Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Welcome back to Corona Chronicles. In our last session, we saw Jesus crossing the lake and there was a kind of demonic storm that picked up as the disciples of Jesus were crossing. And we see Jesus have authority over the storm and with a word he quietens it and the cycles are afraid and say who is this? Even the wind of the waves obey him. He's about to come into shore now, and there's about to be another interaction with demons.

So we'll see what happens. Reading from chapter 5 first 1. They went across the lake to the region of the Gaurissonese Gaurissonese. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs and no 1 could bind him anymore, 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 1 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. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice What do you want with me?

Jesus son of the most high God. In God's name, don't torture me. Well, Jesus had said to him, come out of this man, you impure spirit. Then Jesus asked him, what is your name? My name is Legion.

He replied. For we are many. And he begs Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. A large herd of pigs were feeding on the nearby health site. The demons begged Jesus send us along the pigs allow us to go into them.

He gave them permission and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd about 2000 in number rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside. And the people went out to see what happens. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who'd been possessed by the Legion of demons sitting there dressed and in his right mind and they were afraid.

I mean, this is an incredible scene, isn't it? So it's night time when Jesus was in the boat, there's this great storm and he rebukes the storm. And then he's coming now. It's it's probably early morning, you know, the sun's coming up. You've got this sea, haven't you?

It's a bit dark, a bit misty, perhaps, you know, whatever. And then you've got Jesus stepping out of the boat, and it's like he's stepping into a war. Because you've got this mad man, but more worse than that. Yeah. You've got a man a man that not only cuts himself breaks chains.

No 1 can subdue him. He's stronger than even the gangs of people in the town that could hold him down -- Yeah. -- he's lurking in graveyards, you know. Yeah. This is this is a really sort of horror film and he's he's possessed by a legion of demons, and he's running that Jesus.

And you've got this scene and you think, what on earth is gonna happen? You know, get back in the boat, Jesus. I say, you know, I can imagine the disciples saying, quick, quick, you know, because it really is very, very frightening. Yeah. But what does Jesus do?

He doesn't get back in the boat. He stands his ground. Yep. He's here for a reason. Yes.

And he's baffled through or or rebuked the storm in order to get here. Yeah. Someone doesn't want him here. Yep. But he's here, and he's he's gonna confront this bloke.

Yeah. It's a great scene, isn't it? Yeah. Absolutely amazing. And again, Jesus doesn't, you know, Jesus has so much authority in his words, doesn't he?

Because he doesn't, right, roll his sleeve up and go, alright then. It's been down. Yeah. No 1 else can do it but I can. He says to he simply says to him come out of this man, you have your spirit.

And then that's enough to kind of wrestle and pin down this this this demon. And then he begins having this conversation with him. And he asks him what what his name is and then we find out that that he's that he's many. But it's it's interesting that he obviously the demons know who Jesus is. So often Jesus tells the demons, doesn't need to be quiet.

Yeah. I suppose there's no 1 around at this point, so he doesn't do that here. But he has no What he knows is that he is the son of the most holy god. Yeah. And and that Jesus is going to well, not so much torture but deal with these demons.

They're going they their bare rain has a has a limit. Yes. And Jesus is here to stop this. Yeah. But I think that the the interaction of the the demonic who who we know in the bible, you know, he's he's a he's the father of lies.

Mhmm. So we know that lies come from from Satan because he's the actual father of them. And he's a murderer from the beginning, Jesus says in other parts of the bible. So he's a destructive killer. And the influence on this bloke, he's devastating.

Yeah. Cutting, death, lurking around dark, deaf, dead places. Yep. It's horrible. Yeah.

And here's the liberator. Stepped on the shore. That that's the thing, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah.

He does it's interesting he begs Jesus, isn't it? It's a lot of people think that Satan is sort of Jesus' counterpart and it's called and that if they ever came to a showdown, you know, who's gonna be stronger, we don't know, who's gonna win, maybe Jesus edges it slightly. But these there's not even a fight here. There's just there's just a white flag -- Yeah. -- straight away.

Yeah. Because they know who he is and they know the power. Yeah. That and And again, it shows you the whole Star Wars, sort of I know you love Star Wars, but the whole Star Wars world view that there is just a force Right. There is good and there's a a good side of them.

Am I getting this right? Yeah. A good side and and the evil side and, you know, choose which side you're you're gonna use as a force. Mhmm. This isn't a dualism here.

No. There is a devil, a liar of the the destructive 1, and then there is Jesus. And as you say, He is much more powerful. Yeah. Yeah.

Definitely. Yeah. I think you're right that, I mean, most of us won't be possessed in the way that this man is, but a lot of us will have these lies whispered to us. And it it can come in the form of our, you know, our friends around us. So if you think about sort of kids in school, the things that other kids say to each other and the kind of ways they'll pick on each other and we end up sort of tormented in size and in this life in a lot of ways.

And we won't be perhaps as dramatic as this, but there might be that we might feel trapped in some ways like this man was. And we might feel controlled by something perhaps Perhaps we can be controlled by alcohol of things or loss addictions, yeah, or all yourself, yeah, or sadness or, you know, anything. So Yeah. And anger and I mean, the great news the reason the stories in the bible is is for us to know that Jesus is the 1 who's able to still to still us. In the way that he steal the the storm, the way that he purifies this man by sort of cleansing him internally and casting out the sort of troubles and addictions and slavery to this demonic possession.

Yeah. The same is on offer for us Jesus I mean, that that's a marvelous thing, isn't it? So and when we come to the the pig bit and the pig men in the next session, I think. But that the fact in verse 15, it it it says that he's sitting there dressed and in his right mind. Yep.

And then it says the people were were afraid of this. This is strange because they were afraid of him when he was possessed, the acting himself, and breaking chains and all of that sort of stuff. Yeah. Because he had this sort of super ugly destructive power, now he's sitting in his right mind and he's dressed. They're afraid they're again -- Yeah.

-- because something has happened -- Yeah. -- that they can't explain. Yeah. They should be rejoicing to be quite honest. Yeah.

They don't seem to be. It's the exact same in this dorm actually. When the storm's happening in the boat on the way over, the disciples are afraid. And then as soon as Jesus steals the story here, it says they're terrified. Yeah.

They're like, it's Well, this is terrifying because something's changed, isn't Yeah. Something Super less supernatural. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

And and but the lovely thing is that he's in his right mind. Mhmm. What's an amazing sentence that is, that Jesus, when Jesus breaks in, you don't go crazy. No. You're not mad.

You're not become a religious nut. You're actually in your right mind. And there's something very settling about that. You know, there's it's relaxing. Is there is I I bet you had the best night's sleep.

Yeah. Is in his right mind. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

And that's what Jesus does, isn't it? And we we've experienced We to some degree, we've experienced that haven't we? That that you'd longing for all kinds of things in life, doing the things that people tell you to run after. Mhmm. And then you meet Jesus and you suddenly think much.

Like, you know, this is this is this is I thought Jesus followers were mental. Yeah. But, actually, it's completely obviously, while you're at it. Yeah. And you you you think about your life before you were Christian, you think, well actually I was mad then -- Yeah.

-- the things that I went after, the things I thought were reported. Yeah. My heart was sort of lying to me constantly. The bible's got this language where it says, you know, we're transformed by the renewing of our minds. Yes.

Yeah. So there is this sort of clarity and mental stability, yeah, that comes with following Jesus. We've got to stop just seeing the time. We'll come back to this story next time.