In a gripping teaching drawn from Mark chapter 5, Rabbi Kirt Schneider discusses the powerful account of Jesus’ encounter with a demon-possessed man. As Schneider points out this is not just as a historical narrative, but a present-day reality of spiritual warfare.
According to Schneider, this man, dwelling among the tombs, had supernatural strength and was so overtaken by demonic oppression that even chains couldn’t hold him. He cried out day and night and gashed himself with stones—a stark reminder that demonic influence is often accompanied by an obsession with death, self-harm and torment.
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/**/“This might seem strange,” Schneider shares, “but we can see this same spiritual phenomenon today. People attracted to darkness, to death, to Halloween, to Gothic culture—it’s a reflection of the same demonic pull.” The message is clear: demons still seek to inhabit flesh and blood, and they target the vulnerable, the wounded and the spiritually unaware.
The account of this deliverance takes a dramatic turn when Jesus begins commanding the spirits to leave. Unlike many deliverances in Scripture, this one was a process. Jesus asked the demon its name—“Legion, for we are many”—and granted them permission to enter a herd of pigs, which then rushed into the sea and drowned. It was a visible, undeniable sign of spiritual power clashing with the darkness.
This was no mere story from ancient times. “I’ve seen it,” Schneider continues, recounting scenes in Africa and other nations where witchcraft and ancestral religion open doors to the demonic. “People convulsing, shrieking, foaming at the mouth. It’s real. These manifestations happen when darkness comes into the presence of light.”
Even more sobering is the reaction of the townspeople. Rather than celebrate the miracle, they were afraid—and they begged Jesus to leave. It mirrors how many today respond when they see the power of the Holy Spirit at work. “People fear the supernatural,” Schneider shares. “I was once taught tongues were demonic. I avoided it like the plague.”
But in a deeply personal story, he describes how years later he found himself speaking in tongues without even realizing it—proof that God’s Spirit had gently, sovereignly led him beyond fear into truth. “I was afraid of the supernatural before the Lord drew me in,” he admits. “But if we want to walk with God, we must walk with the supernatural God.”
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The message ends with a passionate exhortation: Don’t be afraid of what God wants to do in your life. Don’t fear the gifts of the Spirit. “If you ask the Father for a fish, He won’t give you a scorpion.” Demons tremble at Jesus because His power is real—and still available today to deliver, heal and set people free.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
