Spiritual Warfare - Defeating the Destroyer

This blog is about the sixth chapter in the Bible study, Spiritual Warfare, written by Jack Kuhatschek.

Mark 5:1-20

1. “What do we learn about the dark and destructive life of the man Jesus meets (vv. 1-5)?” He lived in the tombs. No one could subdue him; he could even break the chains they tried to put him in. He would cry out and cut himself with stones day and night.
2. “What do the man’s experiences teach us about the devil’s desires for each one of us?” The devil wants only bad things for us. He wants us to hurt ourselves and others.
3. “Why do you think the man speaks and acts as he does when he sees Jesus from a distance (vv. 6-8)?” The man was possessed by demons. The demons in him knew that Jesus had the authority to cast them out to the dry places God has prepared for them. They were so filled with fear that they would be cast out of this man.
4. “A Roman legion consisted of about six thousand soldiers. How does this help us to understand the pervasive nature of Satan’s control over this man (vv. 9-10)?” Satan didn’t just use one or two demons to attack this man. Satan has thousands of demons that he can use for just one person. Once he has a foothold on a person, he will spread out and overwhelm that person. He had so much control over this man. One demon is enough to possess a person, but this man had thousands of demons inside of him.
5. “Although we know nothing about the man’s life prior to his demon possession, what steps might lead an ordinary person to become increasingly controlled by evil?” I have seen a Christian friend God on her way down the road to demon possession. She doubted God on just one thing on her life. Before she knew it, it was controlling so much of her that she was having trouble sleeping and experiencing spiritual warfare during the nights. She was losing her faith, but her Christian friends were there to support her, and eventually she let God back into her life, and trusted Him with that situation. Had she not done that, Satan could have done so much more with her. Another person I knew actually was possessed by a demon. It started with him not trusting God to take care of his sister, who he wasn’t allowed to see. Over seven years it built up in him, and he became more and more possessed by demons. Although he believed in God and was a Christian, he fell away and became increasingly controlled by evil. He was violent. He killed animals and drank their blood. He cut himself and left the deepest and ugliest scars on his back. He abused people around him. One day he slammed a girl against the wall at school. Another day he got angry and hurt a friend while swimming. I could name several times I saw him hurt other people. If I went into the things he did to me, it would be so much more. He has vowed to kill his sister’s father. The evil he has done and the evil that the devil is going to use him to do is terrifying. But all it started with was not trusting God with taking care of his sister. But Satan used that to control his life. He’s going to need a huge breakthrough to turn back now. It breaks my heart to think about it. What scares me even more is that this could happen to anyone.
6. “The story of the pigs (vv. 11-13) is one of the strangest in all of Scripture. Why do you think both Jesus and the demons acted as they did?” I know the demons wanted to go into the pigs because going into the pigs was better than being sent to the dry places where they would be sent otherwise, but I really don’t know why Jesus acted as He did and cast them into the pigs. If I had to guess, I would say it was to demonstrate His power or to show the people nearby how many demons were in this one man.
7. “Describe the response of the people from the town when they see both the man and Jesus (vv. 14-17).” When they saw the man sitting there in his right man, and Jesus beside him, they were afraid. They were told about the pigs, as well, which added to the fear. “Why do they respond in fear rather than faith?” I think the fact that thousands of pigs threw themselves off a cliff might be the reason why. If I heard that Jesus cast out demons from the crazy man who ran around the tombs, and heard that they went into the pigs and the pigs threw themselves off the cliff, I think my first instinct would be fear. I also think that the people could have been upset at the loss of thousands of pigs. Pigs have some value, and if Jesus could cast demons out into the pigs, what else would He cast them into? Also, it’s not everyday that a man comes and casts thousands of demons out of a man that has been a disturbance for so long. When unusual things happen, people are usually more likely to be afraid than filled with faith. People don’t like things out of the ordinary, especially when they’re comfortable with their own little lives.
8. “Frequently in Mark’s Gospel Jesus tells people to follow him (see Mark 1:17; 2:14; 10:21). This man is eager to follow Jesus; why does Jesus send him home (vv. 18-20)?” Jesus was asked by the people to leave. This man is the only person that could witness and possibly get through to the people of this town. Jesus wanted him to stay and witness to them, instead of going to the places Jesus would be. Jesus had enough people with him and in other places to witness, but this man was the only hope for many people in this town.
9. “Who in your immediate or extended family does not know the Lord?” My sisters, my grandpa, my uncles, and my cousins. “What opportunities do you have to ‘tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you’ (v. 19)?” I usually see opportunities to share when it opens up in conversation. I posted my testimony online, which my aunt saw and read, but she believes the same things that I do. I think that now that I have a life separate from my family, I will see more and more opening to share with them the things I am learning. When I was living with them, all they saw was the worst in me, and not the things that God did in my life. I will have so many chances to share with them when I visit this Christmas.