My name is Legion; for we are many

 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 when evening had come after a day of preaching to the crowds in parables, 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.  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."  Let's consider the scene before us, like a stage that is set.   Jesus and the disciples have come from across the other side of the Sea of Galilee, through a raging windstorm that had seasoned fishermen worried for their lives.  It was Jesus who told the disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side."  Clearly, there was some aim or purpose in mind on Jesus' part.   My study bible says that the country of the Gadarenes, located in Galilee, was an area with many Gentiles living among the Jews.  But as they arrive, the disciples see this scene.   He's a man so completely outside of community that he's been forced to live among the tombs; he can't be bound or contained inside of community laws, rules, order.  Even the shackles and the chains can't hold him.  He cries out night and day, cutting himself with stones.  He's a man clearly in chaos, outside of right order or rationality.  He's far away from what Logos represents, and we find out why:  he's "occupied" by a legion of unclean spirits.  But we get a clue as to the heart of this man:  his first action is to run to Jesus and worship Him.  Some people dispute the translation of this Greek word into "worship," but it's the word commonly used for the worship position, kneeling down as if to kiss the feet of Christ.  As is now "usual" in Mark's Gospel, the unclean spirits know who Jesus is.  It must be a shocking, stunning sight to the disciples, who've already crossed the sea in terror for their lives because of the night storm.

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.   The evidence of Gentile influence is here in the herding of the swine.  My study bible tells us that in the opinion of many, these are apostate Jews who've taken to herding swine, forbidden by Law (Deuteronomy 14:8) as swine are considered unclean animals.  In that sense, it's "fitting" that the unclean spirits go into the swine.  We note that while God protected this man as human being from the full influence of these destructive demons, the swine sweep down the cliff in suicidal frenzy.

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.   Again, we see evidence of the "impurity" or irreverence of these people; they aren't glad that the man is healed.  Instead, they're just upset because of the loss of the swine.   They reject Christ and His work for themselves and plead with Him to leave.  This isn't real community, it's a place that has "wrong-relatedness" -- they are not righteous people.

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.  The Decapolis (Greek, meaning "ten cities") was a region of Greek-speaking cities in a frontier of the Roman Empire.  Each was a city-state but they shared Greek and Roman culture.  Again, we're dealing with a region with a high level of Gentile influence, but this healed demoniac becomes the perfect "apostle" for Christ's work, showing and proclaiming all that Jesus had done for him.

It's important that we understand the disciples have gone with Jesus into what is still historically Jewish territory, but with a very strong Gentile influence from colonization throughout various historical periods.  We see those who are ostensibly Jewish herding swine, unthinkable in more "pure" Jewish regions like Jerusalem and Judea.  And for this sort of influence those from Galilee are looked down upon, generally speaking.  In fact Jesus' own ministry is disparaged because of His own Galilean origins (by those who do not know He was born in Bethlehem, we should note).   In John's Gospel, we read statements to this effect more than once (see John 7:52, also John 1:46).   But nothing stops Jesus from traveling to this place -- we might call it "God-forsaken" otherwise! -- and coming to this man occupied with a legion of demons, or "unclean spirits" as the passage tells us.  A Legion was a unit of the Roman army (and therefore also a symbol of the Gentile influence and occupation) composed of between 3,000 to 6,000 men.  We can't imagine the baffling, frightening, even terrifying meaning of this image confronting the disciples.  The demons rush into the thousands of swine, also no doubt disturbing to the disciples who consider themselves to be devout Jews.  It's an extraordinary sort of picture, as a scene possibly set in a Greek myth such as the stories of Jason or Odysseus, but with an essentially Jewish spiritual understanding to the story.  The meaning can't be lost on us, either, as we see that Jesus has traveled here and commanded His disciples to do so apparently just to reach this one man.  It's an extraordinary feat:  dispatching thousands of demons along with (appropriately for the spiritual perspective of the story), in effect, thousands of swine.  This part of the story shows Jesus' great spiritual power.  But there's also the adventure of faith in the crossing of the sea by night in a terrible storm, Jesus' fearless leadership into this place where God has been abandoned by God's people, in order to save this man who has become frenzied and outcast by the influence of the demons.   He lives among the tombs as a sign of the loss of his right and proper life under God's care.  Our hero in this "mythical-type" story is Christ who comes across the sea and into strange territory in order to salvage the life of one so besieged and yet full of faith, who runs to worship at Jesus' feet when He appears.  And that's what we take with us.  That is the Jesus who is the Redeemer, the Ransomer, the one who rescues us from wherever we are held and bound, from our place as outcasts driven by torment of one kind or another.  This is the Christ we know, and the faith and discipleship He calls us toward.  This is the Man who has taught the leadership that the Sabbath was made for man, whose whole ministry characterizes the "Most High God" as the One who heals, in every kind of possible way.  Jesus gives us salvation, and there is nothing too powerful for Him to reach into and to transform;  He saves the demoniac as He saves the world.  There is no territory where He is unwelcome or unable to enter via faith, no matter how abandoned we may feel.