Tag Archives: supernatural

The Demoniac Proclamation of the Messiah

 

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Demon possession fascinates me. Perhaps that’s the reason I’m drawn to the story of the .

It’s not a healthy fascination. More likely it’s a weakness.

A bad sift in the broken human mind. Forever drawn to the smoking wreckage alongside the road.

Yet there’s something more potent in this story. That drives the heart of a Christian to it.

The Demon-Possessed Man

You have a man. In broken chains. Who lives among the tombs. Who roams about the mountains.

He shrieks, barks, growls. And gashes himself with stones. Strips saplings of bark. Sleeps under sycamores in pouring rain.

Women toting water jars steer clear. Children heading for the sea taunt and run. And young men tease, fists clenched tightly around driftwood.

All fear him. But Christ.

The Confrontation with Christ

When Jesus and his disciples climbed onto the shore, the demon-possessed man rushes them. He falls to the ground and rivets his eyes on Jesus and asks:

“What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!”

The man confesses he’s possessed by a legion of demons: “We are many.” Perhaps 4,000. Maybe even 6,000. A legion of Roman soldiers were known to be that large.

But maybe as low as 2,000, since that’s the number of pigs they eventually possess.

What can’t be missed, however, is the immeasurable power of the man–the demons.

Perhaps it rivals the cyclone Jesus just conquered. But in a supernatural sense.

The Real Fascination

Which brings us to the point of the narrative: Who is this that natural storms obey? That vast, supernatural armies cower beneath?

An unregenerate mind fixates on the demon. The suffering. The horror.

The regenerate mind, on the other hand, sees through to the real fascination: Jesus, the Son of God.

The one to whom all thrones, dominions, authorities and powers–whether natural or supernatural–bow down to.

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And a Savior with teeth. One worthy of worship. Veneration. And adoration.

So, the question for you is…who do you obey: Your mind? The market? Or the Messiah?

**Part of The Messiah: Eleven Meditations from the Book of Mark series.** You can start reading a PDF version of  right now.