Lesson 79 - Junior

Memory Verse

"With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

Notes

The Other Side of the Sea

Jesus had been teaching from a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Many people were on the shore listening to His parables, but He said, "Let us pass over unto the other side."

The country of the Gaderenes was on the east side of the sea, where lived a man who needed the help of the Lord. Jesus knew about this man, just as He knew about the Samaritan woman whom He would meet by Jacob's well, for we read that "he must needs go through Samaria" (John 4:4). This woman who lived in Samaria did not know how to worship God. She had a form of religion, but as Jesus talked to her she realised that the true spirit of worship comes from the heart. She was convicted of her sins and asked for the living waters that come with salvation. When Jesus revealed Himself to her, she not only believed but also witnessed or testified so that many others were brought to Him. So it is today that the Lord knows those who want the Gospel, and who need Him. The Lord and His people will put forth much effort that one soul might be saved. At one time the angel of the Lord told Philip, the Evangelist, to go to Gaza. He went there and found a man of Ethiopia, a coloured man, who wanted to learn about the Lord. He was reading the Word but he did not understand what it meant. As Philip "preached unto him Jesus," the man believed and was saved.

As Jesus and they who were with Him were crossing the sea, a great storm arose. The men were afraid that they would drown, but He rebuked the wind with these words: "Peace, be still," and there was a great calm. Jesus had power over all nature. The disciples were to witness a great change as He spoke the same peace to the heart and life of a man, and the storm of sin ceased. It is just as real when a person prays through to an experience of salvation as when Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

One Possessed of Devils

At the shore, a man who had an unclean spirit met them. Sin had robbed him of every good thing in his life, even to the extent that his mind was affected -" that is, he could not think like an ordinary person. No one would want to live among the tombs, but he did; no one would purposely cut himself with stones, but he did. Sin causes people to do the same things today: the sinner dwells among the spiritually dead; and many times he does things that are harmful to his body -" like smoking and drinking. Sin brings sorrow and suffering physically as well as spiritually.

Help to the Helpless

The friends of this man had tried to help him, for they had often bound him with chains and fetters. Perhaps they tried to keep him in the house, and tried to stop him from hurting himself. The devils in him gave him power to break those chains and fetters. No doubt his cry, night and day, brought fear to their hearts, but Jesus was the only One who could do him any good and deliver him. We know that no case is too hard for Jesus, even when men cannot help themselves or be helped by others. "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

Friends may try to help us. They may tell us of the Gospel and what the power of God can do for us. They may even pray with us, but only Jesus can save us from our sins and heal our sick bodies. The devils in this man had to yield to the power of the Lord. He spoke these words: "Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit." And they went out of the man. Because they were so many he said that their name was Legion (an army which could mean as many as 6,000). They asked permission to enter into some swine. The devils had had power, but in Jesus' presence they could do only what He said. At Jesus' consent they entered the swine, and the herd plunged over a bank into the sea. In like manner, the man could have been drowned, but Jesus did not allow that to happen, for He knows the value of one soul.

Can you picture this man? He had terrified the people. In the night they could hear his cries away out there in the tombs, and they knew he must be in pain from the cuts he had on his body. They could not help him; yet Jesus spoke the word and he became just as calm as any other person. He was healed! Think how happy he was, and how he must have thanked the Lord for what He had done!

The power of the devil is very great, but Jesus' power is greater. He permits Satan to go so far and no farther. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil" (I John 3:8). Look at Job. When Satan destroyed all he had, including his children, Job did not curse God as Satan said he would. Then Job suffered with boils, but he held fast his faith and murmured not against God. Satan could touch only the things in his life that God said that he could touch -" nothing more. Moreover, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before ([JOB:42:10]).

Asked to Leave

When the people of the town heard what had happened they came to Jesus. One would think that the Gadarenes would have been happy to see this wild man tamed, clothed, and in his right mind. Instead, they thought of the loss of their property " the swine -" and cared not for the man. Some people are very slow to praise God for the miracles He performs for them and for others. We should not be so concerned about the things of this earth. The Bible says, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

How sad to read that they asked Him to depart! Jesus does not stay unless He is wanted. As He was leaving, the man who had been healed asked to go with Him. At Jesus' command he stayed to tell his friends of the great things the Lord had done for him. No doubt, as he testified he reminded them of the life he had lived: how the demons had power over him so that the people feared, and he was tormented. No one could help him. Then one day he met the Saviour, and all was changed. No wonder men marvelled! They could not help but believe, for no one else but Jesus could take the sins and sorrow from his life.

We, too, are expected to testify and tell others that God has saved and healed us, that He may receive honour and gory. Somebody told you about Jesus. Have you told anyone?

How happy the man would have been to be with Jesus! But he knew that true happiness comes by obedience.

Questions

1. Tell in your own words what is meant by "a man with an unclean spirit."

2. Why was he living among he tombs?

3. Why were the devils called "Legion"?

4. How was the man healed?

5. What happened to the swine?

6. Why did Jesus leave?

7. Why did the man stay instead of following Jesus.