COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 50
“ Mark 5:14 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. 15 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. 16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17 And they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts.” (Mark 5:14-17; Matthew 8:33-34; Lk 8:34-37)
THE GADARENE DEMONIAC, #4
INTRODUCTION
The account of this miracle is filled with all manner of instruction. It teaches us that Jesus goes out of His way to bless. It confirms that the devil can so dominate the human personality that only Jesus can deliver the individual. It contrasts the blessing of Jesus with the defilement and desecration wrought by Satan. In this miracle we see the devil’s propensity to death, causing a poor soul to dwell among the tombs. We see those in the grip of Satan are driven by him, and caused to experience personal harm in some form. There is also confirmation that the hosts of darkness are intelligent, can reason, and have a great fear of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also becomes clear that the worst of Satan’s hosts do not resist Jesus, argue with Him, or engage in an initiative against Him. There is also the preference of Satan and his host for certain regions. As well, there is the matter of their desire to work havoc and harm among the sons of men. There is even the thought that the creation, wholly subject to the Lord Jesus, refuses to obey the devil, or engage in his warfare against humanity. We know from the book of Job that natural forces can only be employed by Satan when he is given permission by the Lord. Now, we will behold the reaction of men to the works of God. What will those who hear of this event ask Jesus to do? Will the people of Gadara bring their sick to Him like those in Galilee (Matt 4:24)? Will they run after Jesus like those Jews who saw Jesus leaving their area (Mk 6:33)? How do men react to the works of the Lord of glory?
THE MIRACLE IS REPORTED
“ 14 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.”
There is a very wonderful thing to be seen in this text. When the Lord works, there will always be witnesses who report it. God does not do His work in a corner, nor does He permit it to go unreported. That is why Paul said to Festus, “this thing was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). It is why the Psalmist wrote, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it” (Psa 68:11).
When Israel came out of Egypt, it was at the midnight hour, yet their deliverance was so orchestrated that reports of it were heard throughout the entire region – even though the only people who saw them walk through the Red Sea were killed by that same body of water (Ex 14:17,23,25,28; 18:8). Over forty years later, the citizens of Jericho confessed they had heard of it and had been trembling (Josh 2:10). The Gibeonites had also heard the report (Josh 9:9). Balak, king of the Moabites also heard of their deliverance (Num 22:5).
When Jesus was born, there was a Divinely orchestrated report of the event, by both the enemies and people of God (Matt 2:3; Lk 2:18,20). When the infant Jesus was dedicated by Simeon, a report was spread among those who were looking for redemption (Lk 2:38). When Jesus “shed forth” the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, a report was spread concerning what was taking place (Acts 2:11).
This is the Divine manner! If ever God actually works, the matter will not be hidden! It is written, “He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered” (Psa 111:4), and that requires that they be reported. The fact that a significant proportion of humanity has not heard the Gospel confirms the rarity of a genuine Divine work. Wherever God is, or has, worked, some word of it will get out. However, should the church ever lapse into a state of spiritual dulness, choosing to walk at a distance from God, reports of the Lord’s working will wane, and finally dissipate within the sphere of their influence.
A society can become so spiritually obtuse that it can be said of it, “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come” (Isa 57:1). That describes a body of people among whom God is neither walking nor working in goodness and truth. It is a most dreadful consideration. God said Israel would be reduced to such a deplorable state that they would confess, “God is not among us” (Deut 31:17).
But when the Lord is present in a place, and chooses to bare His holy arm (Isa 52:10), the matter will be made known. The problem with a silent church is not that they do not speak, but that they cannot see! They do not see what God has done through Jesus Christ, and consequently nothing of any eternal consequence is being done among them. Hence, there is little said about them. But it is not so in our text.
THEY THAT FED THE SWINE. Matthew says, “they that kept them” (the swine) – Matt 8:33. When Jesus was born, shepherds who kept “watch over their flock by night” (Lk 2:8) were made privy to the event by holy angels. Now, when Jesus performs a great work, those who kept swine by day witnessed what was done. Matthew says of them, “they fled,” or “ran away” NASB (Matt 8:33). Luke says when they “saw what was done, they fled,” or “ran off” NIV (Lk 8:34).
They did not run to Jesus, like the demons drove the possessed man to do when they recognized the Son of God (Mk 5:7). Instead, they ran away in fear, because they did not see Jesus as He really was. When Jesus is seen as He really is, the one who sees Him comes before Him and worships, just as that legion of demons who had terrorized the area through the man they possessed. This is what will happen when Jesus appears in all of His glory. Every personality, both the wicked and the righteous, will bow the knee to Him, and confess that He is Lord (Rom 14:11; Phil 2:10). To the extent that men see Him in His people, they will do the same. Thus it is written, “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and . . . all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth” (1 Cor 14:23-25). That test is certainly worthy of extended consideration.
THEY TOLD IT IN THE CITY AND IN THE COUNTRY. Matthew says they “went their ways into the city, and told everything” (Matt 8:33). These were witnesses, but not holy ones. They did not have a proper perspective on what they had witnessed, but they knew enough for their report to elicit the curiosity of the people “in the city and in the country.” The works that Jesus does are so unique, and are of such magnitude, as to provoke inquiry among even the ungodly. This circumstance removes all pretentious excuses for not pursuing the Lord with vigor and consistency. The Lord’s Person and work have a drawing power in them.
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAW
“ 15 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 . . .”
THEY COME TO JESUS. Matthew says, “the whole city came out to meet Jesus and . . . saw Him” (Matt 8:34). Luke says, “they went to out see what was done, and came to Jesus” (Lk 8:35). Jesus remained with the man out of whom He had expelled a legion of demons. He did not forsake His own. Also, when the people heard of such a great work, they were compelled to see the One who did it – even more than the one upon whom the work was done. It is still true that the heavenly Worker is greater than the work He does. It is not His work than makes Him great, but His Person that makes the work great. Those who speak more about what Jesus does that of who He is are not wise. His works are designed to confirm who He is. Thus Jesus said, “the works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me” (John 5:36). And again, “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake” (John 14:11). Now we will see whether or not the people of Gadara were able to associate the works of Christ the One who sent Him.
THEY SAW THE MAN WHO HAD THE LEGION. They saw “him that was possessed with the devil (demon).” Notice that Mark refers to a single demon rather than a host of them. It appears that he was the leading demon who may have gathered the others to cohabit the former wild man. Jesus spoke of one spirit gathering together other spirits to take over a man (Matt 12:45). If people were more aware of the magnitude of the forces that are aligned against them, they would more quickly run to Jesus for refuge. It is said of those who have come to Jesus that they have “fled to Him for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before” them (Heb 6:18). They fled from Satan and his hosts. They fled to the One through whom genuine hope is realized. Luke says they “found the man, out of whom the devils were departed” (Lk 8:35), confirming the demons immediate obedience to their Lord.
SITTING. “They found the man . . . sitting.” Luke says he was “sitting at the feet of Jesus” (Lk 8:35b). Prior to being made free, this man was not found “sitting.” It is said of his former life: he was “exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass that way” (Matt 8:28); “night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying and cutting himself with stones” (Mk 5:4-5); the unclean spirit “often caught him,” and he was “driven of the devil into the wilderness” (Lk 8:29). Now, a genuine change has taken place in the man: he is “sitting” rather than being driven into the wilderness, running like a wild man in the mountains and amidst the tombs. Further, the man is not merely sitting among the tombs, or in the mountains, or in the wilderness where he once ran shrieking out to the consternation of all who may have heard him. He is sitting at the feet of his Deliverer!
CLOTHED. Formerly it was said of this man that he “ware no clothes” (Lk 8:27). He further appeared oblivious to his condition, and of the repulsiveness of nakedness. At that time, clothing was the last thing on his tormented mind, even though it was the very first thing on Adam and Eve’s mind after they had sinned. Nakedness was also the first human flaw that God corrected, making coats of skin to cover them, because their skimpy fig leaves were not sufficient. But now, this man is different. He covered the nakedness he once flaunted fearlessly before men. He refuses to stand or sit naked before the Son of Man, who Himself was noted, in part, for His clothing, for which men gambled at His death (John 19:23).
IN HIS RIGHT MIND. Once he was demented, being “exceeding fierce,” so that he required taming – which no man could do. He did not think properly, even being driven to cut himself with stones, and do violence to his own person. He was a living contradiction of the norm: “for no man ever yet hated his own flesh” (Eph 5:29). But now his mind has been changed, and he is sitting at the feet of Jesus. Any other posture would have been insane. This is the only acceptable way for a delivered person to conduct himself.
Spiritually speaking a “right mind” is a “sound mind” – a mind that is not contaminated with imaginations and false notions. A person with a “sound mind” thinks properly, and thus is able to perceive things correctly. This is the kind of mind that is obtained in Christ Jesus who gives us the “spirit of a . . . sound mind” (2 Tim 1:7). A “sound mind” is also described as “the law of my mind” (Rom 7:23), “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16), and the mind “which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). Just as surely as this man had a “right mind” following his deliverance, so those who are delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, obtain a “sound mind.” Just as a continued distorted mind would have negated any claim to this man being delivered, so a “carnal mind” negates any profession of identity with Christ Jesus.
It ought to be noted that a genuine encounter with Jesus always works a very real change. I have no confidence at all in a religion that leaves people fundamentally unchanged.
THE PEOPLE ASK JESUS TO LEAVE
“ 15b . . . and they were afraid. 16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17 And they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts.”
AND THEY WERE AFRAID. Upon witnessing the man sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, the people “were afraid.” Luke says they were “taken with great fear” (Lk 8:37). This was not the fear they formerly had when confronting this untamable man. Then, they were fearful of being harmed – but that is not the kind of fear they have now. This fear was induced by an obvious power they had never before seen. It was brought on by an unparalleled change for which they could not logically account. Well did the Psalmist say, “They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs” NKJV (Psa 65:8). The people sensed they were in the presence of a power they did not understand, and thus could by no means control. The very power that brings hope to the godly causes fear in the ungodly.
THE ONES WHO SAW, TOLD THEM. Those who had seen what happened to the former demoniac, and what happened to the swine, “described to them how it had happened.” NASB I wonder how accurately they related the events. Luke says, “They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed” (Lk 8:36). Perhaps they heard the conversation between Jesus and the demon, and therefore knew why the swine had stampeded into the sea. Mark reveals the accent of the keepers’ report: “and also concerning the swine.” We know this is the case because they did not rejoice at the liberation of the man, but apparently lamented the loss of the swine. The response of those to whom they gave their report confirms that this was, in fact, the case. This report did not provoke the citizens to go back to their cities and bring out the sick, as they did at the setting of the sun in Capernaum (Lk 4:40). We do not find a group of men bringing an afflicted friend to Jesus, as the four men did in a certain house where Jesus was teaching (Mk 2:1-5).
It ought to be noted that those who speak in the behalf of the Lord Jesus are to give a proper report. They must have some understanding of the situation, or else their words will only prove to be stumbling blocks. Paul spoke of certain who desired to be teachers, describing them as “understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm” (1 Tim 1:7) – or, “they do not know what they are talking about.” NIV You have no doubt heard such men. It is not possible for them to bring about proper responses, for God does not work through lies and misrepresentations of Himself.
THEY ASKED JESUS TO LEAVE. The people began “to pray (plead NKJV) Him to depart out of their coasts.” The demons had asked Jesus not to expel them from the very same territory, so that we see these people were controlled by Satan as well, even though they were not wild people cutting themselves with stones. Luke says “the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought Him to depart from them” (Lk 8:37).
They saw no advantage whatsoever to the presence of Jesus. They only associated Him with disadvantage. It is not strange that the demons themselves were known to have said virtually the same thing to Jesus: “Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee?” (Mk 1:24; Lk 4:34). This is what wayward Israel said about God to Moses: “Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die” (Deut 5:25). Flesh senses its own demise in the presence of the Lord. It had rather be totally without the Lord than to have Him occupy any region in which it finds itself.
We must be able to associate this event with things that are occurring in our time. People who have no heart for Jesus have not changed. They still want Him to leave their coasts. They are still afraid of His presence and influence, seeing it as bringing them great disadvantage. This kind of rejection is seen in the demand of people that there be less of the Word of God, shorter and more simple messages, and less exposure to the deep things of the Spirit of God. Such demands are nothing more than a request for Jesus to depart from the area! Some of our brethren have heard requests to cease speaking about sin, or the coming of the Lord, or the Holy Spirit, or the grace of God. Those petitions are nothing more than asking Jesus to leave the place. Those who seek for entertainment and earthy forms of communication are actually asking Jesus to leave, for He will have nothing to do with such nonsense.
However, as we will see, those who have genuinely received grace from Christ, and know it, will not ask Him to leave. Those who “have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Pet 2:3), will not ask Him to leave! When people have basked in the blazing light of the Son of God, and have experienced Him expounding the Scriptures to their hearts, they will react like Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus: “Abide with us!” (Lk 24:29). For “the elect,” the very notion of Jesus leaving is dreadful. The ultimate apprehension is to be found where Jesus is not. As we peruse the human race, everyone who has been exposed to Jesus falls into one of two classes: those who want Him to stay, and those who want Him to leave. Which one are you?