Big Healing Book - Mark 5:2-20

Mark 5:2-20:

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 in 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.

Notes on Mark 5:2-20:

This same event is also described in Matthew 8:28-32 and Luke 8:27-39. We learn from Matthew’s account that there was a second man in a similar condition. Mark’s account almost sounds like Jesus was carrying on a conversion with a demon, asking it for its name. Luke’s gospel clarifies that Jesus asked the man (not the demon) what his name was. This is another example that illustrates why there are four gospels and not just one – so that you can get the complete picture.

Luke records that the man fell down before Jesus, but someone could fall down for many reasons. Only Mark makes it clear that the reason was to worship Jesus. You can’t just run around casting demons out of everyone who has one, as not everyone wants to be free. However, the fact that this man ran and worshipped Jesus indicates that he had a strong desire for Jesus to set him free. Of course, a demon manifested in short order, but the demon would not have worshipped Jesus! This was a voluntary act on the man’s part. This is yet another disproof of the Hollywood version of demon possession where someone is so demon-possessed that he can’t control his actions anymore. Here is a man who was so full of demonic power that he could break shackles and no one could tame him. He cut himself with stones under demonic influence. This man had a whole legion of demons. Yet even someone that demon-controlled chose to worship Jesus and run toward Him to get help. His actions would have been the last thing that a legion of demons would want him to do! You can be sure they didn’t want to be around Jesus and be cast out.

This story should tell you something about the modern practice of cutting yourself. Those “cut-yourself” demons didn’t leave the earth after going into the pigs and killing them. There are still demons around today that try to get people, including schoolchildren, to cut themselves intentionally.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus was asked to leave the area after getting this man free? Not everyone appreciates the manifested power of God. Don’t expect everyone to love you if you cast out demons.

If you testified as this man did after getting a major miracle, some churches would kick you out because they would be sure that the devil did it! But if that is the case, kicking you out would be doing you a big favor to get you away from their unbelief. Jesus didn’t tell all the people to broadcast their miracles; in some cases, He ordered them to be quiet. If everyone around you is in unbelief, staying quiet could still be a good idea today so that the “unbelieving believers” don’t talk you out of your miracle.

Jesus told this man to testify to others in the area about his miracle. He didn’t tell everyone to do that; He ordered some people to be quiet instead. In this case, Jesus must have known that people would be receptive, as people marveled about it. The miracle in Mark 7:32-37 happened after Jesus “passed through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis” (Mark 7:31) later on.

It is obvious from the way that the demons “beseeched” Jesus that they knew that He had authority over them. They do not want YOU to know that you carry that authority through His name, though you do.

Was this simultaneous swine slaughter fair to the man who owned the swine? I don’t see why not, as at the time the Israelites were forbidden to eat swine anyway.

You can tell from this passage that demons do have a certain amount of physical power. The Sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13-17) discovered this. You certainly do not want to confront demons in your own power as they did. You must use your authority in the name of Jesus, as they could outmatch you in a physical strength contest.