spiritual vacuum was created. Because the spirit could not find rest outside of a body, he decided to go back and see if he might find a way back in.

To the demon’s delight, when he returned he found the house empty and the doors unlocked. So more entered in with him, and the person’s condition was worse in the end than in the beginning. I have seen that very thing happen to a few people who have come through our church and ministries. One young woman, especially, comes to mind. She was in her late twenties, sweet, attractive, accomplished and everyone loved her. On the outside everything looked in order, but on the onside she was tormented by insecurities and fear.

She decided to seek God and freedom from torment by going through Free Indeed, an 8-week class and a weekend of healing and deliverance. On the weekend she had some extreme manifestations, but was set free and found a peace she had never known. One of the things she had confessed to her group leaders was that she was in an intimate relationship with a man who was not a believer. She made a commitment to break off the relationship and seek God.

Eight months later she returned to attend Free indeed again. She had gone back to the relationship she had promised to leave and was now more demonized than before. Again, she experienced severe manifestations during deliverance, but was set free. Once more she promised to break off the relationship and serve God. Her group leaders tried to keep in contact with her but found she had gone back to the same man again. This time, however, when they did contact her, she was hostile and no longer had any interest in talking about the things of God. We have not seen her since. As her demonization increased, her desire for godly things decreased. Each time we fail to press into God after deliverance, the enemy gains more access than before.

When a spirit or spirits leave, we must fill our lives, our hearts, and our minds up with the things of God – worship, word, fellowship with other believers, service, etc., or we risk walking around around with an empty house or, at least a vacant room, where the enemy is glad to set up residence. Each time we fail to surrender parts of our lives to Jesus, the enemy gains a greater legal right to afflict us.

In the realm of spiritual warfare, half-heartedness or double-mindedness is a dangerous thing. As we try to stand with one foot in the kingdom of light and the other foot in the kingdom of darkness, we are at risk. There is a wide chasm between the two, so a person cannot keep their balance for long. Eventually he or she will fall. Jesus warns us over and over that divided loyalties are unacceptable. He demands every part of our lives too be surrendered to him. But, when we do surrender, he fills our rooms with the blessings of God’s kingdom.

We need to be cautious when ministering deliverance or receiving deliverance. It is not a game and a great deal is at stake. Sometimes people want to get rid of the torment a demon provides, but not the sin that gives them pleasure. The sin, however, is the open door through which the enemy enters.

Remember the incident in Acts 16 where a young woman with a spirit of divination kept following Paul around Philippi shouting that they were servants of the Most High God. Apparently, the whole thing was very distracting and was, perhaps, an attempt by the spirit to associate itself with Paul and Jesus.

At any rate, the text says that after many days, Paul turned and cast out the demon. Why would he not do that as soon as he encountered the woman? My guess is that he knew the woman might not surrender to Jesus and would then become a person with a vacancy that would be filled with many more spirits, so he restrained himself as long as he could, out of concern for her. We may need to use the same discernment when our first impulse is to set someone free.

So…if you are ministering deliverance, take time to explain the necessity of filling the vacancy with the things of God. Make sure the individual knows what that looks like and the risk of returning to a sin or a relationship that opened the door in the first place. Sometimes our desire to free someone from the enemy makes us rush to deliverance rather than preparing the person to maintain their freedom after they have received it.

In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey wrote, “How easily do we who live in material bodies devalue the world of spirit. It occurs to me that although Jesus spent much time on issues such as hypocrisy, legalism, and pride, I know of no television ministry devoted to healing those “spiritual” problems, yet I know of many that center on physical ailments. Just as I begin feeling smug, however, I remember how easily I am tormented by the slightest bout with physical suffering, and how seldom I feel tormented by sin.”

His point is that we focus too often on the material and physical part of our existence and seem to look to the spiritual only as a last resort.  In our healing and deliverance ministries, we must be careful not to be only concerned about emotional health and freedom from the demonic while not being concerned about developing the character of Christ in our people.

I have seen believers who were crushed by the weight of their freedom because they felt that their freedom was the stamp of God’s approval on their lives.  Torment had driven them to Jesus.  Freedom somehow took their eyes off the Lord and placed it on the pleasures of the world.  The outcome was ugly.  Some spirits returned and found the house clean and orderly.  They moved back in and brought a lot of friends. 

Even when praying for physical healing, we often think the only issue is faith.  But often, unconfessed and unrepented sin get in the way of healing.  James tells is that we must confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that healing might follow (Ja.5:16). In a rush to help people, we often pray before we help them examine their lives.  Our spiritual condition is ultimately much more important than our physical or emotional well-being.  

Freedom and healing need to be steps in the process of discipleship, not ends in themselves.  I believe that emotional healing and freedom from the demonic are God’s will for our lives, but we must not offer them as stand-alone benefits, but as an expression of God’s love and power that are simply aids to becoming like Jesus.  When ministering to people, I often have to remember to slow down. Do some work before praying or before deliverance.  As Yancy suggests, we may need to come to a place of being tormented by our sinfulness before attacking the other torments in our lives.  Just a thought.