COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 52
“ Mark 5:18 And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him. 19 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. 20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.” (Mark 5:18-20; Lk 8:38-39)
THE GADARENE DEMONIAC, #5
INTRODUCTION
Those who live in a place and time where the words and works of Christ are despised have a remarkable presence. They confirm that the work of the Lord is genuine, even enduring the test of an adverse environment, and of time as well. We live in a time when the effectiveness of Christ within the lives of men is little known. This is what has given rise to all manner of religious professionals who deal with human frailties in the energy of the flesh. Here is a man who was completely restored without the intervention of anything traced back to Adam, or from the earth. There is no way to account for his renewed condition apart from Christ. His was not a physical or mental condition that gradually grew better – as a leper whole skin gradually returned to a normal state (Lev 13:16-17). That was a confirmation that there are difficulties of life that are only intended to be temporary. This was not an infirmity that he was enabled to bear, with no apparent outward change – as Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Cor 12:7-10). That was a confirmation of the sufficiency of God’s grace. It was not an oppressive infirmity for which repeated prayers were made until the Lord had mercy – like the illness of Epaphroditus (Phil 2:27). That was the Lord bearing long with the petitioners. But in this man we have an instant and thorough change – a marvelous picture of regeneration. It impacts upon the inward and outward nature of men – “clothed and in his right mind.” Such a thorough change is rapidly becoming unknown in our country, but it is the only kind of change that is wrought in the new birth – human skepticism notwithstanding.
A REQUEST THAT IS DENIED BY JESUS
“ 18 And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him.”
HE WAS COME INTO THE SHIP. The people of Gadara had asked Jesus to leave their coasts (Mk 5:17). In so doing, they had revealed they thought just as the demons who said to Jesus “Let us alone” (Mk 1:24), and “What have I to do with Thee” (Mk 5:7). It is always a serious thing when it becomes apparent that the Divine nature stands in sharp contrast to that of demons and unregenerate men. If, when this is recognized, there is not a plea for mercy, or a reaching out for Christ to change the situation, the adversarial state becomes more solidified. This is precisely why Jesus did as the people requested, and entered the ship, ready to depart from their coasts. He was in sharp variance with them.
A word ought to be said about the seriousness of attempting to obscure the glaring contrast between the Divine nature and fallen human nature. This has become quite common our day with the introduction of “seeker-friendly” methodologies within the church. The whole notion is totally wrong, and has resulted from spiritual blindness. It is actually the contrast of the Divine with the human that induces men to seek the Lord, abandoning their former manners and pursuits. By blurring the line of demarcation between the Holy and the unholy, men become blind to the gravity of their condition, and pass that blindness to others.
HE THAT HAD BEEN POSSESSED. The man’s former condition is now referred to in the past tense. He is no longer “possessed” by an unclean spirit. He is no longer under the control of the powers of darkness. Something has taken place that has removed him from the category in which he was once confined. Jesus did not, then, administer some form of temporary improvement. It was a thorough deliverance or rescue.
This prefigured the nature of the “great salvation” that He would accomplish among the sons of men. Just as this man is described as “he that had been possessed,” so “the elect” are described in terms of what they were: “And such WERE some of you” (1 Cor 6:11), “ye WERE the servants of sin” (Rom 6:17), “ye WERE without Christ” (Eph 2:12), “ye WERE sometimes darkness” (Eph 5:8), and “ye WERE as sheep going astray” (1 Pet 2:25). The “redeemed of the Lord” (Psa 107:2) are not merely a people who have changed their habits, just as the man of our text was not a man who only changed his habits. Our nature is changed in Christ, so that we can no longer be identified as we were prior to being washed, sanctified, and justified.
THAT HE MIGHT BE WITH HIM. The delivered man pursued Jesus to the ship, and “begged to go with Him.” NIV Luke says that he “besought Him that he might be with Him” (Lk 8:38). He wanted to leave the territory in which he had been hopelessly driven by the dark forces of the devil. Notice, when dominated by a legion of demons, these words came forth out of his mouth: “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not” (Luke 8:28). But now he does not associate Jesus with torment or any form of repression or painful restraint. Now he wants to be with Jesus – no matter where the Lord goes. That is what a change of nature does – it alters the desires of a person.
FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE. When a person professes to have come to the Lord, received Him, or been “saved,” and yet has a fundamental propensity to his former manner of life, a most serious condition exists. When the people who had called for the crucifixion of Jesus were “pricked in their hearts,” they adjusted the course of their lives. They “gladly received the Word,” were “baptized,” and “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers” (Acts 2:37-42). When Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of the early church, confronted the living Christ, he asked what the Lord wanted him to do, fasted and prayed, was baptized, and “straightway . . . preached Christ in the synagogues” (Acts 9:5-20). When the people in Ephesus heard the Gospel, they “believed,” “confessed,” and even brought their occultist books “together and burned them before all men” (Acts 19:18-19).
It is not possible for a person to be “born again” (1 Pet 1:23) and not be fundamentally changed. One cannot receive a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (Ezek 36:26), and still maintain old preferences. It is not possible to be “washed,” and yet remain defiled (1 Cor 6:11; Heb 10:22), or to be “reconciled” (Rom 5:10), and yet remain at enmity! How is it possible for a person to be “delivered from this present evil world” and yet remain a willing and integral part of it (Gal 1:4)? If such things are, indeed, possible, then what good word will men have for this former demoniac? Will they tell him that once he is a demoniac he is always one, and must now live in the persuasion that he is forever vulnerable to demons? Will they suggest that he might remain among the tombs, and occasionally run shrieking into the mountains and wilderness, with occasional outbreaks of violence to himself? Such a Gospel would certainly bring no comfort to the delivered man from Gadara, and neither does it bring any comfort from those opportunistic peddlers of psychological babble in our time. This man’s house was not only swept and garnished, it was filled with new desires and ambitions!
GO HOME TO THY FRIENDS
“ 48 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.”
JESUS SUFFERED HIM NOT. Other versions read, “Jesus did not permit him,” NJKV “He did not let him,” NASB and “But Jesus refused to permit him.” AMPLIFIED Luke reads, “but Jesus sent him away” (Lk 8:38). This is one of the very rare instances in which a person wanted to follow Jesus, yet was not allowed to do so. You may remember that two young men once said they would follow Jesus, yet one wanted to return home to bury his father, and the other to bid farewell to those in his house. Jesus allowed neither man to follow Him (Lk 9:59-62). Now, here is a man what wants to follow Jesus, and makes no request for some additional time to set things straight at home. He will come immediately after Jesus, yet the Lord does not allow him to do so.
It may appear on the surface that this would be devastating to the one making the request, and that he would go away with great sorrow in his heart. However, we know from what follows that this was not what happened. This did not constitute a rejection by Christ. It rather confirms that Jesus was employing him in specific work – just as when He sent out the twelve (Matt 10:5), and the seventy as well (Luke 10:1). Both groups had to leave the immediate presence of Jesus to fulfill their commission. Yet, they did not leave His influence or His power.
There are other possible reasons for Christ not permitting this renewed man to travel with Him. You may remember that it is written of the evil spirit that formerly governed this man: “For oftentimes it had caught him . . . and was driven of the devil into the wilderness” (Luke 8:29). Would this “unclean spirit” catch the man again, overpowering him and compelling him to be more like a beast than a man? How would the man know this could not happen again – or that Prophet from Galilee would have power on the other side of Galilee as well as on this side? He would learn it by experience in the land of Gadara!
GO HOME TO THY FRIENDS. Other versions read, “Go home to your people,” NASB and “Go home to your family” NIV Luke reads, “Return to thine own house” (Lk 8:39). Here, the reference is to his former abode as compared to the ship Jesus was then occupying. It was said of this man, prior to being possessed by a legion of demons, he was a man “out of the city” (Lk 8:27). We do not know precisely how long it had been since he had been seen in that city, or by his friends and relatives. We do know that, according to Luke, it had been a “long time” (Lk 8:27). Now, Jesus sends him back to the people who knew how he was before he was possessed, and how he had become after he was possessed.
The testimony of the man would lose all of its force if it was not heard by those who knew what he used to be. The extent of the miracle, and its permanency could be witnessed first-hand by those who knew him best. We know from the account, that the man no doubt had moments of lucidity, even when he was possessed, for the demon would catch him, we are told – indicating that he was in some state of normalcy. Now, when he returned to his home, that demon would catch him no more, driving him into the mountains and wilderness, and compelling him to make his abode among the tombs. The man and those to whom he witnessed, would see the permanency of Christ’s work – that the demons obeyed Jesus even when the Lord did not remain in the territory from which they themselves did not want to be expelled.
TELL THEM. Mark says “tell them,” and Luke says “show” them (Lk 8:39). That is, the appearance of the delivered man would match his testimony. Jesus spelled out what he was to report: “tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” Luke reads, “show how great things God hath done unto thee” (Luke 8:39).
The only reason for declaring what he was before was in order that men might compare it with what he was now. That is the only reason for announcing deliverance from a sinful life or a period of dominance by the devil. If a person is not obviously under the dominion of the Lord, what good is it to say he was formerly under the dominance of the devil? If a person is not apparently righteous, of what value is it to say that he was formerly unrighteous? When it is said that the Lord has “done” something for a person, it is to be understood that something of note has taken place. This particular man was no longer naked, no longer running about in a maddened state, and was no longer demented. He was to tell the people how this change had taken place, and why he was now clothed, in his right mind, and compelled to take into his heart and mind what was said by the Lord Jesus.
All of this reveals the remarkable extent of the man’s recovery. His latter state was as extraordinary among normal men as his former state was among depraved men, and it was because the Lord had compassion upon Him. That is the kind of thing compassion does. It not only relieves, it also confers. It not only removes, it also brings.
Later, when Jesus came into the Decapolis, a ten-city complex, the citizenry brought a deaf man to Jesus for healing (Mk 7:35-36). Upon seeing the working of the Lord those people said, “He hath done all things well” (Mk 7:37). The testimony of the former demoniac was effective!
AN ACCURATE REPORT TO THOSE OF DECAPOLIS
“ 20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.”
HE DEPARTED. Luke says, “he went his way” (Lk 8:39). From one point of view, I can only imagine how difficult it was for this renewed man to leave Jesus. I can tell you that he never would have left if Jesus had not told him to do so. He had to leave like the Ethiopian eunuch had to leave Philip (Acts 8:39). There came a time when Jesus had to leave this man like Paul had to leave the elders at Ephesus, when he “kneeled down, and prayed with them all,” knowing they would “see his face no more” (Acts 20:36-37). See, the work of the Lord does not center around the people who are blessed, but around the One who blesses them! Jesus was preparing himself to take away the sins of the world. Those who had been chosen to stay with Him through everything leading up to that event remained with Him “to the end” (John 13:1). This man did not fall into that number. Notwithstanding, he was given a work to do that would yield good fruit. Being “made willing in the day of His power,” (Psa 110:3), the man did not hesitate to obey the Lord. He immediately did what he was told.
HE BEGAN TO PUBLISH. Sometimes Jesus told the people He healed NOT to tell anyone what was done (Matt 8:4; Mk 7:36; Lk 5:14; 8:56; 9:21). Those words were generally spoken in the area where Jesus did most of His miracles. But this was a different area, dominated by the Gentiles. They needed to know more of the Lord Jesus, for He would not spend much time among those people. Now he sends forth an ambassador to testify to what Jesus of Nazareth could and did do. Mark says the man proclaimed it “in Decapolis,” a ten-city complex. Luke focuses on the area where the man had apparently lived before, and to which he returned: “And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city” (Luke 8:39).
GREAT THINGS. Mark accents the fact that Jesus did something that could not otherwise be done: “how great things Jesus had done FOR him” (Mk 5:20). Luke places the stress on what the man actually experienced: “how great things Jesus had done UNTO him” (Lk 5:39). Just what are “great things?” Other versions read, “all,” NKJV and “how much.” NIV
The expression “great things” can mean “how many things,” emphasizing the extent of the work. In this case, it included deliverance from being captivated by an evil spirit, driven into the mountains, driven into the wilderness, running about naked, cutting himself with stones, and living among the tombs. An extensive deliverance, indeed! It can also mean “how extraordinary were the things,” emphasizing how there was no comparison of the Lord’s work with any other accomplishments. The deliverance of this man was, indeed, extraordinary, uncommon, and unusual! In it Jesus spoke to and dominated a legion of wicked spirits. A herd of swine was lost in the deep when the demons entered them. In a moment of time the man was made every whit whole, in both mind and body. He was lucid and held an intelligent conversation with the Lord of glory, whereas his mouth was before used by demons.
I think that one of the telling signs of our times is the lack of the extraordinary. When the average churchman is asked to give an account of the working of the Lord, if there is not total silence, there is often the recounting of something that is altogether too ordinary. I question that God receives the kind of praise that is characterized by the mere reports of beautiful natural scenes, the supply of the necessities of life, and a state of good health. It is not that such thanksgivings are not comely, for they are good and to be rendered to the Lord. However, the “great salvation” that has been wrought out by the Lord Jesus extends far beyond such benefits, and is worthy of an infinitely greater degree of praise and honor.
When, on the day of Pentecost, people of God were “filled with the Holy Spirit” and began to speak forth “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:4,11), does anyone imagine they were delivering weather reports, political updates, and reports from the local hospital? Indeed, what had taken place in the spiritual realm was as unique as the healing of the man in the dark region of Gadara! If it is true that God has “made His wonderful works to be remembered” (Psa 111:4), then it is also true that they are to be reported, or proclaimed. In the case of the former demoniac, a single man went through a ten-city region declaring the greatness of the work he had experienced. Concerning the greater work of Jesus, it is written, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it” (Psa 68:11). Our day demands that greater things be reported by the church than is common.
ALL MEN DID MARVEL. The testimony of the man, coupled with his very visible and attesting appearance, caused all men to “marvel,” or be “amazed.” NIV It is as though their speech dried up, and there was nothing left to do but be astounded that such things had taken place in their region. When men are caused to “marvel,” they are confessing that something has taken place, or has been said, that is transcendent to nature – something that cannot be accounted for in the seen realm (Matt 8:27; 9:8,33; 21:20; Mk 12:17). The Gospel contains such a report. Wherever it is taken seriously, it is seen as absolutely unique, and will cause men to marvel.