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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
Yesterday, we read that, after teaching the multitudes from a boat as they stood on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (see readings here and here, in which Jesus preaches using parables), when evening had come, 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. Here in today's reading, Jesus and the disciples have crossed a stormy sea (seemingly in great peril) to get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. This is a territory where many Gentiles live among the Jews. My study bible says that Gentile influence on the Jews caused many of them to take on Gentile practices, such as raising swine, as we'll see in today's reading -- a practice which is forbidden by the Law (Deuteronomy 14:8).
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. It always strikes me as important to look at the extreme forlornness of this man, to see how abandoned and isolated he is. Bound with shackles and chains, uncontrollable (and one presumes, he's not able to control himself in his weakness), he's frightening -- he's broken his shackles and chains and he lives among the tombs, among the dead. He can't be a part of the social fabric of any living community, and he's also highly self-destructive: night and day, crying out and cutting himself with stones. He's like a hopeless case, to all intents and purposes, from our perspective.
When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. This word translated as worship literally means to fall down before someone, to bow down, prostrate. In many cases it has been used to mean to kiss, as to kiss the ground before a superior, to adore in worship. It's important to recognize that something in this man sees Jesus as a savior, despite whatever burdens and afflictions he has.
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. My study bible says that the demons, who recognize Jesus as the Son of God, are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment -- hence their fear of torment. My study bible adds that though the malice of the demons is great, they can do nothing against the will of God and thus can only enter the swine at Christ's command. The destruction of the herd shows that the man was protected by God's care; the demons did not manage to destroy him as they did the swine. It adds that since swineherding was not lawful for the Jews, it shows the incomparable value of human beings whose salvation is worth every sacrifice. For the Jews, the fact that this man lived among the swine would be a further indication of his perilous state. In that sense, the "unclean" are permitted to enter the "unclean" but are commanded to leave the man.
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 points out here that because of the presence of the swine, many assume this is a purely Gentile population, but given Jesus' repeated statements through the Gospels about going first to the Jews, it's likely that these were Jews engaged in a sinful occupation. Given the utter desperation of the demoniac's situation, such a scenario really isn't unlikely. It further cements our understanding of what kind of Jews these are, as they reject Christ because they've lost their possessions, and care nothing for the tremendous spiritual healing of this human being. My study bible adds that the economic loss would remain as a sign for the hardhearted people who fled that 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. This healed man, who had a legion of demons, is sent out by Christ as a witness to all the Decapolis. The Decapolis was a Greek-speaking region of mixed Gentiles and Jews (Decapolis means "ten cities" in Greek).
The question of whether or not this man was Jewish, or whether the swineherds were Jewish, is an intriguing one. From my point of view, it serves as a way to juxtapose the purpose of this journey. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and also, when the Twelve are sent out on their first mission (in Matthew's Gospel, again) He tells then that they are being sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (see Matthew 10:5-6 and Matthew 15:24). Both Matthew and Luke give us Jesus' parable of the shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep in the herd in order to find and retrieve the one stray. In this sense, perhaps we can look at this reading (a story also found in Matthew and Luke), as a mission illustrating just how far the Shepherd will go to find His lost sheep, even this single one, so afflicted, and living in a community with swine. In this sense, the swineherds may be Jews who have lapsed, and who cannot receive Him nor the salvation He offers for human beings; they prefer their economic properties to the healed man. But I think there may be an even more important way to read this passage, a more universal message that applies to all of us. Regardless of how lost, how unclean, how untouchable this man is, Jesus has come across the sea, putting Himself and His disciples through a dangerous storm, to come here to find him. We read this compelling and touching account about how this man who calls himself Legion immediately falls down at Jesus' feet, despite the mire of his affliction and surroundings. This is a story of love, and how it just doesn't matter where that sheep is, Jesus will come to find those who love Him. We can't forget that in Mark's Gospel, we were immediately informed that Jesus' ministry was revolutionary in several ways, but perhaps the most striking way early on was the fact that He touched the unclean. In fact, all through our readings so far we find this great emphasis on the fact that the intricacies of custom built up around the Law, and even in some ways the Law itself, must be allowed to encompass compassion, to embrace the unclean in order to render them clean. It is in this sense that the new wine needs new wineskins to embrace this New Covenant. Whether it is touching a leper to heal him, or sitting and dining with tax collectors, or healing a man on the Sabbath, Mark's Gospel has immediately led us to this conclusion about the great compassion that is the massive hallmark of this ministry, of the Gospel, the good news. In our next reading on Monday, we'll have another such occasion where touch of the unclean isn't only accepted by Jesus, but embraced, in the story of the woman with the twelve years blood flow (Mark 5:24-34). In this sense, the question of whether or not the swineherds are Jewish comes second to the great message of His compassion, just as His ministry will state over and over and over again. Whatever it is we take from this reading, we know that the people of God will include many Gentiles in this Covenant He offers, but more importantly, it will include even these who were considered unclean under the Law but who love God and love Christ and come to Him for healing. That's where the real story is. My study bible had a comment on the reading of the leper who asked Jesus to make him clean. It said, "To the clean, nothing is unclean." The message here is about the value of human beings, of all creation (even the demons could not enter the swine without permission), and that great value realized in the redeeming power of Christ, who sees through all things no matter how "unclean." The picture illustrated here in suggestions of swine and mud give us an idea of metaphor that relates to situations in which we find ourselves covered in some kind of "unclean," a kind of shame. Let us remember this message of the great and abiding value that hides everywhere under all kinds of covering, and the power of Christ to bring that value out from under any sort of affliction or burden, any "unclean" thing from which there is a need for healing and liberation.
