HOFC Sermon Archive: Gospel of Mark Part 28: Who is Afraid of Jesus?

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SERMON TIMELINE

1. Introduction

2. John the Baptist

3. The Baptism of Jesus

4. Temptation of Jesus

5. The Preaching Ministry of Jesus I

6. The Preaching Ministry of Jesus II

7. The First Disciples

8. A Teacher with Authority

9. At the Home of Simon and Andrew

10. Jesus Cleanses the Leper

11. Jesus Heals the Paralytic

12. Jesus and the Tax Collector

13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14. Of Wine and Wineskins

15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025

16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts

17. Three Responses to Jesus

18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles

19. The Family of Jesus

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. The True Family of Jesus

22. Parable of the Four Soils

23. How Well Do You Listen

24. Parable of the Growing Seed

25. Parable of the Mustard Seed

26. Benefits of Private Teaching

27. Jesus Calms the Storm

28. Who is Afraid of Jesus?

Today is Sunday. August 3^rd, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I want to remind everyone of the upcoming Discipleship Study starting in a few weeks. This will be a study on the basics and foundational truths of Christianity, focusing on newer Christians and building faith and understanding. We have had quite a few people interested, which is great. We are currently looking at the study taking place in the evening on Monday or Tuesday evening here at the church. We should be ready to start soon. I just have a few more things to put together for the study, and we can begin.

Also, Baptisms will be taking place on August 16^th; anyone interested should get with me for more information before then. This is a Saturday and will be taking place earlier in the day, before noon, at the beach.

The church website and Facebook page have both been updated this week. The church blog links have been moved to the front page to make it easier to find. Posts on the Facebook page have increased and now include more quotes and scriptures, which has doubled our page exposure already.

The church blog on the front page of the website has also increased our visitors, which is essentially the purpose of the Facebook page and website: to share the messages around the world.

Thank you to everyone who has been liking and sharing the church posts; it does make a difference. Remember to invite family and friends to like our church page, and remember to invite friends and family to church on Sunday. As we have seen in the messages over the last few weeks, the Kingdom grows by members actively sharing the gospel with others.

Last week’s message was about how Jesus calmed the storm. This week, we will read about how He calms a man who was possessed in the same way, by having authority over all creation.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Saves a Man with Many Demons

“Then they came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And when He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And constantly, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones.

6 And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he *said, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he began pleading with Him earnestly not to send them out of the region.

11 Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. 12 And the demons pleaded with Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 13 And Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

14 And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they *came to Jesus and *observed the demon-possessed man sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had the “legion”; and they became frightened.

16 And those who had seen it recounted to them how this had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. 17 And they began to plead with Him to leave their region. 18 And as He [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was pleading with Him that he might accompany Him.

19 And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to preach in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was marveling.”

INTRODUCTION

We see Jesus and the disciples arrive on the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee in a place called Gerasenes, which we read in Mark 5:20 is also called Decapolis, which simply means district of ten cities.

We see Jesus cast out the demons from the possessed man and put them into the swine. Why not just send them to the abyss?

To Show the Reality and Destructive Nature of Demons.

The demons begged Jesus not to cast them out of the region or into the abyss. When Jesus allowed them to enter the pigs, the herd immediately rushed down a steep bank and drowned—showing the violent, self-destructive nature of demonic influence.

This illustrated what the demons wanted to do to the man all along, but couldn’t fully succeed because God restrained them.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

In doing this, Jesus showed His authority, gave a visible and public evidence of the man’s deliverance, and exposed the destructive nature of the demons.

Jesus also showed the value of a single soul. He crossed the stormy sea to deliver one man. One soul that was worth more than the value of a herd of pigs. Some scholars have estimated the herd to cost over $100,000 in our modern currency.

I. THE DEMONS WHO WERE LEGION FEARED JESUS

a. The demons were afraid of Jesus, and rightly so

i. They begged Jesus not to torment them

ii. Just like the unclean spirits in the Synagogue in Mark 1:23-24

iii. 1 John 3:8 tells us that Jesus was manifested for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil

iv. The demons and unclean spirits knew their time was coming, according to

Matthew 8:29 “And behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the appointed time of judgment?”

Matthew 25:41 tells us that everlasting (meaning eternally lasting, never-ending) fire is prepared for the devil and his angels.

Revelation 20:10 tells us that one day the devil himself will be cast into the lake of fire, and for those who do not belong to the Lord, they will suffer the second death, and be cast in along with him.

So, yes, demons are terrified of Jesus!

b. So, the lost should fear Jesus as well

i. If you are not ready for the coming of the Lord, be afraid 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 For God will execute vengeance on those who do not know God, and those who know, but do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

ii. “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, 10 when He comes to be glorified”

1. Yes, Virginia, there is an eternal hell. Its name is Gehenna.

iii. Those whom Jesus does not know (have a personal relationship with) will experience everlasting, never-ending, eternally lasting, fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels, Matthew 25:41; Matthew 25:46

iv. If your name is not in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you will not escape the lake of fire Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:8

The lost and those not ready for the Lord’s return should be afraid of Jesus. Is it essential to talk about hell and judgment day? Approximately 20% of the New Testament talks about it, so I would believe yes.

II. THE OCCUPANTS OF THE REGION FEARED JESUS

a. From their ignorance about who Jesus was

i. They were afraid when they saw that He healed the man

ii. They pleaded with Jesus to depart from their region.

iii. They feared the unknown, which is natural; however, they were unwilling to know…they had no interest in finding out who this man who can heal is.

iv. Their fear deprived them of incredible blessings!

They foolishly feared Jesus, and it cost them dearly.

b. We should not be afraid!

i. Of learning about Jesus, because He offers us rest for our souls, Matthew 11:28-30

ii. Of coming to Jesus, because He is the source of every spiritual blessing, Ephesians 1:3

iii. Of obeying Jesus, because through obedience we are freed from the bondage of sin

John 8:31-32 “Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

John 8:34-36 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

iv. Of following Jesus, His words provide safety from life’s storms, as we read last week when Jesus calmed the storm with His words. Matthew 7:24-27

III. THE POSSESSED MAN WHO WAS HEALED

a. Was not afraid of Jesus, and shouldn’t have been

i. After being healed, he begged to travel with Jesus, to serve the one who freed him from bondage!

ii. He was not afraid of Jesus, nor afraid to tell others about Jesus.

iii. He was forever grateful and showed his gratefulness by sharing with others what Jesus did for him in his hour of need

b. We should not be afraid of our savior

i. Jesus loves us and washed us from our sins! Revelation 1:5

ii. We should not be afraid to serve our Lord, to show our gratitude for all He has done, by sharing with others what Jesus has done for us. He has given us hope, and we can give hope to others! 1 Peter 3:15

For those who belong to the Lord, there should be no fear.

CONCLUSION

Who should be afraid of Jesus? Those unwilling to repent of their sins. Those unwilling to learn about who Jesus is.

Who are you more like from the scripture today?

The possessed who want nothing to do with Jesus? The townsfolk who know of Jesus, but fear Him and want Him to stay away? Or are you more like the man who was healed, recognizing what the Lord has done for you in your life, and show your gratefulness and appreciation by serving the Lord who freed you from bondage?

The nature of our relationship with Jesus reveals the answer. Do we desire to know more about Jesus? Are we willing to tell others about what He has done?

NEXT WEEK: “Part 29: The Touch of Jesus”

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Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Gospel of Mark Part 28: Who is Afraid of Jesus?

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