Mark 5:1-20
I’m sure you’ve heard the song on Christian radio, “Chain Breaker,” by Zach Williams. The chorus says, “If you’ve got pain, He’s a pain taker. If you feel lost, He’s a way maker. If you need freedom or saving, He’s a prison-shaking Savior. If you’ve got chains, He’s a chain breaker!” It reminds me of the story of the Gadarene demoniac in Mark 5. It is a clear picture of spiritual bondage and oppression. It serves as an illustration of the misery that Satan brings to one’s life. We’re not told in the text how the man came to be possessed by the legion of demons, but it is apparent that such bondage had taken a toll out on his life. Jesus said in John 10:10 that Satan is a thief whose ultimate purpose is to divide and destroy. He had evidently robbed this man of his sanity and self-control. He had isolated him from his friends and family. Because he is a liar, the enemy seeks to fill the mind with fear and doubt.
Notice that society had no answer for such an oppressed and possessed man. In fact, the only thing that society can do with such people is to isolate them, confine them, and leave them in a hopeless condition. Society could only offer more chains, and all attempts to constrain this wild man had failed. It is a fitting reminder of how society, in spite of its scientific and technological breakthroughs, is ultimately powerless to change the heart. The best of man’s intellect cannot cope with the problems caused by sin and the devil. Spiritual problems need spiritual solutions, and that is something that society cannot provide. What society could not do for this man, however, the Savior most certainly could. This man needed Jesus Christ, the Chain Breaker! Only Jesus could free him from his spiritual bondage. In grace and mercy, Jesus came to him and set him free with the power of His word. Society seeks to change people from the outside in, but only Jesus can truly change a person from the inside out. This is why the gospel is such good news!
For more, read Luke 8:26-39
