Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Well, we're in this story of this man who was possessed by a legion of demons. He was destroying himself, they were destroying him. And there's this confrontation with Jesus. Jesus steps on the shore, and there's this battle. But Jesus heels this man and casts out the deal, and we're carrying along with that story.

We're gonna start reading from verse 9 of Mark chapter 5. Then Jesus asked him, what is your name? My name is Legion. He replied, but we are many. And he begged Jesus again and again.

To not send them out of the area. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus. Send us among the pigs, allow us to go into them. And he gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the peaks.

The herd about 2000 in number rushed down the steep bank into the lake and will drowned. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town on the countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the Legion of demons, sitting there. Dress and in his right mind, they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened.

To the demon possessed man, and told about the peaks as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave the region. It's weird, isn't it? It's amazing reaction. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we've got this demon possessed man destroying himself, and and actually causing fear in the whole town. Yep.

But no 1 could restrain him. Yeah. And an area where no 1 would go. Yeah. And Jesus heals the pan, and at well, there's this confrontation with demons, isn't it?

Yeah. And then you kinda get in the sense that these townspeople have to have got used to this man because it was the status quo. Yeah. The pigs are growing. Yeah.

But this crazy man, oh, you know, letting half the 2 doesn't really matter. Yeah. We get on with life. Even though it's destructive, we're just sort of work live around it. Exactly.

Yeah. Now that sort of this man's being healed of this possession. They're upset about it because -- Yeah. -- they're 2000 kids down, but 1 man up and they are upset and afraid. Yeah.

I mean, I I love that line where when the people come out, to see what Earth is going on. Yeah. Because the the the pig hurts men, not wherever they are, ran ran out and told everyone, that it they don't just tell them about the the where which verse is that? The demon possessed man. But they they and I've ceased also.

First thing, yeah, those who had seen it, told the people what had happened to the demon possessed man, and talked about the peaks as well. Well, they probably did care about this man. They probably they care much more about their pigs. Yes. That's that's probably the most important thing here, isn't it?

Yeah. And which which shows you where their heart is. Yeah. So their heart is with financial things. Yeah.

I mean, you've got the whole pig thing on the Jews. I know this is a sort of, you know, a a sort of gentile area -- Yeah. -- where Jews were living. Yeah. But, you know, they shouldn't have been that interested in pigs anyway.

No. No. No. But that that's probably is something there isn't there that, you know, pigs were dirt and impure, and there's something also about the water isn't there in the lake and the sea being a place of chaos and evil and -- Yeah. -- that's where, you know, that's where they're going back to.

And and again, it does show you how destructive the demons are. Yeah. Because they plead to go in with the pigs. Yeah. And then Jesus says, go, and they kill them.

Yeah. That's that's what Satan is about. Exactly. Yeah. That is what Satan's about.

Because I don't know when when you were young. It was always quite exciting to do ouija boards and you know, sort of seances and things. Well, I know you've always have a question. No nursery rhymes and ouija boards. Yeah.

Well, it it was a sort of it was it it was a sort of interesting thing. You were interested in the dark -- Right. -- and satan. Yeah. Those sort of things.

There was a fascination. But he's about lying and death. Yeah. That's that's Get rid of all the fascination -- Yeah. -- is about lying in-depth.

Yeah. And and this proves it. Yeah. And this man, who's now sat in his right mind, would probably tell you exactly that. Yeah.

He would say, But well, perhaps that's how he got started with all this. Perhaps it was a fascination and slight interest, but he's he would say, it's not it's bondage, it's decay, it's evil, But here's Jesus, who's the absolute opposite of all of that, isn't it? Yeah. Now I think Mark is writing this story. To say, in the end, who is the worst demon possessed people?

Yes. So okay. Jesus has come and dealt with this destruction in this man's life, which is just great hope for for for as we saw last time. But now we've got these people that are so obsessed with their finance and their money and their living -- Mhmm. -- that they want Jesus to go Yeah.

They're afraid and they want him to go. And it's just interesting, isn't it that that the whole concept of Jesus coming into a life and changing is people. It's I as you say, I would rather have the status quo. I would rather have that evil there and carry on with my life than someone who's radically going to to make a difference in my life. Yeah.

I remember when I used to do youth work in a church and we had several parents. Angry that their teenage daughters weren't at the nightclubs, meeting blokes and doing what ordinary girls did, which was to get drunk and to to go off angry. They were angry at us. Okay. How dare you How dare you to make my daughter into some religious freak.

That's That was about several letters. And it just just reminds me of this. But what? You you want your daughter to go to a nightclub, get drunk, get, you know -- Yeah. -- laid or whatever it is.

You'd rather that. Yeah. Than this girl that's growing up, thinking, understanding the world following price. Yeah. It is extraordinary.

Yeah. And you can see that. You can see that here in the story, like you said. Because the I mean, who is who is the more demon possessed? Because the demon inside the man originally begged Jesus to leave.

You know, what do you want with us, don't torture me, don't send me out the region. Kind of like Jesus, we don't want you here. And then the it's exactly what the townspeople say, isn't it? They say Jesus, we don't want you here. They plead with Jesus.

It's almost the exact same language. The demons beg Jesus to leave, the townspeople beg Jesus to leave. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

So so they're believing the lie. So I wonder what you think about Jesus. You know, are you I mean, rightly afraid of him, but he's to come into your life and to change you for good. Now that's quite scary. Mhmm.

But would you rather have the lies of Satan? Well, we'll come back to this story.