The Gospel of Mark 5:1-13
Then they came to the other side of the sea, into the
region of the Gerasenes. And when He got out of the boat, immediately a man
from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, who had his dwelling among the
tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he
had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn
apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to
subdue him.
And constantly, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was
crying out and gashing himself with stones.
And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed
down before Him; and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What do I have to
do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not
torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean
spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My
name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began pleading with Him earnestly not
to send them out of the region.
Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the
mountain. And the demons pleaded with Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so
that we may enter them.” And Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the
unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into
the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.
We continue in the scriptures the following morning as Jesus
arrives on the other side of the sea after He had quelled the storm. They had
landed “in the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.”
(Luke 8:26) and when they embarked from the boats “immediately a man from
the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,”
This man was dwelling “amongst the tombs”, amongst
the graves of the dead. He was uncontrollable because he was strong, and his
mind was unfit, unable to reason. For “he had often been bound with shackles
and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken
in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. And constantly, night
and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing
himself with stones. “
He was a terror to himself and others, the act of cutting
oneself is inherent to the madness of demonic possession. Here we see the
results of this man not in his mind. Living with dead people in the mountains
and graves and crying out and gashing himself with stones is not a good way to
live, it’s not a sound mind.
But the man was given some relief by Jesus for we know He
came to save sinners and this man was of no difference. Though he had an
unclean spirit and an unfit mind, the power of God gave him a moment of
lucidity, and “he ran up to Jesus and bowed down
before Him;”
And as he reverently prostrates himself before him, he
pleaded in dread, “crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What do I have to
do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not
torment me!” Is this the man who is imploring Jesus to not torment him? No,
it’s the unclean spirit in him that is speaking. The man has no voice of his
own because he is bound by Satan. He has no volition of his own because he is
dominated by the “spirit of disobedience” and only The Messiah has power over
them all.
Note that the unclean spirit calls Yahweh, the Most High God
who is above all other gods, not that there are other gods, but that God is
above all His host and creation. “You believe that God is one. You do well;
the demons also believe, and shudder.” (James 2:19) and here you see
the unclean spirit shudder at “Jesus, Son of the Most High God.”
The demons even know who Jesus is as the “Son of the Most High God.”
Many have questioned Jesus being Yahweh, but how can one deny that this
unclean spirit, in this man, rightly states who Jesus is? God the Son. The
second person of the Godhead. What dread this unclean spirit is showing, he implores
Jesus, by disowning any designs against Him saying, “What do I have to do
with You?” “I have no need of you and do not pretend to have any need of
you, I desire to have nothing to do with you.”
And they implore Jesus not to bring judgment on them, saying,
“I earnestly beseech you, by all that is sacred, I beg of thee for God’s
sake, by whose permission I have got possession of this man, that, though you
drive me out immediately, yet that you do not torment me, nor
restrain me from doing mischief somewhere else; though I know I
am sentenced, yet let me not be sent to the chains of
darkness, or hindered from going to and from, to devour.“ (Matthew
Henry)
I marvel at how true this is as I have surveyed those whom I
have encountered in my walk with Jesus. Many have said,
“I do not need Jesus, nor do I want anything to do with him.” Like the man in
the cave living outside, trapped in his depraved mind and cutting himself all
alone in the quiet of lifeless patronage, so do people walk in their secret
places seeking only death and destruction, lost in madness, seeking not to be
judged or condemned but to continue in their evil works.
Jesus having power over the unclean spirit says to him, “Come
out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are
many.” Until this time, I had only referred to the unclean spirit as though
there was only one. This was done to show you the power of Jesus over unclean spirits.
The unclean spirit’s name is Legion because “they” are many.
The only time one person would use the pronoun “they” are when they are
possessed by multiple demonic spirits. A Roman legion consists of six thousand
men or more. A little later we will see that two thousand swine run to their
doom into the sea. Thousands of demons living in one man would drive him into a
dark madness. Yet here Jesus commands them to leave the body of the man and
they must obey.
Legion “began pleading with Him earnestly not to send
them out of the region.” But why would they want to abide in that region? A
theologian named Grotius says, “Because in that region there
were many apostate Jews, who had thrown themselves out of the
covenant of God and had thereby given Satan power over them. And some suggest,
that, having by experience got the knowledge of the dispositions and manners of
the people of that country, they could the more effectually do them mischief by
their temptations.”
But they knew Jesus was not going to let that happen so
seeing a herd of swine nearby the demons pleaded with Him, saying, “Send us
into the swine so that we may enter them.” Hoping they would be able to do more
mischief to all the people in the region, than by entering one person. And
Jesus permitted them, He did not forbid nor restrain them, He let them do what
they had in mind. “Thus, he would let the Gerasenes see what powerful
spiteful enemies devils are, that they might thereby be induced to make Him
their Friend, who alone was able to control and conquer them, and had made it
appear that he was so.” (Matthew Henry)
“And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and
the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them;
and they were drowned in the sea.” Please note that angels and demons cannot
drown, it was the swine that drowned, and that size of a herd would devastate
the economy of the region. Yes, that’s what they had in mind. Where the unclean
spirits went after the swine had died, we are not told, be we know the area was
ripe with unbelieving Jews.
Again, we see the mighty work of Yahweh through Jesus, He as
creator has power over all that He created, even the unclean spirits. For they
are doomed and the Son of God, who is one with the Father has all authority
over them.
We will pick up from here next week, but I would like you to
think about what was said today and even the past Saturdays. Ask yourself this
question, “Am I living my life in a way that is right before God, or do I live in
a way that is right by my standards?” Demons know God and shudder, we preach
God, and you don’t.
Jesus came to save sinners. Sinners repress the truth and
hide in their darkness because they love the darkness, they are unbelieving,
vile, foolish, rebellious, haters of God who have adopted the ideologies of
this world and the doctrines of men, become slaves to their sexual desires,
perverting the flesh and mind, who rebel at the created order of God doomed to
condemnation and will be judged by Jesus and sent to Hell where they will burn
for eternity in the lake of fire.
But God so loved His creation, Mankind, that He sent His Son
Jesus, who can forgive you of your sins and restore you whole again, for He has
the authority and the power. Jesus brings life to all who repent and believe.
For Jesus bore all our sins; He bore all the sins of all who believe in Him. Jesus
was born and lived a perfect life of obedience to God as a man. Jesus was
condemned to be executed and die in the sinner’s place. He suffered the
totality of God’s Wrath upon Himself on the Cross, which every sinner deserves,
so that those who believe in Jesus may have peace with God. Jesus rose from the
dead, conquering death, and lives, and ascended to the right hand of God the
Father. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and He is in your midst with
us, come out of the darkness as we proclaim the light of His salvation.
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