No Man Could Bind Him – Mark 5

And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:” — Mark 5:2–3

Many years ago, when trying to start a church in a new area, a man came into the Bible study. He was a big, strong man, who had a wild look in his eyes. He kept interrupting. One of the things he kept saying was how he had killed people. My friend Chris was trying to teach the Bible and this man’s interruptions were getting very distracting.

I managed to get him to leave the room and talk privately, but his behaviour continued to be very wild and threatening. Eventually, the lady who managed the community centre where we were meeting called the police, and they helped to calm the situation.

As I think of that man, whose strength and spirit were beyond anything we could do to calm, I think of the man Jesus met. Yet in this story, Jesus was able to calm a man that “no man could bind.” Not even chains could hold him back, but Jesus was able with a word to cast out his demons and set him free.

As we see a world that cannot be bound, that refuses to listen to authority, that wants to have its own way, and that seems bent on sin and depravity, what a joy to know we have a Saviour who can bind the unbound-able and free the un-free-able. He can cast out their demons and their sin. He can bring them into true peace and freedom.

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