Death to Evil

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MARK

DEATH TO EVIL

Mark 5:6-13

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8 For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"  9 Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

NIV

Here is the rest of the story about Jesus having the power over all things, including the evil within this man. Does it really matter who these evil spirits, who call themselves legend because there were many, come from? Again some think them the fallen angels, some think them the offspring of angels and woman, some don’t think anything, not commenting about the origin of these things. What we know for sure is that when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil mankind would forever have evil within, our hearts would be deceitfully wicked, ever inclination of the thoughts of our heart are evil all the time even from childhood. If we disagree and think that we are pure and holy people based on the condition of our heart, we are absolutely only fooling ourselves. If we think we have checked off all the do’s and overcome all the don’ts we are deceiving ourselves and proving God right when he said our hearts are deceitfully wicked. Even if we know that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God, and shout it at the top of our voice, we have evil within. But Jesus can have the power over that evil, Jesus can cast that evil out and cleanse us from everything which works to harm and destroy us. There is no human power that can rid us of any sort of evil, but Jesus can, and he will, if we only allow him to. As this man was freed from the many evil spirits who were within him because of the power and authority of Jesus, we too can be free from evil. But first we have to come to Jesus, we have to admit any evil that is within and permit Jesus to cast it out, to order it to leave and to send it to the bottom of the lake, there dead, to no longer be. We will forever have the knowledge of good and evil. We will forever know what evil is and what effects it can have in our lives. We will forever be tempted by evil, which is the nature of the beast, to tempt us, continually. But we do not have to entertain that evil. We do not have to invite it back in. When Jesus sets us free we are free indeed. But we cannot make the mistake that we are free because of any our own abilities, our own efforts, our own power for that are entertaining evil. Let Jesus do the work. Let Jesus send evil to its death.