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Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 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. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 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." For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion, for we are many." Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." 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.
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. 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. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 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." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
- Mark 5:1-20
In yesterday's reading, we were told that after a day of preaching in many parables, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"
Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. My study bible points out about this passage: "The Gadarenes were Gentiles, so they could raise pigs, which were considered unclean by Jews." We are now on the "other side" of the sea of Galilee, in Gentile territory, where Jesus has instructed His disciples to go. He carries His ministry to the Gentiles.
And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 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. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. These tombs, my study bible says, were caves cut out of soft rock. We see the damaged and constantly damaging state of this poor man. He's wild, untamable and uncontrollable. This gives us a message about his state of being, that it is in chaos, like the wind and the wild surf in yesterday's reading. But in this case, it is a human being who is so terribly afflicted by disorder that he lives among the tombs, with the dead. He cannot control himself, not even with shackles and chains can he be in order at all. Night and day, he's in the mountains and in the tombs, outside of all civilized life, "crying out and cutting himself with stones."
When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 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." For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" My study bible says, "The deranged man worshiped Jesus; the demons see Him and fear torment. Not only are the demons unable to resist Jesus' command, they are unable to escape confrontation with Him. Though they have power over the man, they have no power over Jesus. Jesus' words accomplish in an instant what shackles and chains cannot." There's a kind of state of war going on within this man, a war for possession of his life, including his mind and heart: it is his own natural impulse to worship Christ. But the demons fear the same torment with which they afflict the man. Jesus comes to save and to heal.
Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion, for we are many." Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. My study bible says that "out of the country perhaps reflects both the wretched man's fear of being compelled to leave his homeland and the demons' fear of being cast out of the man." It also seems possible to me that "out of the country" may reflect the demons' fear of being thrown out of the country of this place outside the city, where they dwell among the tombs, the rocks and desolate mountains, perhaps into Jewish territory. Whatever it is, this phrase reflects the great fear that accompanies their presence.
Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." 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. My study bible says that "the destruction of the unclean swine was appropriate according to Jewish law." Mark gives us the number of the swine; this is a "legion" indeed. Their terrible violence gives us a clue as to the nature of this legion of unclean spirits; not only are they violent, they are wholly self-destructive and destructive of any life they touch. This mass suicide also reflects the deranged fear that dominates their presence.
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. 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. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. My study bible notes: "They ('those who fed the swine') fear Jesus' power, which they do not understand, and possible further disturbance from Him. Their primary concern is with animals and property rights; Jesus is more concerned about the life of a demon-possessed man." The juxtaposition of the words here in these verses does give us a striking picture: the people who fed the swine "saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind." And then they were afraid.
And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 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." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. My study bible notes here: "Jesus allows an exception to the messianic secret: this man may tell others. Perhaps in Gentile territory misunderstanding of Jesus' mission was not so much a problem, because the Gentiles had no preconceptions about the Messiah." At any rate, this saved and healed man becomes an evangelist and an apostle. Even before the Twelve, he is sent out to "tell what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you." He is, in this sense, sent on a mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.
In the story of the Gadarene demoniac, there are once again many different ways of seeing and looking at this story, many different angles that can tell us something about this Kingdom of Jesus Christ. First of all, the man is in an absolutely terrible state, "occupied" by a legion of foreign troops in this sense, by those who care nothing for him but only exist to bring him destruction and to exploit him. He has no control over what happens to his body, his mind and spirit, but nevertheless he struggles under this occupation. He sees Jesus whom he knows immediately as a saving force, a power that can knock the demons over and claim their power and "save" him. He worships Jesus immediately. The metaphors of the strong man (or Legion in this case) and the stronger man who comes to save hold true for this story. But in another sense, we can see in this story an example of what this demonic power, this afflicting kingdom, does to us as human beings. It is parasitical. It thrives on fear. It leaves us afflicted, self-destructive, in disorder and chaos, and it thrives on this desolate place that it knows best and fears leaving. What things can you think of in our modern world that reflect these characteristics? While modern psychology and medical science may tell us many true things about the elements of disease and addiction that trouble us today, we also note their characteristics that are reflected in this story. There's no doubt that the truth about any illness is an essential part of healing and a cure, but we needn't leave out the obvious understanding that we are also spiritual beings, and that when anything reflects characteristics which we've recognized in spiritual history as that which belongs to an afflictive power, it helps us to understand what loving, and just, and saving power can and will do. We cannot leave out the grace of God, the spiritual truth of Christ. It helps us to recognize the insidious sort of power of affliction, that which binds us to what is familiar but destructive and desolate, and the kind of disorder it creates that needs the order of Logos, that which gives us meaning and value and right-relatedness, true justice. Let us remember the saving power of spiritual truth and prayer and grace at work. Without it, we may just find we are in a kind of disorder that only faith can help us to adjust back to our true nature, with all the tools we can use to restore our right-relatedness to assist, under a right and true direction. It is this grace that gives us the faith and hope even against a whole army, a legion, of troubles that afflict and oppress us.
