St. Edmund's Church, Crickhowell

Encounters with Jesus -

The Demon-Possessed Man

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DELIVERANCE

In order to meet this unfortunate man Jesus went into the margins. The far side of the Sea of Galillee was in a different administrative area and different cultural and religious values were held there. In another sense, however, he went even further in order to encounter someone who was completely outside any society.

WELCOME

Jesus sometimes went across the Sea of Galilee to escape either from the crowds or from the political and religious pressures. Where do you go to "get away from it all"?

WORD

Read Mark 4:35 - 5:20.

The Storm

The journey across the lake was not without incident.

  1. Do you think there is any connection between the story of the storm and what was to follow?
  2. What has a fear about drowning got to do with a lack of faith?
  3. Are there times when we accuse God of not caring? What does this incident teach us about dealing with these situations?

The Deliverance

  1. Many people today are uncomfortable with the idea of demon-possession and deliverance but on the other hand can you find a better way to explain the extreme behaviour of this man and the difference that Jesus made?
  2. How does our treatment of people on the margins of our society compare with the way that this man was treated?
  3. In what ways does Jesus deliver people today?

The Reaction

  1. Wouldn't you have thought that people would have been delighted by this miracle, if only because a public nuisance had been removed? Why might they not have been pleased?
  2. Can you in any way defend what happened to the pigs? Was it Jesus' fault?
  3. Why wasn't it right for the man to follow after Jesus but instead to go back home?

WORSHIP

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. [Psalm 34:4]

Read together all of Psalm 34, a great psalm of deliverance. Thank God that he has delivered us from all that we were and that in Christ we have been restored.

 

 

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