And they came over unto the other
side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of
the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean
spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no,
not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains,
and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in
pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in
the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But
when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud
voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high
God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he
asked him, What is thy name? And he
answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much
that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh
unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought
him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith
Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the
swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were
about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. And they that 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. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was
possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his
right mind: and they were afraid. And they that saw it told them how it befell
to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And
they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. And when he was come into
the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be
with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things
the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he
departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for
him: and all men did marvel. (Mark 5:1-20)
This miracle is mentioned in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew as wells as here
in Mark.
Depraved minds are capable of
great strength and capacity for evil. History is replete with examples
such as Herod, Tamerlane, Count Vlad Tepes (the source inspiration for Dracula)
of Wallachia, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Bin Laden, etc. The demoniac of the
Gadarenes was an example of such. His strength seems near super-human. We
often wonder at the capacity to perform evil of those who are of like mind with
demons. Their evil schemes may seem ingenious to us and seem to prosper more
than those of the righteous. Why is this possible? Evil knows no limits to its
exploits for power and control. Any means will always suffice. This same
proverb holds true to those who are adherents of Maoism or Communism –“the end
justifies the means.” It may be said that the cruel and madly wicked are not in
their right minds, and this is precisely the case, for no one is in their RIGHT
mind apart from that Mind which was in Christ Jesus! It is interesting to
observe that the people of Gadara cared more for their income-producing swine
than they did for the well-being of the man who had been freed from the demon
possession.
“And they came over
unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.”
Christ has come to a people who were either not knowledgeable of the Law of
Moses, or who were openly disobedient thereto. The demons waste no time in
confronting the power of God when such power invades their long-held regime! “And
when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a
man with an unclean spirit.” This unclean spirit was even reflected
in the unclean animals which was the source of livelihood of the Gadarenes.
They were raisers of SWINE! This man was one “Who had his
dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains
had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither
could any man tame him.” The works of the devil never stray
far from his intent for his victim – the tomb! This man lived among the tombs
and constantly faced death and its master every day. Demons have great power,
if we allow it to them, and this possessed man exemplified that power in being
beyond being chained and bound for his own protection. No man can tame an evil
mind, but even the most evil of men may be tamed by God!
“And always, night and
day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself
with stones.” My heart bleeds for the depth of despair that
drives this man to such abject misery. He was always alone and deserted. He
cried always in his pain and misery. He, in a single word, hated himself! He
had only contempt for the person he had become. He even cut his body with
stones. I have seen such misery among precious young girls of the Far East who
were sold into prostitution and who would cut their bodies with broken glass in
fits of rage against their predicament. It was a condition that would break the
heart of any decent-minded person but one
which is beyond real change without the Spirit of Christ working among those
people. I still see those images vividly and I regret that I could not have
said, or done, something to alleviate their sufferings. The innocence of the
very young was sold for pittance into the hands of the devil by greedy and
unrighteous men and women.
“But when he saw Jesus
afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said,
What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God?”
Even the demons set a better example than many of those among us who neither
love nor hate God, but are simply indifferent to His Sovereignty and Truth. At
least the demons recognize, even at a great distance (which they shall always
be from Christ), His Presence and Coming! Demon spirits are reprobate, having
deserted their first love and followed Satan into that reprobation, yet still
plead for a solution to their damnation. Their hope is forlorn. They certainly
do, better than some ministers, in recognizing Christ for who He is! Should we
not, at least, have the same presence of mind to recognize Christ for who He is
as do demons? “I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” Do you
feel it strange that many false ministers can call upon the name and power of
God while they are complete imposters? Look, the demons do it, too!
Unlike Eve before the damnable
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Christ does not engage in a dialogue with
the devil except to identify him for what he is. “For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.”
But Christ will always identify the evil that plagues our hearts: “What is thy name?” Let us, too, be
knowledgeable of the evil with which we are dealing in purifying our spirits
and the Church.
“And he answered,
saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.” Among men who
are indifferent to God (as were the Gadarenes), the demons prosper just as they
do among any people or nation that grow indifferent to God. . “And he
besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.”
This land of the Gadarenes was a land of unclean people, therefore, the unclean
spirits felt well at home here. They desired to remain in this country. “Now
there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all
the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into
them.”A demon is not very particular about where it lives as
long as it is a place of uncleanness. There are an abundance of unclean peoples
in our world that are always vulnerable to such spirits. The unclean have not
God’s protection against demons: “And forthwith Jesus gave them leave.”
“And the unclean
spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a
steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in
the sea.” The very object of the devil and his demons is the
destruction of his victims. The demons will never lead you into green pastures
and beside still waters, but to certain destruction. The greatest amazement of
this occasion is not the destruction of 2,000 swine (so there must have been at
least 2,000 demons possessing the man), but
the reaction of the Gadarenes at this great miracle of Christ! “And
they that 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. And they come to Jesus, and see
him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and
clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”
Notice that fear of the Lord does not always lead to repentance. These people
feared Christ for the wrong reasons – their profits from the filthy swine! “And
they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the
devil, and also concerning the swine.” They should have
rejoiced that one soul was saved from the power of the devil, but did they?
“And they began to pray
him to depart out of their coasts.” These men prayed to the
right person, but for the wrong purpose. “Ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James
4:3) It is a great tragedy that these men prayed, not that Christ would come
to them, but that He might depart from them! They would prefer to
live in the company of swine and demons than the Lord of heaven. Is America
becoming like that?
“And when he was come into the ship, he that had
been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.”
From the very moment that God casts the demons from our hearts, we immediately
desire to be with Him always and rightfully so. This man had literally had his
fill of demons and swine, now he desires, above all else, to the One who can
grant complete Liberty! “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto
him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how
great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on
thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus
had done for him: and all men did marvel.” We often experience a
wonderful time of fellowship with God and His people at worship or during the Convention and we wish not to leave it and return
home. We want to bask in the love and warmth of God in places that are full of
His presence, but God will have us go to the place where the NEED is greatest –
a mission field, a community without Christ, or a place of raising smelly swine
where the people need daily reminders of the power of God. The place a
Christian heart occupies will always be full of God’s Presence regardless of the outward evils. Do you prefer swinely lusts
to the presence of Christ?
