The Gospels of Mark (5:1-20) and Luke (8:26-39) record the events of Jesus casting demons out of a man who lived in the area of Gerasenes, which was also the area called Decapolis (Mark 5:20). This is the only Gentile area where the Bible records Jesus performing a miracle.
A Summary of the Event
When Jesus arrived in this area by boat, a man who lived among the tombs and who was possessed by many demons came running from a long way off to Jesus and bowed down before Him (Mark 5:6). This man was naked, had super-human strength, even to the point of breaking chains with which he had been bound. He must have been miserable because night and day he was screaming and cutting himself with rocks (Mark 5:5).
The demon said they were legion of demons in the man. Interestingly, the demons knew who Jesus was because they said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (Luke 8:28). They begged Jesus not to torment them, but rather to send them into a herd of pigs. When He did, the pigs ran down a cliff into the sea and drowned (Luke 8:33). This brought about two opposite effects. First, the demon-possessed-man was healed and became a believer who began proclaiming Jesus (Mark 5:18-19; Luke 8:38). The citizens of the town who learned of the events became fearful of Jesus and asked Him to leave their country (Mark 5:17; Luke 8:37).
Most of the accounts of demon possession and activity appeared during the earthly ministry of Jesus. Jesus was God’s greatest power and demons were Satan’s greatest power! Christ was victorious in every encounter with demons to prove that God is the most powerful force in the world! Just as literal demons were conquered by Christ, so every spiritual “demon” people battle today can also be defeated by Christ.
Destructive “Demons” Today
Michael Rogness wrote, “all the ‘demons’ Jesus confronts have three things in common: they cause self-destructive behavior in the victim, the victim feels trapped in a condition, and they separate the victim from normal living in the family circle” (Google “Working Preacher”). Think of all the present-day “demons” which cause the same damaging effects in our society today. There are addictions, obsessions, destructive habits, materialism and many other evils which gain control of people. Many people with these “demons” feel so trapped that they give up on the idea of ever being free from their problem. Often, they become outcasts of society in general and maybe even outcasts from their family. Their “demon” is doing tremendous damage to them physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our city streets shout the truth of this condition. But those on the streets are not the only victims, there are thousands of people with whom we associate daily who are trapped in many of the same addictions and sins. The difference is that at this point in time in their lives, their problems have not yet put them on the street. They are trapped in their sin; separated from God, miserable in life and often separated from friends and family. They are destroying themselves and all who associate with them.
Strange Events and Lessons for Us
First, when people in the region heard what had happened, “They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the ‘legion;’ and they became frightened” (Mark 5:15). Luke’s account says these people, “asked Him (Jesus) to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear” (8:37).
We ought to fear and reverence Jesus, but it ought to cause us to want to be near Him. Not so with these people, they were afraid and didn’t want to be close to Jesus. They could have rejoiced that God was in their presence, but no, they didn’t want God in their region.
They were more afraid of a free man than a possessed man. The possessed man was yelling, screaming, and had super-human strength and that was alright, but they couldn’t handle having the Son of God, who did good, in their midst. Before, they didn’t seem to mind having a demon-possessed, tormented man in their midst. Yet they did mind having Jesus around, so they asked Him to leave – and He did!
We believe their thinking was strange but is that any different than our society? In our early history this was a God-fearing-nation, and we had all kinds of evidence that God was among us. But what happened? Our leaders removed God from our schools. They removed God’s values from our moral laws. They removed God from the government. Even now some want to remove God from our money. They don’t want it to say, “In God We Trust.” People have bought into the heathenistic society because they are fed this philosophy through most all the forms of media. Therefore, fleshly-minded parents are passing these lifestyles on to their children. Therefore, a greater percentage of the nations’ population have the mind-set of those in the region of the Gerasenes.
Second, when the locals came to Jesus, they, “found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind” (Luke 8:35). In our society when one is cleansed of the “demon” of sin, he or she ought to sit at the feet of Jesus, listening and learning. Those who were possessed by the most or strongest “demons” ought to be the ones who are most grateful for their freedom. Because of that freedom, they ought to be the most dedicated. These locals should have been “converted” to Jesus simply by seeing what God had done for the demon-possessed man. The same is true today. As we see God changing the lives of “demon-possessed” people (2 Corinthians 3:18), we ought to become more dedicated to Christ!
Third, isn’t it interesting, that the text says that the man who roamed around naked, was now “clothed and in his right mind” (Luke 8:35). From all the naked that one sees in public today, it is easy to see that people are not in their right mind! Sane people are modest people!
Fourth, “the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him” (Luke 8:38). Maybe he wanted to become an apostle. But his plead was not accepted by Jesus. Instead, Jesus said, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). He could have been offended; he wasn’t, but rather he was obedient. “So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:39).
We may not have what we see as an exalted position that others have, but we can still proclaim what Jesus has done for us. One does not have to be a preacher to be a proclaimer! How many more people could be converted if everyone did what this man did? Wherever you live, if Christ has freed you from “demons,” proclaim to others what Christ has done for you!
Wayne Burger