Jesus the Liberator

Mark has a very vivid way of describing things. Nowhere, more so, than in his account of Jesus visiting the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1) where he sets a man free who is possessed by demons. I’ve only ever seen demon-possession once – in Dick Lucas’s study at St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London – 50 years ago – I saw young woman slithered around the room like a snake!

Here in Mark we see Jesus and whereever he went HE WENT DOING GOOD. Everywhere around the shores of Galilee: he bestowed blessings, he healed the sick, cleansed the leper, cured the cripple, dealt with this man and his demons. Whether it is a community or an individual, Jesus does good. Then he comes TO CRUSH THE POWER OF THE EVIL ONE. As soon as he met this man he set him free -even though he was possessed by a whole “legion” of demons. Behind much of our society today is this imprisonment by the Evil One – and it needs to be freed.

JESUS IS THE GREAT LIBERATOR. All the great blessings of our country we owe to our Christian heritage. All our noblest legacies, our democracy, our legal system, our education system, our universities, our philanthropic and healing institutions – can all be traced back to a Christian origin.

What can I do to help society? Who needs my help today?