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THE MAN WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH JESUS,

OR, JESUS SAVES A WILD MAN

02-20-11

(Mark 5:1-5)  And they [Jesus and His disciples] came over [by ship] unto the other side of the sea [of Galilee], into the country of the Gadarenes [i.e., the wilderness]. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit [demon, devil, fallen angel], Who had his dwelling among the tombs [“and ware no clothes” Luke 8:27]; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters [Gk: shackles for the feet] and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder [Gk: pulled in pieces] by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame [syn: domesticate, brake, discipline] him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

1.      tombs = Gk: a remembrance, i.e. cenotaph (place of interment):--grave, sepulchre, tomb /// memory:--remembrance /// to remind, i.e. to recall to mind:--be mindful, remember.

2.      unclean = Gk: impure (mor. [lewd] or spec. [demonic]): foul, unclean. 

3.      spirit = Gk: (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit: ghost.

(Mark 5:6-10)  But when he saw Jesus [“I am the door” John 10:7,9; “I am the way” John 14:6] afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment [Gk: torture: pain, toil, torment, toss, vex] me not. For he [Jesus] said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he [Legion] besought him [Jesus] much that he would not send them away out of the country [“out into the deep” (Gk: “abyss”; the bottomless pit) Luke 8:31].

1.      (1 Cor 10:13)  There hath no temptation [Gk: a putting to proof] taken you [Gk: to get hold off, seized] [i.e., possessed you] but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you [Gk: permit you] to be tempted above that ye are able [“beyond what you can bear” NIV]; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

2.      Commentary: The name “Legion” refers to a Roman Legion which consisted of about 6,000 men.

3.      (2 Cor 10:3-5)  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds [Gk: something fortified; a castle (fig. an argument):--stronghold];) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity [Gk: a prisoner of war] every thought [demon, devil, unclean spirit, fallen angel] to the obedience of Christ.

(Mark 5:11-13)  Now there was there nigh [Gk: near] unto the mountains a great herd of swine [pigs (unclean animals)] feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave [Gk: permitted them]. And the unclean spirits went out [of the man], and entered into the [unclean] swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea [led either by themselves or by the unclean spirits, but certainly strongly influenced by the unclean spirits], (they were about two thousand [perhaps a prophetic reference to the years since Jesus Christ];) and were choked in the sea.

1.      Commentary: in Scripture, fallen angels have never been shown to have attained complete control (possession) of men, for God is faithful to provide “a way to escape” (1 Cor 10:13). Scripture also shows that, comparatively speaking, fallen angels can have tremendously increased powers of possession over animals; however, the question of complete demonic control or possession over animals remains unanswered.

(Mark 5:14-20)  And they that fed the swine [who were unclean, unsaved, defiled men] fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 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. And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 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 [seeing and doing] on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.