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‘A man with an unclean spirit.’
Mar_5:2
I. The demoniac’s wretchedness.
(a) Possessed with an unclean spirit. In those days the devil had power to send some of his messengers (demons) into men. This man had ‘many’ (Mar_5:9), who all belonged to Satan’s army. When he spoke it was the demons speaking through him.
(b) Lived in the tombs. He had been driven from the town, and lived in some empty tomb.
(c) Violent. So fierce ‘no man might pass by’ (Mat_8:28). This poor demoniac is like the sinner, ‘led captive by the devil’ (2Ti_2:26)—a slave to sin.
II. His healing.—Notice the stages:—
(a) He came to Jesus.
(b) Jesus commanded the spirits to come out, when the demons made him cry out, ‘What have I to do with Thee.’ These spirits always knew Jesus (see ch. Mar_1:24). St. James (Mar_2:19) says of demons that they ‘believe and shudder” (R.V.). After begging our Lord not to send them into the deep they came out of the man.
(c) The change. When the Gerasenes came—probably next morning—what did they see? (Mar_5:14-15). The man was ‘sitting,’ Luke adds, ‘at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.’ Jesus did for him what no one else could, for He only had power over the ‘strong man,’ and could ‘bind him’ (ch. Mar_3:27). The changed demoniac should represent those who have found deliverance from sin’s tyranny. They should be found sitting at Jesus’ feet—the place of learning, love, and lowliness; clothed with the ‘garments of salvation’ (Isa_61:10); in right mind, i.e. a changed mind.
III. His gratitude.—Jesus was about to leave when the man ‘prayed Him that he might be with Him.’ But Jesus ‘suffered him not,’ for (a) he must have faith in Jesus’ power, though absent, and (b) He had other work for him to do—to be a missionary among his own people. How? By simply telling what the Lord had done for him. The man accepted the task. See how he discharged it (Mar_5:20).
What an example to all whom Jesus has blessed! ‘Made free from sin’ we ‘become servants to God’ (Rom_6:22).
Rev. R. R. Resker.
Illustrations(1) ‘The ruins right over against the Plain of Gennesaret, which still bear the name of Kersa or Gersa, must represent the ancient Gerasa. This is the correct reading in Mark’s, and probably in Luke’s, perhaps also in Matthew’s Gospel. The locality entirely meets the requirements of the narrative. About a quarter of an hour to the south of Gersa is a steep bluff, which descends abruptly on a narrow ledge of shore. A terrified herd running down this cliff could not have recovered its foot-hold, and must inevitably have been hurled into the lake beneath. Again, the whole country around is burrowed with limestone caverns and rock-chambers for the dead, such as those which were the dwelling of the demonised.’
(2) ‘The whole subject of the demoniacs, or cases of Satanic possession recorded in the New Testament, is unquestionably full of deep mystery. The miserable sufferings of the unhappy people possessed—their clear knowledge that our Lord was the Son of God, their double consciousness, sometimes the spirit speaking, sometimes the man—all these are deep mysteries. And it can hardly be otherwise. We know little of beings that we cannot see and touch. We know nothing of the manner in which a spirit operates on the mind of a creature with flesh and bones like ourselves. We can see plainly that there were many persons possessed with devils during our Lord’s earthly ministry. We can see plainly that bodily possession was something distinct from possession of heart and soul. We can conjecture the reason of their permitted possession—to make it plain that our Lord came to destroy the works of the devil. But we must stop here. We can go no further. Let us, however, beware of supposing that Satanic possession was entirely confined to our Lord’s time, and that there is no such thing in our own days. This would be a rash and unwarrantable conclusion. Awful as the thought is, there are sometimes cases in asylums for the insane, which, if they are not cases of Satanic possession, approach as nearly to it as possible. Human nature is not changed since our Lord was on earth. Satan is not yet bound. Satanic possession is therefore neither impossible nor improbable, though limits may be set to the frequency of it through the mercy of God.’