jesus visits a cemetery
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TRANSCRIPT
Jesus Visits a Cemetery
Mk 5:1-20
Cemeteries
• This is the week-end to visit cemeteries.
Cemeteries
• This is the week-end to visit cemeteries.
• This morning, we mentioned how important
it is to remember those who have gone
before.
Jesus Visited Cemeteries
• When Lazarus died.
Jesus Visited Cemeteries
• When Lazarus died.
• When he himself died.
Jesus Visited Cemeteries
• When Lazarus died.
• When he himself died.
• Jesus always gave life back to people at
cemeteries.
Jesus Visited Cemeteries
• When Lazarus died.
• When he himself died.
• Jesus always gave life back to people at
cemeteries.
– Jesus gave life back to a man in tonight‟s text.
Jesus Visited Cemeteries
• When Lazarus died.
• When he himself died.
• Jesus always gave life back to people at
cemeteries.
– Jesus gave life back to a man in tonight‟s text.
– But, this man wasn‟t dead!
Jesus Visited Cemeteries
• When Lazarus died.
• When he himself died.
• Jesus always gave life back to people at
cemeteries.
– Jesus gave life back to a man in tonight‟s text.
– But, this man wasn‟t dead! He lived in the
cemetery.
Mk 5:1-20 (ESV)
• “They came to the other side of the sea, to
the country of the Gerasenes. And when
Jesus had stepped out of the boat,
immediately there met him out of the tombs
a man with an unclean spirit. He lived
among the tombs. And no one could bind
him anymore, not even with a chain, for he
had often been bound with shackles and
chains, but he wrenched the chains apart,
and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one
had the strength to subdue him.
Mk 5:1-20 (ESV)
• “Night and day among the tombs and on the
mountains he was always crying out and
cutting himself with stones. And when he
saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down
before him. And crying out with a loud
voice, he said, „What have you to do with
me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I
adjure you by God, do not torment me.‟ For
he was saying to him, „Come out of the man,
you unclean spirit!‟
Mk 5:1-20 (ESV)
• “And Jesus asked him, „What is your name?‟
He replied, „My name is Legion, for we are
many.‟ And he begged him earnestly not to
send them out of the country. Now a great
herd of pigs was feeding there on the
hillside, and they begged him, saying, „Send
us to the pigs; let us enter them.‟
Mk 5:1-20 (ESV)
• “So he gave them permission. And the
unclean spirits came out, and entered the
pigs, and the herd, numbering about two
thousand, rushed down the steep bank into
the sea and were drowned in the sea.
Mk 5:1-20 (ESV)
• “The herdsmen fled and told it in the city
and in the country. And people came to see
what it was that had happened. And they
came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed
man, the one who had had the legion, sitting
there, clothed and in his right mind, and they
were afraid. And those who had seen it
described to them what had happened to the
demon-possessed man and to the pigs.
Mk 5:1-20 (ESV)
• “And they began to beg Jesus to depart from
their region. As he was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed with
demons begged him that he might be with
him. And he did not permit him but said to
him, „Go home to your friends and tell them
how much the Lord has done for you, and
how he has had mercy on you.‟ And he went
away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis
how much Jesus had done for him, and
everyone marveled.”
WE TELL OTHERS WHEN
SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS
TO US!
Good News
• “Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good
news from a far country” (Prov 25:25,
ESV).
Good News
• “They said to one another, „We are not doing
right. This day is a day of good news. If we
are silent and wait until the morning light,
punishment will overtake us. Now therefore
come; let us go and tell the king‟s
household.‟ So they came and called to the
gatekeepers of the city and told them, „We
came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold,
there was no one to be seen or heard there,
nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys
tied and the tents as they were” (2 Ki 7:9-10,
ESV).
IN TELLING THE GOOD NEWS
OF JESUS, WHY ARE WE
OFTEN AS SILENT AS THE
DEAD THEMSELVES?
The Man in the Cemetery
• “As [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the
man who had been possessed with demons
begged him that he might be with him” (v
18, ESV).
The Man in the Cemetery
• “As [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the
man who had been possessed with demons
begged him that he might be with him” (v
18, ESV).
• “Go home to your friends and tell them how
much the Lord has done for you, and how he
has had mercy on you” (v 19, ESV).
Paul's Dilema
• “I am hard pressed between the two. My
desire is to depart and be with Christ, for
that is far better. But to remain in the flesh
is more necessary on your account” (Phil
1:23-24, ESV).
Paul's Dilema
• “I am hard pressed between the two. My
desire is to depart and be with Christ, for
that is far better. But to remain in the flesh
is more necessary on your account” (Phil
1:23-24, ESV).
• Paul wants to depart and be with Christ, but
he knows there is useful work to be done!
Lessons from the Man in the
Cemetery
• WE RECOGNIZE.
• WE REMEMBER.
• WE RESPOND.
Recognize
• “When Jesus had stepped out of the boat,
immediately there met him out of the tombs a man
with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs.
And no one could bind him anymore, not even with
a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles
and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he
broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the
strength to subdue him. Night and day among the
tombs and on the mountains he was always crying
out and cutting himself with stones” (vv 2-5, ESV).
Jesus Changed This Man
• The man lived in a cemetery.
Jesus Changed This Man
• The man lived in a cemetery. He likely had
family somewhere who loved him deeply.
Jesus Changed This Man
• The man lived in a cemetery. He likely had
family somewhere who loved him deeply.
• He was dangerous.
Jesus Changed This Man
• The man lived in a cemetery. He likely had
family somewhere who loved him deeply.
• He was dangerous.
– Maybe he was bound for his own good.
Jesus Changed This Man
• The man lived in a cemetery. He likely had
family somewhere who loved him deeply.
• He was dangerous.
– Maybe he was bound for his own good.
– The man had supernatural strength.
Jesus Changed This Man
• The man lived in a cemetery. He likely had
family somewhere who loved him deeply.
• He was dangerous.
– Maybe he was bound for his own good.
– The man had supernatural strength.
– He cut himself with stones.
Jesus Changed This Man
• The man lived in a cemetery. He likely had
family somewhere who loved him deeply.
• He was dangerous.
– Maybe he was bound for his own good.
– The man had supernatural strength.
– He cut himself with stones.
• He was constantly crying out.
Deplorable Condition
• “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in
which you once walked” (Eph 2:1-2, ESV).
Deplorable Condition
• “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in
which you once walked” (Eph 2:1-2, ESV).
• We belonged in a cemetery—we just didn‟t
know it!
DO WE HAVE ENTHUSIASM
FOR WHAT THE LORD HAS
DONE FOR US?
Taken Away Sin
• “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried out
sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by
God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us
peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every
one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on
him the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:4-6, ESV).
Redeemed from Sin
• “You were ransomed from the futile ways
inherited from your forefathers, not with
perishable things such as silver or gold, but
with the precious blood of Christ, like that of
a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pt 1:18-
19, ESV).
Given Us Life
• “The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy. I came that they may have life and
have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10, ESV).
Given Us Hope
• “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again to a livign
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to an inheritance that is
imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept
in heaven for you, who by God‟s power are
being guarded through faith for a salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pt
1:3-5, ESV).
DO WE KNOW THAT
CHANGE?
HOW COULD THIS MAN EVER
FORGET WHAT JESUS DID?
Do We Forget?
• “Others are the ones sown among thorns.
They are those who hear the word, but the
cares of the world and the deceitfulness of
riches and the desires for other things enter
in and choke the word, and it proves
unfruitful” (Mk 4:18-19, ESV).
Do We Forget?
• “Others are the ones sown among thorns.
They are those who hear the word, but the
cares of the world and the deceitfulness of
riches and the desires for other things enter
in and choke the word, and it proves
unfruitful” (Mk 4:18-19, ESV).
• Do we get too caught up in the cares of this
world?
The Lord's Supper Reminds Us
• “The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed
took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke
it, and said, „This is my body which is for you. Do
this in remembrance of me.‟ In the same way also
he took the cup, after supper, saying, „This cup is
the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as
you drink it, in remembrance of me.‟ For as often
as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you
proclaim the Lord‟s death until he comes” (1 Cor
11:23-26, ESV).
Re-Enactment of Jesus' Death
• “By that will we have been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all” (Heb 10:10, ESV).
Re-Enactment of Jesus' Death
• “By that will we have been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all” (Heb 10:10, ESV).
• The re-enactment reminds us of what Jesus
has done!
Scripture
• “I intend always to remind you of these
qualities, though you know them and are
established in the truth that you have. I
think it right, as long as I am in this body, to
stir you up y way of reminder, since I know
that the putting off of my body will be soon,
as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
And I will make every effort so that after my
departure you may be able at any time to
recall these things” (2 Pt 1:12-15, ESV).
DO WE REMEMBER WHAT
THE LORD HAS DONE?
Declaring What the Lord Has Done
• “Jesus said to him, „Go home to your friends
and tell them how much the Lord has done
for you, and how he has had mercy on you.‟
And he went away and began to proclaim in
the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for
him, and everyone marveled” (vv 19-20,
ESV).
IS IT ANY WONDER THE
PEOPLE MARVELED WHEN
THEY SAW THIS MAN?
Power of Example
• “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has
lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be
restored? It is no longer good for anything
except to be thrown out and trampled under
people‟s feet. You are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Mt
5:13-14, ESV).
Different People
• “Or do you not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom
you have from God? You are not your own,
for you were bought with a price. So glorify
God in your body” (1 Cor 6:19-20, ESV).
Different People
• “The time that is past suffices for doing what
the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality,
passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking
parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to
this they are surprised when you do not join
them in the same flood of debauchery, and
they malign you; but they will give account
to him who is ready to judge the living and
the dead” (1 Pt 4:3-5, ESV).
Tell What the Lord Has Done
• “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. God therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you. And behold, I am
with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt
28:18-20, ESV).
Tell What the Lord Has Done
• “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. God therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you. And behold, I am
with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt
28:18-20, ESV).
• “Those who were scattered went about
preaching the word” (Acts 8:4, ESV).
THE PEOPLE BECAME
PERSONALLY INVOLVED
ARE WE TELLING WHAT THE
LORD HAS DONE?