Chain Breaker

 Chain Breaker

By J.K. Woodall

In Mark 5, we meet a man everyone had given up on. He was hurting, isolated, and out of control. Scripture says he lived among the tombs and was “crying out and cutting himself with stones” (Mark 5:5, NIV). People tried to help the only way they knew how—“He had often been bound with shackles and chains” (Mark 5:4, NIV). The chains broke, but the pain didn’t. He was still trapped on the inside.

That’s painfully relatable. Many of us hurt ourselves too—maybe not with stones, but through destructive thoughts, emotional isolation, shame, guilt, or constantly replaying our failures. We speak harshly to ourselves. We carry wounds we never let heal.

Then Jesus shows up.

After one encounter with Christ, the same man is found “sitting there, clothed and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15, NIV). No chains. No self-harm. No chaos. Just peace. Jesus didn’t just stop the behavior—He restored the man.

This is why Jesus is the Chain Breaker. He frees us from patterns of self-destruction and calls us to stop hurting ourselves—emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. As Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, NIV).

God promised this kind of healing long ago—“to proclaim freedom for the captives” (Isaiah 61:1, NIV; Luke 4:18, NIV).

Jesus still breaks chains—and He still makes people whole.