As I'm learning how the blogging format works on here, I thought I would share one of my earlier blogs with you. This is one that still touches me deeply. Come ... let's get 'set free' together!
"SET ME FREE" lyrics
by:CASTING CROWNS
It hasn't always been this way
I remember brighter days
Before the dark ones came
Stole my mind
Wrapped my soul in chains
Now I live among the dead
Fighting voices in my head
Hoping someone hears me crying in the night
And carries me away
CHORUS
Set me free of the chains holding me
Is anybody out there hearing me?
Set me free
Morning breaks another day
Finds me crying in the rain
All alone with my demons I am
Who is this man that comes my way?
The dark ones shriek
They scream His name
Is this the One they say will set the captive free?
Jesus, rescue me
CHORUS
As the God man passes by
He looks straight through my eyes
And darkness cannot hide
Do you want to be free?
Lift your chains
I hold the key
All power on Heav'n and Earth belong to Me
(repeat)
You are free
You are free
You are free
I was listening to the song "Set Me Free" by Casting Crowns this week on my iPod; really listening to the words. I was intriqued, and wondered if the lyrics might be inspired by the story in the Bible about Jesus casting demons out of a man that lived in a cemetery or something.
Today I looked up the Bible story, and I found it in three gospels. If indeed this is what inspired the lyrics, the accounts are written in the following Biblical places: Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; and Luke 8:26-39. I did not see it in my quick glance through the book of John.
An interesting thing I DID note that was in Matthew's account he talked about two possessed men whom lived amongst the tombs. In the accounts of both Mark and Luke, they mentioned only the one man. Just an observation, and I won't get distracted too much by that. Ty and I had talked before and again today of how different eyewitness accounts can and do vary, maybe that little detail can be the topic of a different blog in the future.
My own synopsis of the story will go something like this:
Jesus and his disciples have just sailed across a lake, and that was the story about how Jesus calmed the waves in the storm (another lyric-line in another Casting Crowns song incidentally).
When they reached the other side, a demon-possessed man met Jesus. He had been "ill", and had not worn clothes or lived in a house for a long time. He had been kept chained and under guard for a time, but he had broken his chains, and the demon drove him out into a solitary place. Apparently that is how he came to live among the tombs. Mark says that night and day he would cry out and cut himself with stones while wandering among the hills and the tombs.
When the man saw Jesus, he fell at his feet and shouted "What do you want with me Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" Then it says "for Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man".
Jesus asked him his name, and the demon in him replied "Legion", because there were many of them in the man. They then begged Jesus not to throw them into the Abyss, and for Jesus to instead send them into a nearby herd of pigs. Jesus gave them permission, they entered the pigs, and the pigs stampeded down the steep hill into the lake.
The pig-herders watched this, and ran to report it in the town and countryside, and people came out to see what had happened. They arrived to see the man sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind. Then the Bible says they were afraid.
Those people who had gone to see this now spread the news of how the demon-possessed man had been cured; and all the people in the region asked Jesus to leave them because they were overcome with fear. So He got into the boat and left. The man who had been delivered asked to go with Jesus, but Jesus responded to him that he needed to return home and tell how much God had done for him.
Now to share some of the thoughts rolling around in my head after contemplating this story!
I cannot imagine how horrible life must have been for the afflicted man and his family. But God had allowed it to happen; if not, there wouldn't have been the story and testimony. And another thought: could there be any correlation to the modern day persons who have some kind of mental illness and cut themselves?
I thought it interesting that Jesus had already commanded the demons to leave the man when the man was crying out "What do you want with me?". So He must have discerned them immediately and took action, and the demons had immediately known who Jesus was.
The demons must know how terrible the Abyss is since they begged Jesus not to send them there, but into the pigs instead. What did they know about possessing animals? It becomes obvious through this example that evil spirits can indeed possess animals; but can they do it by their will, or just in an instance where God allows or commands it. What happened to them after the pigs drowned? And why did Jesus have mercy (or whatever it was) and allow them into the pigs? Perhaps if he had commanded them to go into the Abyss there wouldn't have been such a dramatic testimony.
On a side note, I would like to know what a herd of pigs looks like, and how do persons actually herd them?! Mark says there were about two-thousand pigs. Can you imagine the mess left behind by 2000 pigs?! Both from rooting and the, er, other left-0vers! I remember having pigs growing up, and boy can they stink. There is no record of how many pig-tenders there were. I think of our County Fair, watching the swine judging classes ... it's hard to herd even one pig. And the fights! The kids' dads and other men stand near with quarter-sheets of plywood to shove between fussing piggies, or to try and persuade the pigs to go a certain direction.
I can understand the herders running to the town and countryside to tell what happened. I can even imagine the media frenzy that would happen if this story were to occur in this day and age. Hmm, wouldn't that make a funny play?! Maybe I'll work on that another day!
In talking about this story with my a pastor friend, he put forth the idea of the law suits that would fly if this took place in today's time. The pigs' owners suing for the loss of the animals; the herders suing for the loss of their jobs; probably the people for pain & suffering! Sheesh. What a mess.
I can even understand the fear of the people of the region who had come out to see for themselves. I'm sure the demon-possessed man had been quite infamous, and it must have been kind of unsettling to see him dressed, calm and rational. (Again my Pastor friend made me laugh as he mused about the youth of the day, sneaking up to spy on the deranged man, daring each other to check him out, etc!).
But I don't understand the depth of their fear. Why were they SO afraid that they begged Jesus to leave? And then He just got into the boat and left! Those people really "MISSED THE BOAT". Didn't anyone among them think that maybe since Jesus had healed the man they thought hopeless, that He could heal something in their own life?
Now, what do I think might be relevant for us today in all of this? I wonder if this is similar to what people do if they see a manifestation of Jesus' power that they don't understand. For example, what if a person sees God move in a way that they haven't seen before, or didn't expect ... what if the manifestation is loud, like maybe a person crying, or shouting; or a person falls to the floor ... are they afraid on some level, and reject Jesus outright?
Interesting food for thought, indeed. Lord, Set Me Free!
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