Jer. 6:9-15
1 Cor. 6:12-20
Mark 5:1-20
Mark 5:1-20
1They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; 4for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; 7and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” 13So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea. 14The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” 20And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
Jesus casts out a “Legion” of demons from a man and the people in the area are so afraid that they “beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.” How often are we fearful of really letting God get close to our lives? We might have to rethink our interaction with each other, our way of life, our comfort zone, if we let Jesus in.The man himself wants to go with Jesus, but instead Jesus tells him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” That must have been disappointing to the newly healed man. However, he does as he is told and “began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.” It was through the man’s words and witness and life that “everyone was amazed.”
The second verse of the poem Perseverence by George Herbert tells us that the best we can do is speak and let God work. Ultimately, Herbert says, “Thou art my rock, thou art my rest.”
My God, the poor expressions of my Love
Which warm these lines, and serve them up to thee
Are so, as for the present, I did move
Or rather as thou movedst me.
But what shall issue, whither these my words
Shall help another, but my judgment be;
As a burst fouling-piece doth save the birds
But kill the man, is seal’d with thee.
For who can tell, though thou hast died to win
And wed my soul in glorious paradise;
Whether my many crimes and use of sin
May yet forbid the banes and bliss.
Only my soul hangs on thy promises
With face and hands clinging unto thy breast,
Clinging and crying, crying without cease
Thou art my rock, thou art my rest.
Has God acted in your life? Have you been healed? When did God provide something you needed? Are you afraid to tell other people about these times? If you are in an intimate relationship with someone, you want to share that with everyone. How much more should we want to share “how much Jesus has done”?
For your Journal: Read through this account 2 or 3 times. Find the account in another translation of the Bible, if you want. Put yourself in the story.
Are you one of the pig-herders who witness their livelihood drowning in the sea?
Do you relate to the demoniac with a life out of control?
Perhaps you understand how the townsfolk felt to find the insane man “clothed and in his right mind.”
Maybe you hear the man tell his story afterward.
Journal about the difference this event made in your life—from whatever perspective you relate to.
