Last week, we looked, in particular, at Jesus walking on water, considering how we can see in the story the signs that Jesus was – and is – God. So now we circle round to the back story – what happened before. Here in Mark 5, we are told the story of when Jesus and the disciples ventured into predominantly gentile territory by sailing over to the Gerasa shore within the Decapolis, a grouping of ten Hellenistic (Greek influenced) cities down at the southern end of Lake Galilee.

Jesus and his disciples crossed Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa. When he was getting out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit quickly ran to him from the graveyard where he had been living. No one was able to tie the man up anymore, not even with a chain. He had often been put in chains and leg irons, but he broke the chains and smashed the leg irons. No one could control him. Night and day he was in the graveyard or on the hills, yelling and cutting himself with stones. When the man saw Jesus in the distance, he ran up to him and knelt down. He shouted, “Jesus, Son of God in heaven, what do you want with me? Promise me in God's name that you won't torture me!” The man said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to come out of him. Jesus asked, “What is your name?” The man answered, “My name is Legion, because I have ‘lots’ of evil spirits.” He then begged Jesus not to send them away. Over on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the evil spirits begged Jesus, “Send us into those pigs! Let us go into them.” Jesus let them go, and they went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd of about 2,000 pigs rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. The men taking care of the pigs ran to the town and the farms to spread the news. Then the people came out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had once been full of demons. He was sitting there with his clothes on and in his right mind, and they were terrified. Everyone who had seen what had happened told about the man and the pigs. Then the people started begging Jesus to leave their part of the country. When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man begged to go with him. But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how good he has been to you.” The man went away into the region near the ten cities known as Decapolis and began telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him. Everyone who heard what had happened was amazed. Mark 5:1-20

A dramatic story

This story is all-action from the get-go as we read how a man possessed by an evil spirit (the Greek translated here as evil – akathartō / ἀκαθάρτῳ – literally means unclean), runs to Jesus from the graveyard which his dreadful fate has condemned him to. His nature, as described, is quite horrific. He has immense strength, able to break chains and to self-harm (the Greek word – katakoptōn /  κατακόπτων – describes a very violent form, literally smashing or mangling), and he cries out (the Greek – krazōn / κράζων – can be translated shrieking), Yet, despite this dreadful demonic solitude, there is something in the man that rises up in the presence of Jesus, something that draws him, despite the fact that the demons just want to get away. And when this man runs up to Jesus it is the demons who speak: “Jesus Son of God in heaven, what do you want, I adjure you not to torture”.

There is something in the man that rises up in the presence of Jesus, something that draws him.

There are three points worth noting here. First, the demon(s) recognise the very nature of Jesus – Son of God in heaven; second, they recognise He is there for a purpose; third, and this is where the level of interest steps up a gear, the language of exorcism is used. ‘Adjure’ (used in a number of translations) is a word that was used in exorcism to leverage an action. It is a formal demand, and it is being made to Jesus: the demons adjure Jesus not to torture them. There is also the interesting line that Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out. It is almost as if the unclean spirit is trying to haggle with Jesus. But Jesus is having none of it – He asks for the demon’s name. Within the 2nd Temple culture, and in prior history, knowing the name was a key component of exorcism. Even in other contexts, having the name gave you authority. There is a prime example in Genesis 32 when Jacob is wrestling with the divine man, hanging on for his blessing, and Jacob is asked his name. (It is an interesting question given that the last time scripture records Jacob being asked his name he had masqueraded as Esau in order to obtain a blessing, but that is another story.)

Here Jesus asks the name, and He is told it is Legion or Lots. The demon knows the game is up, and begs not to be sent away, and then, showing some form of sentience, asks for Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs feeding nearby. The shock of the demon(s) entering the pigs is so great that they rush down a steep bank into the lake and drown. This certainly gained the region’s attention, not least as the owner of the pigs may have faced financial ruin – for which the Bible does not give us the whole story.

Reactions to Jesus’ power

The pig herders run into the nearby town, telling everyone what has happened, and as the crowds flood out to see, they find Jesus sitting with the demonised man, who is clothed and in his right mind. The realisation of the level of power required for something of this nature terrifies the people and they beg Jesus to leave, to just go away and leave them alone. Here is the interesting juxtaposition: a demonised man suffering under the imposition of demonic forces recognises Jesus and rushes towards Him; the demons controlling this man simply want to get away from Jesus; and the good regular citizens simply want Jesus to get away from them – they don’t want their cosy lives disrupting. The man freed from the demon, however, is hooked on Jesus and wants to go with Him. Although Jesus called many to follow Him, this wasn’t the instruction for this man, however. Jesus instructs him to go and tell his family how the Lord had redeemed him, which he did, to the amazement of people across the Decapolis.

The good regular citizens simply want Jesus to get away from them – they don’t want their cosy lives disrupting.

Witness to the Kingdom

We can see just how obedient this man had been in witnessing his encounter with Jesus, as he shared not just with his family, but with people right across the region. Because this brings us back to Mark 6, for it is here that we see the effectiveness of his witness:

Jesus and his disciples crossed the lake and brought the boat to shore near the town of Gennesaret. As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognised Jesus. So they ran all over that part of the country to bring their sick people to him on mats. They brought them each time they heard where he was. In every village or farm or marketplace where Jesus went, the people brought their sick to him. They begged him to let them just touch his clothes, and everyone who did was healed. Mark 6: 53-56

The lame were walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the oppressed were being set free, and the Kingdom of wholeness, of wellbeing and of abundance was spreading its realm.

From begging Jesus to depart the area in Mark 5, we now see that people are bringing the sick and hurting to Him, just to touch the hem of His robe (or the tzitzit of His tallit as we will explore in another study…) There was a recognition, even within this Hellenistic region, that Jesus was bringing peace and shalom. He was fulfilling the manifesto he had announced in His first preaching engagement. He was indeed the Messiah, and we can see it in these stories about the Decapolis. The lame were walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the oppressed were being set free, and the Kingdom of wholeness, of wellbeing and of abundance was spreading its realm. And this man, who had been shunned and in the most appalling state, once set free, introduced hundreds or possibly thousands of people to Jesus and His kingdom. Let us not become weary in sharing what God has done for us – proclaiming the reign of Jesus our King.