I think the saddest part of that passage for me is the fact that the whole society had been binding the man up with chains. No one knew what to do with him. I think there are a lot of people in our own society that we just throw in a corner, or a box, or try to put chains around because their problems are too big and overwhelming - they are burdened by a freaking LEGION of tormentors. I mean, we can handle hunger - give them a meal. We can handle financial difficulty - pay someone's rent for a couple of months.
But what happens when we try to care for our drug addicted or alcoholic family member? The one that continually hurts the family and us? The one that drains all of our emotional and financial resources again and again? There are so many compounding factors facing him or her – we just give up. We want to put a chain around them and forget about it. Leave them to cry out to the sky on their own. But Jesus confronts the demons. He does not let the man wrestle alone. He knows that he is powerless to overcome on his own. The crying out to the sky won’t work. The man needs someone to step into his life and HELP HIM.
Maybe that’s not the point – but I think there are a lot more people around us with demons trying to fight them on their own – shouting into the darkness – and they could use a community to fight alongside them.
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