…Well, please turn in your bibles to Mark 5:1-20. Anyone follow any sort of sport? I’ve heard this term “marquee matchup” used by promoters and commentators. They speak of a “marquee matchup” when two premier boxers, or fighters, or teams finally meet. A “clash of the champions.” Winner takes all. Loser goes home in shame. It’s a big deal. The marquee matchup gets all the hype.
This, in a manner of speaking, is what we find in this passage. One on side, we have Jesus, referred to in this story as the “Son of the Most High God.” To beat another dead horse, Jesus, as the Son of the Most High God, is not simply a human son, but the Son of God, divine, with the same essence and character of the Father. If a human king had a son, we would expect him to eventually rule in place of the father. So with Jesus, Jesus will eventually rule as the King of kings, as God.
This is important, because the false forms of Christianity like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses will say that they believe Jesus is the son of God, but what they mean, is nothing like the Bible means it. In the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus was created by God, and therefore a “god,” though lesser than the Father. Or in the case of Mormons, that Jesus is divine, but inherited a different type of divinity that the Father, the same divinity that anyone who comes to God inherits. These teachings are on the rise and influencing Christianity around the world. In fact, three Jehovah’s Witnesses addressed me in Lima and tried to infiltrate one of our events.
But Jesus, Son of the Most High God, comes face to face with the premier unclean spirit. As we will read, this spirit was not just one, but many, Legion, 6,000 according to Roman military accounting.
So, Son of the Most High God against Legion…
