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“When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.” Mark 5:15
Jesus had gone with his disciples to a place across the lake. A place that was considered unclean…unsavory…off limits.
This place was a place of death with tombs of many people who had gone before. And, amongst the tombs wandered a man named Legion, for he had many evil spirits living within him.
This man was an outcast. He would break through any chains fastened to his hands and feet and would cry out and cut himself.
He was in bondage to the sin that dwelt within. Yet Jesus…
Jesus was not afraid of the man’s condition. He sought the man out, asked him his name, and had great compassion on him.
At Jesus’s spoken command, the demons left the man and entered a nearby herd of pigs; the man was now calm, clothed, and in his right mind, listening to Jesus’s instructions.
The people were afraid of the great power and radical change they had just witnessed. So much so, that they begged Jesus to leave. Darkness loves darkness, so when God steps in and does what only He can do, people grow uncomfortable.
What can we learn from this story?
We are like that man before we come to Christ. First, we cannot come to Him on our own (John 6:44). We cannot set ourselves free.
Second, before we have that relationship with Christ, we, too, are walking amongst dead things, living in spiritual darkness, and causing pain to ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-22; 4:18; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Romans 5:12).
Yet, when Christ meets us where we are, He does not leave us in that state. He breaks our spiritual chains, cleans us up, and gives us a new mind with new thoughts (Romans 5:8; Colossians 2:13; Ephesians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16)
I want to see radical things, don’t you? I’m ready to see God shake things up in this world, but I am also thankful that He found me wandering in the darkness and called me out into the light. That’s my God!
