Jesus is the ultimate overcomer and calls us overcomers. We are going to look at our last cycle of the Messiah and focus on Jesus as the overcomer. Remember, Jesus’ life is our example of how we should be living. Jesus is the overcomer of all sin, trauma, and all bondange. This means that you and I are also overcomers of all those things. We are told in Romans that we are more than conquerors. 

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I love the way the New Living Translation words this verse.

“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭37‬ ‭(NLT)‬‬

We have overwhelming victory through Jesus! How awesome is that?!

The word for more than conquerors can also mean, “to gain a surpassing victory.” 

How did Jesus show us he is more than a conqueror? 

We are going to do something I have never done before. We are going to go back to each of the lessons taught in this series and see how Jesus conquered each of them. 

1st: 1st Encounters with Jesus

In this lesson we looked at how people reacted the first time they encountered Jesus. 

One of those groups was the people in the decapolis. Let’s look back at how they reacted to Jesus the first time. 

Decapolis

One such town is the country of the Gerasenes. This place is in the Decapolis. This is a region outside of the country of Israel during the time of Jesus. These were people who likely didn’t follow Yahweh, but instead followed the many gods of the pagans. 

When Jesus first arrives in the country of the Gerasenes, he meets a man who was demon possessed. He was so controlled by demons that he had super-human strength and would break the chains placed on him to protect him and others. He lived among the tombs, and would cut himself as he cried out. 

It strikes me as interesting that this man could break the physical chains placed on him, and yet he was continually chained to the demons who controlled him. This man needed a touch from Jesus to actually free him from the chains that bound him. 

Thankfully, he received the freedom that only the power of God’s kingdom, the kingdom that is at hand, can give. 

Jesus tells the demons to leave the man and an interesting thing happens. 

“And he [the legion of demons] begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭13‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

For whatever reason, Jesus allows this group of demons to remain in the country and sends them into the pigs. 

While the Jews would be totally fine with the unclean animals taking the demons from the man, these men from the Decapolis were not happy at all. They likely saw money being flushed down the toilet, as we would say in our modern times. 

Furthermore, the townspeople seemed to be terrified by the sight of the crazy man sitting in his right mind. 

What the Jews saw as a blessing, the pagans saw as something to be feared and avoided. 

And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

The people here were unsure about this new power. While they were religious people, they were also very fearful of their many gods. They didn’t want any god to come in and disrupt their way of living. 

Jesus Leaves and Commands Man to Give His Testimony

After this man was freed from his tormentors, he wanted to go with Jesus. What did Jesus tell him? 

“The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Because of this man’s testimony, the people in the Decapolis were ready for Jesus the next time he came and were excited for him to return. 

Jesus Overcomes Their Fear

Although these people initially rejected Jesus, they later came to be curious and excited to see Jesus. 

In Mark 7:31-8:10 we see this interaction between Jesus and the people who lived in the Decapolis. 

First, Jesus heals a man who was deaf, and had a speech impediment. 

“Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭31‬-‭35‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

After this Jesus continued to teach to a great crowd. After 3 days he decides it is time to feed the crowd (as I am sure the food the people brought had been used by then). This is when Jesus feeds the 4,000. 

Through the testimony of the demon possessed man, a whole region came to know who Jesus is, and had the opportunity to be touched by their savior. 

How You Are An Overcomer

Like the man in the Decapolis, we can choose to allow Jesus to free us from the things that hold us hostage. 

It may be freedom from demons that have influence in your life, trauma that keeps you from being the person God created you to be, or unbelief that Jesus actually can set you free. 

When you humble yourself and accept the gift of freedom from Jesus, then you are told just as Jesus told the man who lived in the cemetery, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” 

Then watch as God moves in your friends and family in powerful ways. Your testimony is valuable and important. 

2nd: Jesus’ Family

In the second installment Brett talked about Jesus and his family. If you recall, Jesus’ family did not accept him as the Messiah at first. 

His Family Doesn’t Understand Him 

What did Jesus do when his own family misunderstood who he really was? 

“Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”” Mark 3:20-21 (ESV)

“And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:31-35 (ESV)

Jesus’ own family thought He had gone crazy. Perhaps Jesus’ brother James was the instigator, saying something like, “Hey everyone, Jesus has gone crazy! Let’s go get him.” 

Again, they all misunderstood Him. They had a particular identity that they were attempting to force upon Him, but He wasn’t who they thought He was. He was different. Jesus had a mission. He had a Godly calling.

Jesus Overcame this False Identity

Jesus proved to his family that is in fact the Messiah. We see that at least some of his family members came into agreement with his true identity. 

James, who is the author of the book of James, clearly came to agree with Jesus the Messiah identity.

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” James‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

Just like you and I, Jesus’ family had to make the decision to accept their son, brother, cousin, uncle, etc as their savior. I don’t know about all of Jesus’ physical family, but I am glad to know that at least James came to faith in his brother as the Messiah. 

How You Are An Overcomer

How do we overlay the conquering of rejection from our family 

Maybe some of you have family members who think you’re crazy for believing all this “spiritual stuff.” Perhaps they have a false identity that they’re trying to put on you like Jesus’ own family was doing. 

You don’t have to come into agreement with a false identity, even if it’s your own family that tries to put it on you. As a follower of Jesus, you can be the moral free agent that God called you to be. You can be the person that God says you are. 

We also see that Jesus adopts a new family. “Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

When you start moving about with the Holy Spirit, you will become attractive to some people, and others you will repel. 

This is because you have a spiritual smell. 

You will smell good to others moving about in the Holy Spirit, and you will smell like death to those who have rejected the Holy Spirit. How do I know this? It’s Biblical!

“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.” 2 Corinthians 2:15-16a (NKJV)

God knows that family is important to all of us. That’s why He calls Himself our Heavenly Father.

He will bring a spiritual family close to us to help us out, to become our spiritual mothers, spiritual fathers, spiritual brothers and sisters, and our spiritual sons and daughters. This is an ok thing. This is a God-thing.

And you didn’t realize how much the life of Jesus was working in you, right? Perhaps you didn’t realize that Jesus had experienced the kind of heartbreak with your family that you’ve experienced. He did. He knows what it feels like. And He is faithful to be your family and to bring you His amazing family around you.

We are going to pause here for this week. Join me next week as we look at the next few cycles of the Messiah review! Be blessed my friends!