Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:
(Mark 5:1) And they came over to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had suggested to His disciples that they leave the shore at Capernaum and go across the Sea of Galilee to the other side. That is what they did, and they now arrived at the shore in the country of the Gadarenes. This appears to be the same country as of the Gergesenes and the Gerasenes. Whether these are misspellings of the same country or whether more than one tribe of people lived within the country, I don't know, but that is not what is important. The basic fact is that they left Capernaum and sailed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
(2) And when He had come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, (3) Who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no man could bind him, not even with chains.
As soon as Jesus had landed and came out of the ship, He was met by a man who came from among tombs who had an unclean or evil spirit. He apparently lived among the tombs, and no one was able to bind him. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, made an interesting point. Did the man get the unclean spirit because he lived among the tombs, or did he live among the tombs because he had an unclean spirit? If it was the first, then there lies a good lesson in why we should not involve ourselves in rituals with the spirits of the dead.
(4) Because he had often been bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Neither could any man tame him.
It appears that efforts had been made to bind the man but to no avail. He could break any chains or shackles and no man could tame him.
(5) And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
The man wandered among the mountains and the tombs, crying out, and cutting himself with stones. I can't help but notice that it took four verses to describe this poor Satan-possessed man, an illustration of just what Satan can do to a soul if allowed.
(6) But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped Him.
When the man saw Jesus, he ran to Him and worshiped Him. Think about that! He was so powerfully controlled by Satan and demons, but when he saw Jesus, he was compelled to fall down and worship Him. Isaiah 45:23 says, "...unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."
(7) And cried 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."
At the same time the man was compelled to bow down to Jesus, he cried out by the spirit within him to Jesus, recognizing Him for who He was, and begging Him not to torment him.
(8) For He said to him, "Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!"
Apparently, Jesus had at the same time commanded that the evil spirit come out of the man, and the spirit begged that He not torment him.
(9) And He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion, for we are many."
Of course, Jesus would have known the name of the spirit, but for the learning of His disciples, witnesses, and even for us reading about this incident, He asked the name of the spirit. His name was Legion, for actually he was the head of many spirits within that poor man. Imagine that for a minute. The evil spirits of Satan have names; they are evidently known entities in the spirit world. There was a wonderful novel by Frank Peretti, This Present Darkness, about spiritual warfare. Although it was fiction, it will open your eyes as to the spiritual warfare that goes on in the world. It may also allow you to see people differently, when you are able to see that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against...spiritual wickedness..." (Ephesians 6:12).
(10) And he beseeched Him much that He would not send them away out of the country.
The spirit continued to beg Jesus, this time that He would not send them out of the country. It seems odd that demon spirits would presume to ask Jesus to be permitted to stay in their present country. Perhaps this was a heathen district where demon spirits could act with less restraint than in other places. Still! To be so presumptuous as to ask Jesus to allow them to stay!
(11) Now there was near to the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
Near to the mountains where this confrontation was taking place, there was a large herd of swine feeding.
(12) And all the devils beseeched Him, saying, "Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them."
Then the whole legion of demon spirits begged Jesus to be sent into the herd of swine. They longed to be anywhere rather than be expelled from the country.
(13) And immediately Jesus gave them permission. And the unclean spirits went out and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea (there were about two thousand) and was drowned in the sea.
Jesus at once gave them permission. We learned from Job and even from Peter, that Satan must get permission from God to do anything to the bodies and souls of men. But why does God allow it when He could easily say no. God does not force us to do anything. He gives us a choice. He allows us to see what choosing the ways of Satan will bring. Sometimes we must reach the very bottom before we realize our need for Jesus. It's in His mercy that He gives us whatever we need to come to Him for salvation and eternal life.
As Jesus gave them permission, the demon spirits went out of the man into the two thousand head of swine, and the herd ran violently off a cliff into the sea and drowned. Again, one might question this. After all, two thousand swine were obviously someone's property and living. They had nothing to do with the legion of spirits within that man Jesus healed. However, these were Jews living in this area, who should have had nothing to do with unclean animals like swine. Destroying their livelihood could be what brought them to Jesus, and additionally allowed people throughout the ages to see the violence that demonic spirits could exercise within us. All is God's and He may do with any of it as He pleases, but what He pleases is always for our ultimate good.
(14) And they who fed the swine fled and told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
Those who were tending and feeding the swine fled after the swine went over the cliff, and told what had happened to people in the city and throughout the country. People went out to see for themselves what it was that had taken place.
(15) And they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been possessed with the devil and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
People came out to see Jesus and the man who had been so demon-possessed. The man no man could bind or tame was sitting clothed and in his right mind, and that terrified them.
(16) And they who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been possessed with the devil and concerning the swine.
Those who had been witnesses to the incident told the people who came just what had happened concerning the demon-possessed man and the herd of swine.
(17) And they began to call on Him to depart out of their borders.
The people were so fearful of what had happened that they implored Jesus to leave their region. Rather than see the good Jesus did in healing the demon-possessed man, they feared that something bad might befall them as had happened with the herd of swine.
(18) And when He had come into the ship, he who had been possessed with the devil begged Him that he might be with Him.
Jesus was leaving as He had been asked to do and went onto the ship. The man who had been demon-possessed begged Jesus to go along with Him.
(19) 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 has had compassion on you."
However, Jesus told the man to stay where he was, to go home, and tell all his friends what the Lord had done for him. Rather than being called as a disciple, this man's purpose was to give his testimony of what the Lord had done for him. We are not all called to be preachers, but some are called to witness right where they are planted.
(20) And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him, and all marveled.
The man departed Jesus and did just as Jesus had asked him. He proclaimed throughout his country what Jesus had done for him. Although Jesus was asked to leave and did not teach in that country, that man witnessed to its people, and all the people marveled at what they had been told. That man did more good for his region staying planted where he was than he would have done going with Jesus. What a beautiful example of what we can all do right where we are if God doesn't call us to some "greater" mission. I put the word greater in quotes because who is to say what is greater? That man may have brought more people to Christ, certainly in his region, than Christ Himself personally did, since He had been asked to leave. All parts of the body of Christ are important; we don't all have the same purpose.
This seems a good place to end this post and continue the chapter in the next.
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