24. Jesus’ Authority Over Spirits (Mark 5:1-20)

Connect

What are you thankful for today?
How have you seen God working in your life this past week?
What difficulties are you experiencing in life? How may we help?
How did you apply last session’s discovery? What happened?
With whom did you share last session’s discovery? What was their response?

Instructions:

Please use the following steps to guide your discovery of God’s truth in the passages below. Need to review the Group Guidelines?

Discover

Step 1-Participants take turns reading sections of the passage (clarify new words/terms)
Step 2-One person reads the entire passage out loud while the rest listen
Step 3-A participant retells the passage in his/her own words (others add their thoughts)

Jesus’ Authority Over Spirits (Mark 5:1-20)

1So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. 2When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. 3This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. 4Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. 6When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. 7With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” 8For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.” 9Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?” And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.” 10Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place. 11There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. 12“Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.” 13So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. 14The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. 15A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. 16Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. 17And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone. 18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. 19But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” 20So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.

Ask/Answer:

What do you see in this passage?
What does this passage mean to you?
What do you like/not like about this passage?
How does this passage change the way you see God/people?

Respond: If this is true...

How should it change the way you live?
With whom will you share today’s discovery?

Close

Decide when the group will meet again
Close in prayer (for needs mentioned above)