Imprisoned By Sin in the Mind (Mark 5)

The man possessed by Legion seems to be in my eyes a special case.  Here is a man that no chain could bind and no man could tame.  His life was wandering the tombs day and night, cutting and crying.  Among all the cases in the gospels, he seemed the be the most helpless in that he did possess his own mind enough to be able to reason.

In comparison to Nazareth, Jesus did not do as many miracles because of their unbelief, but was of this man–did he even have enough of his mind to put together any coherent thought.  It seems as though his act of worship was totally performed by the devils who had complete control of him.

It seems to me, what makes this case special is that God’s compassion for this man reaches out to heal in spite of the sick man’s inability to seek Jesus and call out for help.   As a parent of a child with autism, I often pray that my son could understand the Gospel.  The Gospel, of course, isn’t just information about the Savior, but it isn’t less that information.  To be saved, one must understand the Gospel message before being able to believe it and put trust in Christ.  My son needs to have an encounter with Jesus.

For the man who was possessed after he encountered Jesus, was sitting clothed and in his right mind (v15).   I cannot pretend to understand the types of mental bondage there are.  One doesn’t have to be autistic to suffer mentally.  Sin assaults the mind of anyone who gives place to it.  Depression is a pit that is beyond pulling oneself out of.  We need an encounter with Jesus.

I know personally, I have been in such a sinful state where I know I could not respond in repentance or move in a direction towards God.  But yet the Holy Spirit would speak during the preaching or in a verse to totally reverse train of thought.

No matter if it is the worst case of demonic control or mental deficiency, people need an encounter with Jesus who is able to save, even when reason is not possible.