Chapter # 5 Paragraph # 1 Study # 3
December 8, 2020
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Mark's record of Jesus' exorcism of "Legion" is the climax of his presentation of Jesus as "The Mighty One" from the direction of His absolute authority over "unclean spirits/demons" and its setting is "Death".
Introduction: In our last study, we considered Mark's record of the event in this paragraph as a kind of "doubling down on" his argument that Jesus of Nazareth is "The Mighty One". Actually, though, it is the climax of that argument, and it is given with a view toward "the mightiest necessity" that faces the human race. In the study this evening we are going to look into these details.
- I. Mark's "Final" Proof.
- A. From the initial record in 1:21-28, Mark's argument has been that Jesus of Nazareth is "The Mighty One" because He could demand obedience from an unclean spirit and get it.
- B. After that initial presentation, there were multiple records of exorcisms that were given in tandem with the other argument regarding His abilities of dominion over the physical creation.
- C. Then came this record with the deliberate emphasis upon the massive number of unclean spirits involved, and the next record is in 6:7 and its context where Jesus gives His disciples the ability to cast out unclean spirits, and after that there are only a couple more records of exorcism by either Jesus or His disciples.
- D. Thus, with this paragraph, following the record of the raging storm that culminated in the "identity" question (Who is this?), we see that Mark has made his point.
- 1. Within this large thesis there is one matter that stands out above the rest: Mark's switch in terminology moving back and forth between "unclean spirits" and "demons".
- a. The most likely reason for this is Mark's desire to present the particular issues involved in those identity words.
- b. Identifying the oppressors as "unclean spirits" puts the focus upon the Old Testament concept of "uncleanness".
- 1) In the Old Testament there are several categories of the "unclean" (various foods, various illnesses, various other temporary conditions that could be resolved by washing, and, most significant, reasons for exclusion from the sanctuary so that God forced the "unclean" to keep their distance from Him).
- 2) The main issue of "uncleanness" is that it describes people and things that, at root, are "unclean" because they pose a threat to others.
- a) The threat can be relatively passive as in "incapacity to accomplish the good sought in the setting".
- b) The threat can also be aggressively act as in "destructive abilities to make sure that the sought-after good was put beyond the reach of those seeking it".
- 3) Thus, "calling these opponents to Jesus and His 'new doctrine' unclean spirits" meant that either by passive influence or aggressive opposition, the goal was not to be reached.
- c. Alternatively, identifying the oppressors as "demons" brings a more potent issue into play.
- 1) "Demons" were considered "alternative sub-deities of great power".
- 2) The chief characteristic of the "great power" is "destructive action".
- 3) The point being that a "demon" was a personalized as a spirit who uses his abilities to bring great destruction to those over whom he has authority.
- d. Thus, Mark bounced back and forth between these terms because sometimes he wished to generate a strong sense of "incapacity" to produce good and other times he wished to generate a strong sense of "aggressive intent to do great damage".
- 2. In the record before us in this paragraph, Mark deliberately inserts a strong "Death focus".
- a. He does this by the use of two slightly different words, both of which have to do with graves.
- 1) The first word is used in 5:2 to tell us whence the man came who confronted Jesus: he had his dwelling among the "grave markers"; and the second word is in 5:3 to tell us that the man had his dwelling among the graves.
- 2) The point is that Mark desired to emphasize "Death" as the setting for the final record of "massive conflict" between Jesus and "Legion": this is the backdrop.
- b. By this focus, Mark is making his point about Jesus' adversaries: they, by being centered upon a death-focus, are both incapable of leading anyone to life (unclean spirits) and determined to block such an outcome (demons) if possible.
- 3. Thus, Mark's "Mighty One" is being given by him the characteristic of both being focused upon defeating Death and bringing certain victims of Death to Life.
- a. This raises the crucial question of "What is Death?".
- 1) The answer is confused because sometimes "Death" refers to the "separation" of the empowering spirit from its instrument of accomplishment (the body), and other times it refers to the condition of the person who is left "spiritless".
- 2) The important thing to realize, however, is that whether we are referring to the mechanics of Death (separation from the enabling spirit) or the resulting condition, in no case is there any sense of a kind of unconscious/unaware person: those who are subjected to "Death" are never unfeeling or unaware.
- 3) Thus, "Death" is, bottom line, a forced imposition of awareness without capacity to do anything about the setting.
- b. It also raises the crucial question of "What is Life?" in terms of "The Mighty One's Intention".
- 1) The Mighty One has one final intention: to remove every aspect of "Death" from the setting of people who believe in Him.
- 2) This intention is, for the most part, accomplished in stages, but "in stages of what?".
- 3) "Life", like "Death", is all about "awareness": experience of the setting.
- E. Thus, Mark, by emphasizing this confrontation between Jesus, as the Mighty One, and Legion, as an enormous group of "unclean demons" with the setting of "Death" is clarifying exactly what is involved in the War of the Ages.
