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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 the 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 the 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
Yesterday, we read that when evening had come after a day of preaching in parables, Jesus said to His disciples, "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. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus preaches first among the Jewish populations, and then, in crossing the Sea of Galilee, on the other side where there are Gentile populations. Here we are in a country of Gentiles. Here, in today's reading, pigs are raised -- animals considered unclean by the Jews.
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 the 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 are caves cut out of soft rock, and what we notice is that this man is wild, removed from the society. We remember, from yesterday's reading, Jesus' command to "Be still!" that stopped the storm on the sea. The word used for be still means to "muzzle." It is the same word He used to command an unclean spirit to "be quiet!" Here, we meet in this man a personification of what is wild and uncontrollable, considered dangerous and disturbing to the community, that other people have attempted to control by binding with chains and shackles. He can't be tamed. His wildness takes the form of self-destructive behavior, night and day, he is 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 points out that while the deranged man worshiped Jesus, the demons see Him and fear torment. It says, "Not only are the demons unable to resit 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." Again, the effectiveness of Jesus' commands heal and still that which is wild and threatening to human beings. In this case, the demons who torment the man, making him a threat to himself and to others.
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. The "multitude" of the demons is expressed by the name Legion, a basic unit of the Roman army which consisted of up to 5,400 soldiers. As the Romans occupied Israel at the time of Christ, so this foreign "Legion" occupies and oppressively "rules" this man. But his danger is precisely in how "unruly" his behavior is under the influence of the demons. My study bible suggests that the phrase out of the country might reflect both the wretched man's fear of being compelled to leave his homeland and the demons' fear of being cast out of the man.
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. Again, we have to notice the "wildness" of the demons, the effect of evil as portrayed in this first written Gospel of Mark. They are destructive and threatening; an act of tremendous violence is pictured in this herd of thousands of swine rushing down into the sea over the cliff, and drowning themselves.
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 the region. My study bible says that these people (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 way the text is written, we note their response to seeing the formerly demon-possessed man, who is now sitting (as opposed to his wild behavior earlier), clothed and in his right mind: they are afraid. They respond to Jesus' healing power -- a very powerful, superior force, indeed -- with fear.
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 says, "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." The Decapolis was a Greek-speaking region of ten cities,with mixed populations. This is the beginning of the Gospel reaching out to the whole world, in the language that would become the language of the New Testament, the universal language of the time.
Yesterday, we discussed the word "muzzle" as used by Mark in this Gospel, in Jesus' commands to "be quiet" to an unclean spirit, and to "be still" to the storm that threatened the disciples on the sea, as they were crossing over to arrive at this place of the Gadarenes. Here, the "wildness" that is uncontrollable and dangerous is in a person, in this man who is "occupied" by a legion of demons. We observe his behavior, both before and after Jesus' command that the demons come out of him. And we observe also the terrifying behavior of the swine, into whom this legion has descended, destroying them. Perhaps racing down the cliff into the sea is somewhat representative or suggestive of an abyss, the place of those who are truly lost, a place of perdition. In this sense, the demons themselves have been put into a place where they will be contained, until the time of judgment. A "muzzle" suggests the same thing. Jesus does not kill these demons, does not put them to death. Instead, He liberates human beings from their oppressive influence, giving strength to humans and to healing. Everything waits for judgment. Jesus' power brought into this world is to help us to have strength, to "contain" the things that threaten us, but not to destroy. He commands the winds and the storm to "be still." Earlier at the synagogue, He commands the unclean spirit to "be quiet, and come out of him!" The things that threaten are not destroyed, but are contained: everything else is left up till the time of Judgment. And this is another way in which Jesus' power works: not only does it heal and rehabilitate the demon-possessed man in today's reading, so that He becomes an evangelist to the outer world, but it is also gentle in that it is not like an invading army which destroys. It contains and controls, it tames, it puts things in good order, it brings reason (another meaning of Logos) and the rational, and it takes away the threat of what is wild and irrational. Those who cannot embrace this power, in today's story, the people who raise the swine, are simply fearful of what can do this job of containment, of "muzzling." They cannot accept that which is outside of this "box" of the broken world, that which heals and makes right the wild man, who has become "natural" to those used to this situation. Jesus breaks us out of the box of fallenness, of brokenness, He heals in order to restore the world to its true order, its essential nature of goodness. And that's what we see in this former demoniac, the abode of a "legion" of demons, who now serves the Gospel message to the outer world of the Gentiles. Let us take this picture and hold it in our minds, and think of how it applies to the brokenness in our own lives. Let us consider how we invite His power in, how it may change us in ways that startle and cause a kind of fear in others who are used to the world in one particular way. Let us ask ourselves what it is to be healed in ways that reflect what we read here, and what threatening violence may seem normal to us. Jesus' power is one of peace; His is not the army that destroys, but rather contains and gives order. Let us consider the difference.
