Mark 5: 1-15 (NLT)
So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.
When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”
Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.” Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place. There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. “Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.” So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.
Everything Jesus did while walking the earth was meant to be an eternal example to us. This fascinating, yet eerie story is another episode in that vein. While the story itself deals with the account of a demon-possessed man being delivered by Jesus, we can easily see the subtle, underlying meaning for all of us. We were - or still are - just like him.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll try to clean up your story. Make it more acceptable and less “demonic.” But we can’t hide who we really were. Think about it: we were (or are) in a distant country, far apart from where Jesus is. Let’s call that place sin. We were (or are) tossing and flopping like a fish out of water, trying anything to satisfy the raging emptiness within. We were (or are) flailing so much that we break any restraints designed for our own safety. We were (or are) screaming at the top of our lungs, until we’re hoarse, for a respite from the pain. We were (or are) cutting ourselves to pieces with our destructive behaviors and severing all relationships. We were (or are) tortured day and night with our thoughts, feelings, and actions. And the consequences they entail.
Thankfully, that isn’t the end of the story though. For we were (or are now) approached by a loving Jesus, whose eternal, compassionate eyes slice through the evil and sin to see the hurting soul within. The soul that is so troubled and lost it can’t even speak for itself. It can only say something like, “My name is Mob. I’m a rioting Mob” (verse 10, The Message).
Before falling in a heap before the Savior.
