The Gerasene Demoniac becomes a Soul Winner.
(Mark 5:1-20)
Bible-believing Christians have always accepted the fact of demons. Their activity since the creation of the world is also known to them Even in our times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. Ouija boards are found in many homes and horoscopes and astrological predictions are found in most major newspapers.
There are two equal and opposite errors we can have about satanic forces.
(a) One is to disbelieve in their existence.
(b) The other is to believe, and to take an excessive and unhealthy interest in them
The confrontation between the powers of heaven and hell are nowhere seen in better perspective than in Mark’s account of the encounter of the Gerasene demoniac with our Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the major evidences within the book of Mark is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and His power over the unseen forces of this world - the host of demons. This is evident from chapter one of the gospel.
Mark 1:22-28 - Jesus casts out a demon in the synagogue.
Mark 1:32-34 - Jesus cast out many demons.
Mark 1:39 - Jesus was casting out the demons.
Mark 3:11 - The unclean spirits would cry out, "You are the Son of God."
Mark 3:14-15 - The twelve given authority to cast out demons.
Mark 3:22 - Accused of casting out demons by power of Satan.
Why this emphasis upon the casting out of demons? If Jesus is the One who will remove the curse of sin and overthrow the forces of Satan, then He must be able to break the power of the supernatural world. He came to deliver men from their slavery to sin. He came to destroy the works of Satan:
1 John 3:8 (NASB) “ the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. “
And in the casting out of demons, He was giving samples of this principle. In our text we see Jesus' authority over the spirit world:
Mark 5:1-20 (NASB) And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And constantly night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones. 6 And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he said”, "What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!" 8 For He had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" 9 And He was asking him, "What is your name?"
And he said” to Him, "My name is Legion; for we are many." 10 And he began to entreat Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now there was a big herd of swine feeding there on the mountain. 12 And the demons entreated Him, saying, "Send us into the swine so that we may enter them." 13 And He gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. 14 And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened.
15 And they came” to Jesus and observed” the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the "legion"; and they became frightened. 16 And those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. 17 And they began to entreat Him to depart from their region. 18 And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was entreating Him that he might accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He said” to him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you." 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone marveled.
These verses describe one of those mysterious miracles that the Gospels frequently record - the casting out of a devil. Of all the cases of this kind in the New Testament, none is so fully described as this one. Of all the three Synoptic Gospels, none give this story so fully and minutely as Mark.
Looking back we find that in the third chapter of Mark’s Gospel, our Lord’s miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (3: 22). Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). From this point on, Jesus began to speak to the crowds in parables in order to veil or conceal the gospel from those who had blasphemed the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:lff). At the conclusion of this day of teaching by parables, the Lord had instructed His disciples to cross over the Sea of Galilee to the other side. This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). Sometime after the Lord Jesus miraculously calmed the storm, the ship landed on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gerasenes.
Immediately, as this weary group disembarked from the ship, they were met by what appeared to be a madman Although his symptoms would have appeared to be those of an insane man, the Gospel writers inform us that he was demon-possessed.
Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man evidenced several of the classic symptoms.
(1) Severe personality change. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. It is something like the behavior and personality change in a man who is totally intoxicated. More than this, however, is the fact that the man’s own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. When Jesus asked his name the man answered, “Legion, for we are many” (Mark 5:9).
(2) Anti-social behavior. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization.
(3) Spiritual insight. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. Instantly he recognized the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God (verse 7). There was a source of spiritual insight beyond human capabilities here. In one sense while there are atheists among men there are no atheists among the demons. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, “Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom
(4) Super-human strength. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. Acts 19:16). The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. No matter what men attempted to bind him with, he broke loose. No one was strong enough to subdue him (verses 3,4).
(5) Torment. The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. Such was the case with this man (cf. verse 5). His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby.
(6) Tendency towards self-destruction. Another indication of demonic control is the fact that this man was continually doing harm to himself by gashing himself with stones (verse 5). Other demoniacs described in Scripture were bent on self-destruction as well (cf. Mark 9:17-29). The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine.
It is not difficult to imagine what was going through the minds of the disciples as their ship landed and as these two demon possessed men rushed to them. They probably thought of quickly getting aboard ship and pushing off. Perhaps they clenched their fists or picked up driftwood with which to defend themselves.
Such must have been the response of those with our Lord. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this man’s eyes were riveted on Jesus. He did not appear to rush upon the small group of men to attack them (as he would normally have done), but rather to plead with Jesus. Though Legion bowed before Jesus (verse 6), it was no act of worship (though some versions of the Bible would seem to indicate). He seemed to view Jesus’ approach as the launching of a direct attack on the demonic forces. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. How ironic, that the tormentor pleads not to be tormented.
The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). Significantly, the demons are called ‘unclean spirits’ (verse 2,9). When Jesus asked the demoniac his name, it was not without significance for He was, I believe, asking the demons to reveal their identity. The reply ‘Legion’ may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. On the other hand, it may be correct to understand that although there were many demons, they had combined as one force to possess this man. While Mark records Legion’s request as one of not being sent out of the country (verse 10), Luke adds a significant explanation by interpreting the meaning behind this request: “And they were entreating Him not to command them to depart into the abyss” (Luke 8:31). In Jewish thinking, spirit beings were assigned to certain geographical territories.
Jewish theology, at least on this point, seems consistent with biblical revelation. Demons are highly organized (cf. Daniel 10:13; Ephesians 6:12), whose leader and prince is Satan (Matthew 12:24). The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. For these demons to be sent out of the country would have meant that they would then be confined along with other fallen angels (cf. Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God.
As an alternative to confinement, the demons posed the option of being permitted to enter the pigs, some 2,000 in number, feeding nearby. This request was granted and the entire herd rushed headlong to their own destruction
The drowning of these pigs has caused a great deal of discussion - “That’s a lot of pork chops wasted!” The first question is a rather pragmatic one, namely, “How can demons possess animals?” To this we must confess that we know too little to understand the mechanism of demon possession but the reality is very evident.
The second question is an ethical one: “What right had the Lord to inflict this loss on the owners of the swine Some of the proposed answers to this question are totally unacceptable to an orthodox, evangelical Christian. By way of explanation, there are several factors which should be given serious consideration.
(1) As Lord of all, God has the right to make use of His creation any way that He deems best, and this includes not only pigs, but people (cf. Romans 9:19-23).
(2) Pork was a food forbidden to Jews, and as such, those who raised these pigs may have done so knowingly in violation of divine injunction. It is in no way certain, however, that the pig owners were Jews.
(3) Our Lord was moved with compassion by the torment of Legion and the loss of these pigs should in no way dim our view of the deliverance of the demoniac. Also, the wholesale slaughter of these pigs dramatically illustrated the destructive purposes of the demons.
(4) Our Lord did not command the demons to enter into the pigs and bring about their destruction; He only permitted it
(5) What our Lord could have given the people of this territory was much greater than what He took away.
As we pass from this section to the next, let us not end on the note of the death of the pigs, but on the deliverance of the demoniac. Whereas he had been a slave, he was now delivered from demon possession. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. When once he was an instrument of Satanic opposition against the Messiah, now he is a witness to His power. Once naked, he is now clothed. Once a menace to society, now a messenger with words of deliverance and healing – (Mark 6:53-57)
It didn’t take long for the word to spread quickly. The pig tenders reported it far and wide, in city and country (verse 14). Like the Samaritans who followed the woman at the well to see the One who had ‘told her all she had done,’ so these residents came to see for themselves what had happened.
The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost?
In both the accounts of Mark and Luke, the primary motivation is described as that of fear. Luke seems to base this fear solely upon what happened to the demoniac, not on the loss of their pigs.
“And the people went out to see what happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to depart from them; for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat, and returned” (Luke 8:35-37)
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As these people began to piece together the previous events, not only of the destruction of the pigs, but also the deliverance of Legion, they began to sense that there was One far more awesome, much more to be feared than Legion. They had dealt with Legion by forcing him from their presence. Now they would deal with this One greater than the demon possessed man by doing likewise. It is ironic that while the demons didn’t want to leave the country, the dwellers of that land didn’t want the Messiah to stay. Here is one of the few times that a miracle drove people away, rather than to draw them to Jesus. It would seem that these people had no Messianic expectations, and therefore wanted nothing to do with One Who had such awesome power, a power over which they had no control.
The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave
As always, we must begin with the principle: Interpretation is one, application is many. What purposes did Mark intend to achieve by the inclusion of this event?
First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. The Greeks were believers in the spirit world, but not necessarily convinced that demons were evil As a result, Mark’s readers needed to be instructed as to the essential nature of demons and demon possession. The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark.
A word of clarification is in order here for we must recognize that in this account the dark side of Satan is exposed, but this is perhaps the more unusual side of Satan. Satan’s most effective tool is not the demoniac wandering about the desolate places. Satan’s most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
As has been said before, look for Satan’s man behind the pulpit. Here is where Satan can use a man to influence scores of people, blinding minds and hearts to the truths of the Word of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Demon possession, such as that of the Gerasene demoniac is the crudest and cruelest form of Satanic control, but by and large also one of the less common manifestations of Satan’s work in the world today.
Second (and primarily), Mark employs this event to authenticate the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God and Israel’s Messiah. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. Rather, they attributed the power of Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:22). The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. Even the demons confessed that He was the Son of the Most High (Mark 5:7).
In this account we, by inference, learn much about the demonic spirits. They are ‘unclean spirits,’ (vss. 2,8) who can ‘possess’ men and animals. Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. Demonic influence further destroys man’s reflection of God as originally designed. Demons have great spiritual insight and reluctantly submit to Jesus as Lord of all. They look forward to their future with great dread. They greatly desire to enter and control a physical body, whereby they may reflect their character and attributes.
Although the Gospels give us little information as to how individuals become targets of Satanic control, I would suggest for your consideration that they sometimes do so by leaving themselves open to Satanic influence. Ananias and Sapphira did so by allowing their greed to grip their hearts (cf. Acts 5:1-6). Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. Matthew 12:43-45). Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position.
Having been properly warned of the demonic underworld, let us not fall into the opposite error of absolute paranoia. The lesson of this passage is that Satan is a defeated foe. When our Lord confronted the demons, they had to submit to His power and authority. By His power, we, too, are able to overcome Satan’s treacheries. For those who are shaken like leaves in the wind at the mention of demons, let us remember from this story that demons cannot even possess pigs without prior permission from our Lord. As the servant of Elisha was told, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16).
Some today have given demons far more than their due by blaming demons for every malady of mankind. There is the so-called demon of doubt, of anger, of overindulgence, of drunkenness, laziness and so on
Finally, there is in demon possession a counterpart to the filling (or control) of the Holy Spirit. Just as demons desire to possess persons through whom they can exhibit their personalities, so the Spirit of God indwells man, imparting new life, and progressively gaining control so that the character of God is exhibited, but not in such a way as to hinder our individuality and identity. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives.
Luke records that he was "sitting down at the feet of Jesus." In Jewish thought this pictured someone who was a disciple. This former demoniac is now a disciple of Jesus.
As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. He who feared His arrival now dreaded His departure. It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lord’s disciples
The Lord refused this request and commissioned this delivered man to return to his own people and declare to them what God had done for him. His greatest impact would be on those who knew his former state.
The commission of our Lord is considerably different from His instructions to the Israelites whom He had healed. They were instructed to keep quiet about what Jesus had done for them (cf. Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). In Galilee and Judea there were Messianic hopes which would have been quickly fanned into flames if the miracles of Jesus were too widely publicized. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded.
The particular focus of this man’s testimony was the Decapolis region. This was a federation of ten cities. This was a region east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.
We see two surprising features in this view .
First, Jesus refused this man to follow Him.
Second, Jesus doesn't prohibit him from speaking openly about the miracle
Why would Jesus refuse to allow him to follow and then permit him to speak openly? Jesus knew that his witness would be much more powerful among those who had known him as a demoniac. By going to his own people in the Decapolis, the former demoniac would be talking about Jesus to the very same people who had chained his hands and shackled his feet. He would explain the miracle to the very same people who had heard him cry out day and night among the tombs and in the mountains.
So now what happened to this delivered demonic? Did he obey the command of Jesus. “ Go and tell” We find the answer in Mark 6:53-57.
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began tobring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. This is right after Jesus walks on the water. They were headed for Bethsaida, but they ended up at Gennesaret.
So either Jesus had them change direction or the wind blew them off course, which is possible because we know that they were struggling against the wind all night. Gennesaret is a very fertile land and because of that, there was a lot of people living in that area. It was quite populated. . Think about it, thirteen men get off a fishing boat from the sea of Galilee and they haven’t been fishing. Jesus’ reputation is preceding him, and the people figure out pretty quickly who he is. Then the crowds go nuts. They stop whatever they are doing and bring the sick to him some of them even begging to touch the edge of his clothes. How did this happen? The widespread response of the people may have been a fruit of the recent work of the healed demonic related in Mark 5: 1-20.
What happens after they step ashore? "People immediately recognized Jesus" (Mark 6:54).
How did they recognize him? Had they seen pictures of him posted in the marketplace? It is remarkable that none of the gospels provide a physical description of Jesus. We will never be able to pin him down by virtue of his appearance. Rather, we will always have to recognize Jesus for who he is and what he does.
The brief verses at the close of chapter 6 form a connecting link between the wonderful story of the transformed demonic and the work of soul-winning. So the coming of Jesus to Gennesaret converted the place into a kind of field hospital; for the people "ran round about that whole region, and began to carry about on their beds those that were sick, where they heard He was. And where so ever He entered into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the market-places, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole" ( Mark 6:55-56).
You notice that these were the very people who had earlier told Him to leave their district - Mark 5: 14-17, but now they were willing to accept Him and to bring their sick to Him for healing.
This former demoniac became a missionary to the entire Decapolis - this region with its ten major cities We are like that man. We weren't possessed by a legion of demons, but we were living in the tombs, spiritually speaking. We were dead to God, separated from Him by our sins. We, like this man, have been cleansed from the impurity that once polluted us. And now, we have been called to go to our people and tell them what great things the Lord has done for us. Are you being as obedient as this former demoniac was?
