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

 

 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 in 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, following Christ's preaching in 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. In Christ's time, the city of Gadara was a part of what is known as the Decapolis, a league of ten cities of Hellenistic culture founded in the period of Alexander the Great.  But at this time, under Rome, Gadara was placed under the rule of Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee.  This is a country of mixed Jews and Gentiles, and dominated by Greek and Roman culture, including worship of the emperor.

 

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.  We might pause to notice the entirely chaotic and uncivilized nature of this man with an unclean spirit.   Whatever and whoever this demonic spirit is, it causes him to be uncontrollable, untameable.  He cannot be bound, even with chains, which had often been tried; but he has pulled apart the chains and broken his shackles.  Notably he cannot live in community; he lives in the mountains and in the tombs, among the dead.  Night and day he was crying out and also cutting himself with stones, so we note the self-destructive effects of the demonic afflicting him.  In some sense, he mirrors the chaos of the sea in our previous reading, encountered by the disciples as they crossed over the Sea of Galilee to this place, reflecting traditional images of the chaos and destruction associated with Leviathan.  

 

 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."  This man is possessed by a legion of demons, in some sense "occupied" by an invading spiritual army and under attack.  A Roma legion consisted of thousands of soldiers; at Christ's time, approximately 6,000.

 

 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.  Now a large herd of swine was feeding there in 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.   This violent death of the swine teaches us about the destructive influence of the demons.  My study Bible says that the destruction of the herd reveals several things.  First, while animals are a venerable part of creation, human beings are of far greater value.  Additionally, Jesus removes a source of sin, for swine-herding was an abomination to the Jews (Deuteronomy 14:8).  Moreover, the demons have no power over creation but are instead subject to the will of God.  They can only enter the swine at the command of Christ (and needed His permission).  Finally, we see that people are protected under God's providence.  Otherwise the demon-possessed man would have come to the same end as the swine.  As we will see, the magnitude of the economic loss of the swine will remain as a sign to the hardhearted people who fled (see the following verse).  A steep place (a cliff) often appears in icons to represent the dangers of sin.

 

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 comments that while there are those who teach the presence of the swine indicates that these are Gentiles, it's more likely that they are Jews catering to the Gentile market in this region, and therefore doing what was forbidden in the Law.  Jesus had forbidden his disciples to go to any but the Jews in this time of His public ministry (Matthew 10:6).  They have traveled across the sea to save this lost sheep (the man who was demon-possessed).  The hard-heartedness of these people show in that their care is only for their economic loss of the swine, and not of the healing of this man who is now sitting and clothed and in his right mind.  They respond by simply pleading for Christ to leave 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.  In Tuesday's reading, we read that Jesus said that "whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother" (Mark 3:34-35).  This man who has been saved from the legion of demons occupying him understandably does not want to stay in this place with the people who care nothing for his healing.  In this sense of Christ's family, he wishes to come with Jesus and the disciples.  But Jesus has a better plan, a mission for him, and sends him out to the Decapolis, this mixed region of Jews and Gentiles, to proclaim the good news of Christ, and give glory to God, to "tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."   And all marveled.

 

 As referenced above, we might very well wonder in the context of today's reading if this forgotten man in the tombs isn't the prime example of Christ's statement when sending out the apostles on their first mission:  "Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  We couple that together with His statement about His own mission:  "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24).  When we combine these with Jesus' parable of the Lost Sheep found in St. Luke's Gospel (Luke 15:4-7), it leads us to consider Christ's determined journey across the Sea of Galilee, and through a terrifying storm, to get to this forsaken place of the man who lived in the tombs.  Perhaps taken in this vein and with these other images from the Gospels and Christ's teachings, today's reading about the Gadarene demoniac, possessed by a legion of demons, it might well serve as a powerful illustration of the will of God to save even one lost sheep out of one hundred, and to make every effort, to take every risk, to do so.  We pause to wonder why indeed Christ gave the command (see yesterday's reading, above) to His disciples to sail across the sea through the perilous wind and waves.  Certainly today's reading gives us no clue that the rest of the people who populate the story -- the swineherders and villagers who come to Christ only to ask Him to leave -- are those willing to become His disciples or believers in any way.  They reject Him and beg Him to go; they are only frightened by the exorcism that saved the man possessed by the legion of demons.  In the conclusion to the parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus tells His listeners that "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."  Christ's journey across the sea with the disciples to this forlorn man affirms that in the sight of God every effort is worthwhile to save even one.  It tells us of the value of human beings (as my study Bible pointed out, above), and it tells us of our Liberator or Savior, the One who frees this man from his prison among the tombs and held by this legion of demons.  Since the parable uses the language of the military, speaking of a legion of "occupying" demons holding this man in spiritual imprisonment, who is literally bound with chains and shackles, it also speaks to us of the spiritual warfare in which our world -- and the souls, hearts, and minds of human beings -- are the battleground.  It assures us that not only is Christ the true Chief Commander of the spiritual world, but that He is also a Deliverer who will spare no effort to rescue us from the things that bind us and imprison us and make us slaves (John 8:34).  Indeed, the world and those who surround us may deter such a journey of liberation at every step, and scoff at Christ's salvation, even reject us when we are healed as do the swineherders and townspeople in today's reading, but nonetheless our salvation is incomparably more valuable than "fitting in" with such neighbors who do not bear our best hope in mind.  Ask any recovering addict, or perhaps those for whom the light of Christ commands any personal change, and we may find a kind of shunning that accompanies such healing.  Let us give thanks for that which is incomparably greater than a neglectful status quo that accepts what ails us as normal, and is frightened by the power of recovery it can't understand.  For we are also told that "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."  There will always be those who prefer the darkness, but Christ will have a new mission, a new life, for each one of His own.  For this is the Lord's compassion, and as far as we know, that is limitless.