Mark 5:2
"When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him."
So here we are again, the question of the identity of Jesus is raised as it was in 4:41. Remember when they were still in the boat?
Mark 4:41
The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the..."
And the answer comes through a demon possessed voice.
He is the Son of the Most High God.
Mark 5:7
With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?..."
On the other hand, the local people weren't feeling the love for Jesus. He had just exorcised many demons and sent them into a herd of pigs nearby. The pigs lose their minds and fall to their deaths over a cliff and drowned in the lake.
Jesus and the disciples were about to move out of there, before the townspeople came to take hold of them, when the man who had been demon-possessed begged Jesus to allow him to go with them.
I find this very strange and interesting. I mean the whole thing is strange, but why, why not have this guy join them?
The demon begs Jesus to hear him, four different times he begs in these 20 verses in vs. 10, 12, 17, and 18.
The word used here in the Greek is "Parakaleo", which translates to something like begging but with an attitude of exhortation, like he's almost instructing or informing Jesus.
Let's go back and look closer again.
The man is possessed by a legion of demons. So much horror going on that no chains can hold him and he's cutting himself and acting violently. He was a very dangerous man, and no one would go near him. He lived in the rocks and burial caves of that region, south of the Sea of Galilee.
Typically, he is...
Mark 5:5b "...howling and cutting himself with sharp stones."
But when Jesus comes, he bolts towards him and immediately lays into him with his "begging" that is really more like a challenge than pleading. He does this incessantly. Begging Jesus to leave him be and begging him to cast them into the pigs.
Mark 5:12
“Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.”
A herd of about two thousand pigs drowned (v.13).
Imagine that scene. That's a lot of pigs. Illegal pigs by the way.
Those people living in that region were illegally raising these pigs which were not sanctioned by the state authorities. And so it's like this. The people living here are running an illegal farming business, trading in illegal animals and no doubt trading in illegal meat. It's something like coming upon a drug cartel or child trafficking ring. And these people know the demon possessed man lived there among those cliffs and caves. Probably they didn't mind him so much because his presence would aid in keeping prying eyes away from their illegal enterprise. One thing is sure, they weren't thrilled that Jesus had come around.
On the other hand, the demon possessed man...verse 6 says, “When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped Him.”
What a strange thing. A demon possessed man worshipping Jesus. The man kneels before Jesus, but who's worshiping? The man uses the first-person singular, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” But the speaker is not the man, it's the demons doing the talking. Thousands of demons. This is like something out of a horror movie.
Apparently, the demons within this man were a kind of collective. Sort of like the Borg of Star Trek fame. And strangely they again beg Jesus saying, "In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!".
In the name of God?
Can demons plead for mercy in the name of God?
Who knew.
This collective demon horde was apparently very strong. Strong enough to hold on for a second or two, even though Jesus had already commanded them to leave the man.
So, Jesus takes matters to the next level. And as we all know from the movies, you've got to get the demon's name if you're going to cast it out. But how true is that superstition? Think about this, it was the superstition of the times that one can gain power over someone by knowing and commanding them by their name. Is this why the demon called Jesus by his name? Was he attempting something there?
It seems to me that the demon addresses Jesus by his name and in full agreement with Jesus' Lordship, not as a confession of Jesus’ dignity but as a desperate attempt to gain power over him, or to render him harmless, in accordance with the common superstitious laws of that period. And at any rate he does seem to have accomplished at least a pause in the expulsion.
Mark 5:9
Then Jesus demanded, "What is your name?" And he replied, "My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man."
This is obviously a deliberately vague statement. The demons don't share their own identities, they evade by using the term Legion. So again they're resisting Jesus. This collective demon horde has worked up enough strength to slow the inevitable. And they don't want to be sent away into the dry hard places. So, they're trying to work out a way to stay alive and in possession of some sort of living thing. They'd rather torment pigs than be sent into the Abyss.
One other thing to note at this point, unlike the movies, the demons cannot possess the pigs without God's will. They are forced to beg again and again.
Mark 5:10
"Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place."
(v.13)
"So, Jesus gave them permission."
At this point in time things had to go down like this. But have things changed in this regard?
Colossians 2:15 tells us that at the cross Jesus disarmed both the religious leaders and the demons in their attacks on believers...
"And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Them in Him)."
Now things are different.
No more begging allowed.
Now the demons and every other enemy of Jesus Christ and his bride the church must obey the commands of our Lord without any begging. Now the Holy Spirit has the power and authority to determine their fates. He shuts their mouths and sends them away lickety-split. And the demons today know it. The demons know that they will be cast into the lake of fire. And some are going to be cast into early torment and are now in that holding place called the Abyss.
2 Peter 2:4
"For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment."
And this is what Legion feared most. They (he) wanted nothing to do with that place. They'd rather torment pigs then go there.
Luke 8:31
"And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss."
Think about that friend. Think about how horrible a place has to be for demons to beg Jesus for help in possessing the pigs instead of going there.
What were they afraid of?
The word in the Greek is "basanos", the root word for "torment". It's defined as "a touchstone, employed in testing metals." It's apparently something like being hammered on a rock and in a furnace. Literally between a rock and a hard place. Not the kind of getting stoned someone might enjoy. It's the same place where Satan will be restrained for a thousand years during the millennium.
It's a prison, it restrains them, it's doing hard time. And this super demon wants pigs instead of that. And Jesus helps them get what they want. He answers their big ask and they end up dead in the water.
Divine justice I suppose.
I wonder if Jesus knew that was going to happen. Probably he did. In fact, maybe that's why there was a pause in the expulsion in the first place. Maybe Jesus was leading them along...maybe he gave them some slack rope, so they'd hang themselves.
At any rate they're gone.
The man is free, and he immediately begs to follow Jesus. Still begging. I think maybe he's been begging for so long he doesn't know anything else.
Jesus sends him on a mission trip. Go tell your story. Go tell everyone you know what Jesus has done for you. The man didn't know a lot about exegesis, and he couldn't have answered many questions. But he did know what Jesus had done for him, and he could tell that to others.
And probably most important in this whole story is the fact that the man obeyed Jesus.
Are you looking for an application in this devotion?
Then do like him.
Obey Jesus.