They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he 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. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “ What business do we have with each other, 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 to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 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. Mark 5:1-13
After the amazing scene in the boat with the calming of the sea and the wind, Jesus and His disciples land on the other side of the sea to a small town in the country of the Gerasenes. In this account, we again see Christ’s sovereign power over the entire spiritual realm. Apparently, in this town there was a man who was so oppressed by Satan and his demonic forces that the townspeople would chain him up in a cave outside of the village. I find it important to note that Mark gives us this scene right after the conversation with the leaders about their accusation of Jesus being possessed by Satan in Chapter 3. Let us recall that Jesus is the only One who can truly release us from Satan’s power and here in this scene Mark makes it a point that this man was bound with chains and shackles (a method of human invention) to try and control Satan’s influence and this did absolutely no good. This possessed man would break out of the chains. No amount of human wisdom or actions can break the hold of Satan – only Christ can. This applies so much to the Satanic attack on humanity today in so many forms from drug addiction, sexual bondage, etc. No twelve step program or latest fad will work. Only Christ can bind the “strong man” (Mark 3:27) and truly destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)
We also see from this account that Satan is bent on destruction. This man would constantly scream day and night and gash himself with stones. Do we not see this same trend today as Satan does everything he can to get people to destroy themselves through sin and addition? May we look to the only Cure – Jesus Christ. Oh to rejoice in knowing that Christ’s glorious death and resurrection not only save us from the penalty of sin but also the power of sin by transferring us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of Light – by being adopted into the kingdom of God in Christ. Hallelujah!
Verse 7 gives us chilling insight into how much the demons truly believe. They know of God – they know who Jesus is and their reaction is always one of absolute fear and trepidation. Their theology is spot on! Satan is cunning and notice that time and time again the response from his army is always, “I know who you are!”. This subtle approach is to try and undermine Christ’s work by making it look like they are working together.
To be in Christ is absolute safety and security for Satan fears nothing but God in Christ! We should rejoice in this passage by seeing the absolute control of God and the absolute fear of the demonic forces in the presence of Christ. This is a reminder to us that we are either a child of Satan or a child of God. There is no middle ground and unless you are adopted in the kingdom through faith in Christ you are Satan’s child and just like this man a captive of his devilish and hateful schemes. We must see also that no amount of human philosophy or practice or restraint can control Satan – he is much too powerful for us. Only to be in Christ and only resting in Him can we have victory by His power and His grace. We should take great heed from this amazing passage. I have read accounts of people who read this passage and have more concern over the death of the pigs than the teachings Holy Scripture conveys to us about the evil devices of Satan and the omnipotent power of our Great God over all things.
We continue to get a glimpse of this poor man’s condition as we learn that the name of the demon is called ‘Legion’ which would indicate that many demons have been tormenting this man. We learn of a similar incident in one of Jesus’ parables about a person’s condition being worse than the first when the house is swept clean and yet there is no indwelling of the Holy Spirit so when the demon who were ejected return they bring more and stronger ones with them. (Luke 11:24-26) However, let us also see that no army can stand against Christ – no matter how great the Legion. The demons know who they are talking to and it is important to note that they must get permission from Christ to enter into the herd of swine nearby. We learn from this two important truths. First, absolutely everything Satan and his minions do is either ordained or allowed by God. Second, we see that Satan is bent on destruction. If he cannot destroy this man he must destroy something. Satan is cunning and disguises himself as an angel of light but never forget from this account that his motive is always death and destruction no matter how shiny and pleasurable the object he entices you with is. Christ is our treasure and He makes everything pale in comparison to anything Satan can tempt us with. While we do often succumb to the devices of Satan may we rest in Christ knowing He has completely paid the debt and may we also remember that God always provides a way out of temptation. (1 Corinthians 10:13) The only safe place is to be found in Christ. Satan has absolutely no hold on Christ for Jesus created him and is Lord of lords and King of kings. (John 14:30) Are you trusting in Christ alone to escape the wrath to come? (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
Soli Deo Gloria
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