What's your name? (Mark 5:1-20)

[Stephan Choe]

October 22, 2024

Key verse 9, “And he asked him, What is your name? And he said, My name is Legion; for we are many.”

Jesus once said that healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people, and he came to help people in need. And Jesus has power over demons, sin, and death.

In our text we will see an example of how Jesus frees needy person from the power of evil.

In fact, every person needs Jesus' help, be it a sin problem, illness, or demon possession. That's why he's happy to help us and give us eternal, happy life.

We should recognize our need for help and ask Jesus for help.

That's why today we want to get to know an example of his healing of a person.

Gerasener's request for help

By boat, Jesus, and the disciples reached the east side of the Sea of ​​Galilee, called “the land of the Gerasenes”. When Jesus arrived there, he encountered “a person with unclean spirits.” This person was captured by the “Legion” of unclean spirits and lived among the graves of the dead. This area was one part of the Decapolis, where there were predominantly non-Jews. And he lived near where they raised pigs, and the pigs were considered unclean animals by the Jews. Jesus broke social taboos and showed his power and goodness to men.

Where this person lived was not his biggest problem. His biggest problem was that he was trapped and tormented by the demons. Therefore, he was banished from human society, forcing him to live among the dead in the cemetery. People tried to bind him to protect themselves from the evil within him. But the demons within him were so powerful that people couldn't bind him with chains. But that changed when the boat carrying Jesus landed in his neighborhood.

The Gerasener wandered screaming through the mountains. And he hurt himself with stones to numb his torment through self-harm. He experienced misery after misery. He was tormented by the forces of darkness. With demonic power he was able to free himself from chains and shackles, but he could not free himself from the bondage of the demons. Nobody wanted to be near him. So he was separated from his friends and family. Nobody wanted to look at this man. Everyone would say, “Oh, what a miserable person!” 

Above all, he was alienated from himself. People loathed him, he detested people. And he loathed himself.

What do we look like? Is his condition in some sense a reflection of our condition?

Aren't we self-centered, so much so that we separate ourselves in our heart from others? Don't we act out of self-love? Are our actions harming other people? Does our action ultimately destroy ourselves through an argument or divorce? Don't we destroy each other even though we think we love each other? 

The only hope for us and also for this man is Jesus. 

When the Gerasene man saw Jesus, he ran to him and fell down before him. He knew that Jesus alone was his help and salvation. But he was conflicted because the demons in him spoke up. They knew that Jesus was their superior opponent, namely “the Son of the Most High God”.

So they raised their voices: “What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you by God: do not torment me!” (6).

We marvel that these demons recognized Jesus as the Most High God. The demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God.

In all cultures there is an idea of ​​​​gods, among which one is called the supreme god. For example, in Hinduism in India, among the thousands of gods there is one highest god, “the Most High God”. This forms a trinity: Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer.

What is the name of the supreme deity in Korea or China? There the supreme deity is called Shangdi in Chinese(上帝) or simply Di(Chinese: 帝; Dì; lit. 'God'), who rules over the sky. Shangdi is the deity in people's daily life who predicts good health and good or bad luck to people. It was closely linked to agriculture, particularly in agrarian societies.

The demons in this person rightly recognized that Jesus is the Son of God. Because they are spiritual beings, they recognize Jesus as God's Son, and know that Jesus has power over demons and hell, and Jesus has come to destroy them. That is why they are very afraid of Jesus.

Waves and storms obeyed Jesus and demons trembled before him. The demons begged Jesus not to send them away from the land. They begged because they were lost before Jesus.

Jesus sees a human being more precious than pigs

But since the time for their final destruction of the demons had not yet come, Jesus commanded them to come out of the man and enter a herd of swine. 

When the demon crowd drove into the 2,000 pigs, the pigs went crazy, drove into the sea and all died. 

The destruction of the swine illustrated to everyone that the demons had to come out of man because of the word of Jesus, so that man was freed from them.

For Jesus, one person was more valuable than 2,000 pigs. Through this deliverance, Jesus wanted to show everyone that he was willing to do anything to save a person from demons and sin. 

Jesus valued a human being made in God's image as more precious than the two thousand pigs. His compassion led him to give up the pigs to save a human.

But the local residents valued 2,000 pigs more than the life of a human being. So they asked Jesus to leave their place because they were afraid of suffering further losses.

People today who love animals or money more than people themselves reject Jesus.

The people of Decapolis saw that their 2,000 pigs fell into the sea and were dead. They were shocked and “scared.” The death of two thousand pigs was sensational news and spread quickly. But the even more amazing news was that the madman became a sensible person through Jesus. They had previously tried to bind this man with chains, but in vain, because the man tore the chains like thread. Now they saw that he was properly dressed and behaved sensibly. The possessed person became free from evil spirits and became rational. People should rejoice over the healing of the person and have a big celebration.

Many people suffer greatly under the power of sin. But Jesus frees them from the power of sin and demons and gives them great joy of forgiveness and the kingdom of heaven. Jesus also delivers people who are depressed because of the power of death and gives them heavenly peace and joy.

When a person encounters Jesus Christ in person, they are fundamentally changed. He becomes completely free from the power of death and evil spirits.

That's why it's important that we personally encounter Jesus as Christ and God's Son and personally receive him into our hearts.

If we accept Jesus as our Savior and Son of God and place our lives under His direction, He will lead us on the right path, as King David said in Psalm 23:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He feeds me in a green meadow and leads me to fresh water.

He refreshes my soul.

…

You anoint my head with oil and pour it out for me.

Goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will abide in the house of the Lord forever.”

Reaction of the people in Decapolis

The residents of Gerasa saw the man freed from demons. They also saw that their 2,000 pigs had fallen into the sea and were destroyed. They were afraid of Jesus. They also feared whether they might suffer further loss. So they begged Jesus to leave their territory. They valued pigs more than humans.

They would have preferred to have their pigs back and for this person to remain possessed by the demons. These people looked quite healthy on the outside. In reality, they were obsessed with materialism. That's why they begged Jesus to leave them instead of staying there and freeing them from their materialism.

We should examine ourselves whether we are obsessed with materialism or not. If we are obsessed with materialism, we should ask Jesus to free us from it.

And we should tell Jesus that he may always remain with us. Then we can enjoy heavenly joy.

It is the good news of the gospel that we can come to Jesus. He wants to free us from materialism, demons, sin, and death and give us true freedom and eternal life. He wants to give us true love and true happiness. He wants to give us God's kingdom. He also wants to give us love for other people so that we can tell them about Jesus so that they can be freed from the power of demons and the power of death and experience the kingdom of heaven.

Grateful liberator

When Jesus freed the man, he was very grateful. That's why he wanted to stay with Jesus. He wanted to be with Jesus and go where he was going.

But Jesus loved not only the liberated person, but also all the inhabitants of Gerasa and the world. So he told the Gerasene to go to the people of Gerasa and tell them about Jesus Christ.

Through the healed man, Jesus wanted to spread the good news of Jesus Christ among the residents of Gerasa who had rejected Jesus, so that they too could be freed from the power of money and sin and receive eternal life.

That's why Jesus sent the healed man to his place to tell what Jesus had done for him. That's when this man's friends and family and the entire region were able to learn about the power and goodness of Jesus.

In exactly the same way, Jesus saved us and sent us into our families, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, cities, and even the nations to tell them about the power and goodness of Jesus. 

Jesus wants to spread his grace through us and save and bless many people.

For God sent Jesus as our friend and Savior to free all people from all chains of sin and demons and death.

Everyone who comes to Jesus Christ and receives him will be healed and saved. Jesus gives us true freedom and gives us victory over sin and evil.