1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” 8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. 11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. 14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. 18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
Devotional
In this passage from the Gospel of Mark, though Jesus' Words here are few, His Works are Mighty and Compassionate. Now as Jesus and disciples arrive in the country of the Gadarenes opposite Galilee (Luke 8:26). Jesus gets out of the boat and He is immediately met by a demon possessed man (vs. 1). In Matthew’s account we are told it was two men who met Jesus; and both were exceedingly fierce so that no one could pass that way (Matt. 8:28). Mark and Luke than emphasize just one of them. All of the gospel accounts of this event concur with the fierceness of these men and what transpired when these men encountered Jesus. Mark then says of this particular one that “…no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.” Vs. 3-5 Luke likewise tells us this occurred near the shores of the city of Gardarenes which is on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. While Matthew calls the location Gergesenes, yet both are describing the same place, for it was "a town located six miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, east of the Jordan on the edge of the Arabian desert", whose surrounding region was known as the country of the Gadarenes or Gergesenes.***
Now Mark paints the most vivid depiction of these events and Matthew the least. While Luke (by training being a physician) seems to emphasize this particular mans plight saying he had demons for a long time, and he did not reside in a home, but he lived naked amongst the tombs (Luke 8:27). “For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.” Luke 8:29
All in all it’s a grizzly picture of severe demonic activity in a human life. Yet were not told how that man got into that state, which is not the point, the point is how he got out of it. Previously Jesus rebuked the forces of nature with His Word. Here Jesus will rebuke with the forces of hell. From the fierceness of the Sea of Galilee, to the fierceness of a demon possessed man, Jesus’ Word brings calm when He invokes it, not chaos. Now Marks says that when the man saw Jesus from afar he ran and worshiped Him (vs. 6). While Luke says that the demonic man fell prostrate before Jesus. Both are describing the same thing. Since the word used by Mark translated worship means to kneel or prostrate oneself before ones superior, either as an act of worship, or paying homage etc. all which verse seven indicates. So it was Christ’s initial Word to “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” vs. 8 that precipitated the man’s falling before him, and the demon pleading that Jesus not torment him. Both Mark and Luke record the demons response as basically saying “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” Vs. 7
Therefore whatever manner of demon spirits that were in that man, they literally had such control of him so as to cause him to fall before, and speak out in great fear at being in the Lord Jesus Christ’s Presence. Now the response of the demons here is very similar to the response when Jesus cast out a demon in the man He encountered in the Synagogue, when He first came up into Galilee (See Mark 1:21-28). In both instances they were immediately aware of Christ’s Presence and both fearfully acknowledged His Power to send them out of the ones they possessed. Therefore their fearful response to Jesus’ Presence in their midst, whether it was meant to or not, gave immediate testimony to Jesus Christ’s Person, Power, and Authority to do so. Something Matthew, Mark and Luke all record. And in all of Jesus’ casting out of demons in the Gospel, Jesus’ asking a demon it’s name is unique to this encounter (vs. 10). The significance being not for Christ’s sake, but clearly for ours, so that we could understand the severity of that man's oppression. Now their response to Jesus' question was that their name was legion, “for we are many”. Indicates the great number of demons in that poor man. For the word Legion refers to a Roman unit of combined infantry consisting of both foot soldiers and often horsemen, equivalent in numbers to roughly the modern military brigade, about 4000-6000+. Though literalness is not being stressed in the passage, just that the man was oppressed by many demons. And as we will see when Jesus lets them enter the swine there was enough of them to overtake and overpower over two thousand swine! What a frightening scene that must have been. That they earnestly begged Jesus not to cast them out of that country indicates, again Jesus' Authority to do so, and maybe indicating that they themselves had found a refuge amongst the people of that region, as the people there will later request Jesus leave them. And so it is not the nation, but the individual that Jesus Christ first seeks to save, set free, and change. People’s reception or rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord then will ultimately determine their fate, and the fate of the nations in which they dwell (Psalm 2; 9:17-20; 22:27-28; 33:10-22; 46:10; 47; 72; 82:8; 110; Rev. 11:15-18 etc.).
Now Luke records that the demons requested that Jesus not cast them out into the abysses (Luke 8:31). In essence the same thing, since all three declare that the demons requested that Jesus allow them to enter the herd of swine that was there. Matthew also notes that the swine were a good way off (Matt. 8:30). Now we must not lose sight of both the intensity of the moment, and the immediacy of this man’s healing, as the demons immediately leave him at Jesus' command and overtake the swine. For just as Jesus immediately calmed the Sea, so here He will immediately calm an otherwise untamable man. Something that the Gospel always does when the Presence of Christ is received He brings inner peace into everyone who believes. Now verse thirteen declares that Jesus gave them permission to enter the swine, and so when they did the entire herd ran violently down the steep place where they were and into the sea. The swine then acted just as the man did when the Legion of demons entered him, causing him to run hysterically with self destructive force. Now when the herdsmen who were watching over the swine saw this they themselves fled and went and told it in the city and country (vs. 14). Now as the people of that region came out to see what had happened to the swine, they saw the man who had been demon possessed now sitting and clothed and in his right mind. Now the Scripture says when the people of that region saw the man who was formerly demon possessed sitting peaceably and his right mind they were afraid (vs. 15). It was then that those who observed all these things told them how it all happened to that man who was once demon possessed (vs. 16). In essence they gave an eyewitness testimony to Jesus Christ and His Mighty Works to their own countrymen who came to see what had happened. And with that verse seventeen declares; "Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.” Vs. 17
Now the people’s response seems to me utterly bizarre given the gracious work of Jesus in healing that man of his horrible affliction. For they neither marvelled at Jesus who had power to do such things, nor did they glorify God for it, nor did they rejoice at the man’s healing, (all which often happened when Jesus healed others of their afflictions, see Matt 9:8, 32-33, 15:29-31). Instead they were only afraid. Yet in their fear they didn’t turn to God in reverence acknowledging Jesus as a Man sent from God who had the Authority of God to do such things. Instead they only pleaded with His Son to leave their country, and thus them. Therefore whatever faith beliefs and practices they had in that region they did not have, or want to have faith in Jesus Christ. Even though they both heard and saw His mighty works to transform that demon possessed man’s life, whom they had previously chained and exiled to live in the tombs (lit. necropolis, a burial site meaning, "city of the dead"). For not one of them pleaded, (or even asked) Jesus to stay or be with them, either to heal themselves, a sick relative, or a loved one, as the people of Galilee often did. Nor did anyone ask Jesus to come and stay for dinner, as even the Pharisees would. Only the man who had been previously demon possessed when he saw Jesus get into the boat to depart from that region by the way He came, pleaded with Jesus to be with Him, ironically using the same word that they used to plead with Jesus to leave them. It’s an incredible contrast of hungering faith and willful unbelief (vs. 17-18). Notice too, that Jesus never spoke a Word to the people there (something that only occurs here in the Gospel). Only their own countrymen who gave an eyewitness accounting of what transpired did. And so even though all the evidence was there for them to believe. Yet more than that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was there in their midst and He who could have and would've saved and healed all those people just as immediately as He healed that demon possessed man. But they didn't want anything to do with Jesus when they heard what He did, and could do. Instead they only pleaded with Jesus to leave them, so that is what Jesus did, and still does where He is rejected, He left them alone...
The Gospel truly is a message for the poor, the despised, the rejected, the demon possessed, and anyone else, from any circumstance of life who finds themselves for whatever reasons, alienated from God and all that is life. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life for everyone who receives Him into their lives (John 14:6). For Jesus sets captives of sin and Satan free. Yet it is only that man of all the people there in that country who wanted to be with Jesus. For he profoundly experienced the healing power of Christ in his life and was truly grateful beyond words for what God through Jesus Christ His Son did for him, in setting him free from that horrible demonic bondage. And having set him free Jesus said to him …“Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. Vs. 19-20
Scripture Quotations
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
***Word in Life Study Bible . electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996, S. Mk 5:21
Devotional
In this passage from the Gospel of Mark, though Jesus' Words here are few, His Works are Mighty and Compassionate. Now as Jesus and disciples arrive in the country of the Gadarenes opposite Galilee (Luke 8:26). Jesus gets out of the boat and He is immediately met by a demon possessed man (vs. 1). In Matthew’s account we are told it was two men who met Jesus; and both were exceedingly fierce so that no one could pass that way (Matt. 8:28). Mark and Luke than emphasize just one of them. All of the gospel accounts of this event concur with the fierceness of these men and what transpired when these men encountered Jesus. Mark then says of this particular one that “…no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.” Vs. 3-5 Luke likewise tells us this occurred near the shores of the city of Gardarenes which is on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. While Matthew calls the location Gergesenes, yet both are describing the same place, for it was "a town located six miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, east of the Jordan on the edge of the Arabian desert", whose surrounding region was known as the country of the Gadarenes or Gergesenes.***
Now Mark paints the most vivid depiction of these events and Matthew the least. While Luke (by training being a physician) seems to emphasize this particular mans plight saying he had demons for a long time, and he did not reside in a home, but he lived naked amongst the tombs (Luke 8:27). “For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.” Luke 8:29
All in all it’s a grizzly picture of severe demonic activity in a human life. Yet were not told how that man got into that state, which is not the point, the point is how he got out of it. Previously Jesus rebuked the forces of nature with His Word. Here Jesus will rebuke with the forces of hell. From the fierceness of the Sea of Galilee, to the fierceness of a demon possessed man, Jesus’ Word brings calm when He invokes it, not chaos. Now Marks says that when the man saw Jesus from afar he ran and worshiped Him (vs. 6). While Luke says that the demonic man fell prostrate before Jesus. Both are describing the same thing. Since the word used by Mark translated worship means to kneel or prostrate oneself before ones superior, either as an act of worship, or paying homage etc. all which verse seven indicates. So it was Christ’s initial Word to “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” vs. 8 that precipitated the man’s falling before him, and the demon pleading that Jesus not torment him. Both Mark and Luke record the demons response as basically saying “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” Vs. 7
Therefore whatever manner of demon spirits that were in that man, they literally had such control of him so as to cause him to fall before, and speak out in great fear at being in the Lord Jesus Christ’s Presence. Now the response of the demons here is very similar to the response when Jesus cast out a demon in the man He encountered in the Synagogue, when He first came up into Galilee (See Mark 1:21-28). In both instances they were immediately aware of Christ’s Presence and both fearfully acknowledged His Power to send them out of the ones they possessed. Therefore their fearful response to Jesus’ Presence in their midst, whether it was meant to or not, gave immediate testimony to Jesus Christ’s Person, Power, and Authority to do so. Something Matthew, Mark and Luke all record. And in all of Jesus’ casting out of demons in the Gospel, Jesus’ asking a demon it’s name is unique to this encounter (vs. 10). The significance being not for Christ’s sake, but clearly for ours, so that we could understand the severity of that man's oppression. Now their response to Jesus' question was that their name was legion, “for we are many”. Indicates the great number of demons in that poor man. For the word Legion refers to a Roman unit of combined infantry consisting of both foot soldiers and often horsemen, equivalent in numbers to roughly the modern military brigade, about 4000-6000+. Though literalness is not being stressed in the passage, just that the man was oppressed by many demons. And as we will see when Jesus lets them enter the swine there was enough of them to overtake and overpower over two thousand swine! What a frightening scene that must have been. That they earnestly begged Jesus not to cast them out of that country indicates, again Jesus' Authority to do so, and maybe indicating that they themselves had found a refuge amongst the people of that region, as the people there will later request Jesus leave them. And so it is not the nation, but the individual that Jesus Christ first seeks to save, set free, and change. People’s reception or rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord then will ultimately determine their fate, and the fate of the nations in which they dwell (Psalm 2; 9:17-20; 22:27-28; 33:10-22; 46:10; 47; 72; 82:8; 110; Rev. 11:15-18 etc.).
Now Luke records that the demons requested that Jesus not cast them out into the abysses (Luke 8:31). In essence the same thing, since all three declare that the demons requested that Jesus allow them to enter the herd of swine that was there. Matthew also notes that the swine were a good way off (Matt. 8:30). Now we must not lose sight of both the intensity of the moment, and the immediacy of this man’s healing, as the demons immediately leave him at Jesus' command and overtake the swine. For just as Jesus immediately calmed the Sea, so here He will immediately calm an otherwise untamable man. Something that the Gospel always does when the Presence of Christ is received He brings inner peace into everyone who believes. Now verse thirteen declares that Jesus gave them permission to enter the swine, and so when they did the entire herd ran violently down the steep place where they were and into the sea. The swine then acted just as the man did when the Legion of demons entered him, causing him to run hysterically with self destructive force. Now when the herdsmen who were watching over the swine saw this they themselves fled and went and told it in the city and country (vs. 14). Now as the people of that region came out to see what had happened to the swine, they saw the man who had been demon possessed now sitting and clothed and in his right mind. Now the Scripture says when the people of that region saw the man who was formerly demon possessed sitting peaceably and his right mind they were afraid (vs. 15). It was then that those who observed all these things told them how it all happened to that man who was once demon possessed (vs. 16). In essence they gave an eyewitness testimony to Jesus Christ and His Mighty Works to their own countrymen who came to see what had happened. And with that verse seventeen declares; "Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.” Vs. 17
Now the people’s response seems to me utterly bizarre given the gracious work of Jesus in healing that man of his horrible affliction. For they neither marvelled at Jesus who had power to do such things, nor did they glorify God for it, nor did they rejoice at the man’s healing, (all which often happened when Jesus healed others of their afflictions, see Matt 9:8, 32-33, 15:29-31). Instead they were only afraid. Yet in their fear they didn’t turn to God in reverence acknowledging Jesus as a Man sent from God who had the Authority of God to do such things. Instead they only pleaded with His Son to leave their country, and thus them. Therefore whatever faith beliefs and practices they had in that region they did not have, or want to have faith in Jesus Christ. Even though they both heard and saw His mighty works to transform that demon possessed man’s life, whom they had previously chained and exiled to live in the tombs (lit. necropolis, a burial site meaning, "city of the dead"). For not one of them pleaded, (or even asked) Jesus to stay or be with them, either to heal themselves, a sick relative, or a loved one, as the people of Galilee often did. Nor did anyone ask Jesus to come and stay for dinner, as even the Pharisees would. Only the man who had been previously demon possessed when he saw Jesus get into the boat to depart from that region by the way He came, pleaded with Jesus to be with Him, ironically using the same word that they used to plead with Jesus to leave them. It’s an incredible contrast of hungering faith and willful unbelief (vs. 17-18). Notice too, that Jesus never spoke a Word to the people there (something that only occurs here in the Gospel). Only their own countrymen who gave an eyewitness accounting of what transpired did. And so even though all the evidence was there for them to believe. Yet more than that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was there in their midst and He who could have and would've saved and healed all those people just as immediately as He healed that demon possessed man. But they didn't want anything to do with Jesus when they heard what He did, and could do. Instead they only pleaded with Jesus to leave them, so that is what Jesus did, and still does where He is rejected, He left them alone...
The Gospel truly is a message for the poor, the despised, the rejected, the demon possessed, and anyone else, from any circumstance of life who finds themselves for whatever reasons, alienated from God and all that is life. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life for everyone who receives Him into their lives (John 14:6). For Jesus sets captives of sin and Satan free. Yet it is only that man of all the people there in that country who wanted to be with Jesus. For he profoundly experienced the healing power of Christ in his life and was truly grateful beyond words for what God through Jesus Christ His Son did for him, in setting him free from that horrible demonic bondage. And having set him free Jesus said to him …“Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. Vs. 19-20
Scripture Quotations
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
***Word in Life Study Bible . electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996, S. Mk 5:21
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