Mark 5:6-13 6And when he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell down before him. 7And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you by God, do not torture me.” 8For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9And he asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10And he begged him many times that he might not send them out of the country. 11Now a great herd of pigs was feeding nearby on the hillside, 12and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs in order that we may enter them.” 13And he sent them. And after coming out, the unclean spirits entered the pigs; and the herd, like two thousand, ran down the steep bank into the lake and drowned in the lake.
The Gerasene man was a victim at many levels, beginning in his inner person. The unclean spirit in the man had control of his thinking and action. The next part of the story shows the confrontation between the unclean spirit and Jesus. The story gives deeper insight into several themes that have emerged in the first part of Mark’s Gospel. We get a glimpse at what how Jesus cast out demons. There was no long battle between good and evil forces. Jesus simply had to speak the word. We also gain more insight into Jesus as the Son of God.
The unclean spirit knew it was in trouble when the Incarnate Son of God came on the scene. The spirit had trapped and controlled the man, and no one could do anything about it. Significantly, the only thing the spirit could do was run and fall down in worship before Jesus. It had no choice. Christianity is not a dualistic religion of a constant battle between good and evil. Good and evil are not equal forces, with one winning sometimes and the other winning other times. The Bible shows that the Triune God is always sovereign. There is never any question that good is greater than evil. The battle comes in the human heart when people give in to sin and allow evil to grow. The spirit was aware of the sovereign power of Jesus as the Son of the Most High God. The spirit knew the power of Jesus and begged in strong terms not to be tormented. Rather than speculate on what the unclean spirit meant, it is better to focus on the idea that the spirit recognized Jesus’ power, position, and person.
The story pauses in verses 8-10. Jesus had already started talking to the spirit, but the spirit interrupted and begged for mercy. The spirit’s name of Legion highlights how significant the problem was. This man was in a big problem with thousands of demons attacking and controlling him. Legion is a Latin word that means an army unit of 4000-6000 soldiers. Jesus confronted a whole army of Satan and beat them. The shift from the singular to the plural in the text is foreboding. By knowing the name, Jesus could know the character. These demons were violent and chaotic, which is Satan’s way in the world.
The victimized man fades into the background as the voice of the many demons speak and beg Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs. There was something about that area that caused the demons to want to stay there. Perhaps it was easy pickings with Gentiles who were susceptible to idolatry and the forces of evil. The nearby cemetery may have been a nice haunt for the demons. Jesus allowed them to go their way into the pigs. Another strange part of this story is that animals could be demon possessed. The pigs went berserk, rushing down into the lake and drowning. Mark does not bother with many details we wonder about, such as what happened to the demons when their hosts died. His focus is on the awesome power of Jesus and that nothing, not even an army of unclean spirits. Not only can Jesus calm a raging storm; he can cast our an army of Satan. The disciples must have marveled at what they saw in only a matter of hours.
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