Mark 5:6-10 - Jesus Confronts Legion

Mark 5:6-10
6 Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;7 and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”10 And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

Message: Jesus Confronts Legion and Legion makes requests to Jesus

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

As I learned in the previous lesson, Satan is real and active and was attacking Jesus through a man. He did this in his day and there is no reason to not think that he doesn't do this today. I think he does. There is just too much in our world that is not friendly to the things of God. We are getting further away and getting more distracted.

Now to the text:

The man that was not about to be bound ran up and bowed down before Him (Jesus). The Power of Satan in this world, in people's lives, is still subject to Jesus. God still has control. The KJV states that he worshiped Him. The man could have been conflicted in his being, realizing who Jesus was and yet the demon also didn't want to be tormented. In this man is dueling spirits. The demon spirit in the man knows that he is under the Lord's control, while the man may see that he desires to be under God's control. As the man and the demon within him approach Jesus, the man says Jesus, Son of the Most High God. 

John Gill (1697-1771), English baptist pastor and theologian said:

Devils believe there is one God, and tremble at him; and they confess that Jesus of Nazareth, who was born of the virgin, according to the human nature, is the Son of God, according to his divine nature: and whereas they had no interest in him, as a Saviour, they desired they might have nothing to do with him as God; and since they had no share in the blessings of his grace, they beg they might not feel the power of his hand.

This is the best summation I've seen of this text. Devils knew who God was and Jesus but that they did not want to have anything to do with him. And they definitely didn't want to be under the power of God. Thus, the demon responds when Jesus is near - I implore You by God, do not torment me! He knows Jesus and knows his power and doesn't want to have anything to do with it. Like Jesus will just let him off. Come out of the man, you unclean spirit! And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”  Jesus, by asking his name, wants to communicate to us that the unclean spirits, the demons are many. We must remember that Jesus is always teaching.

This passage is really about the Legion confronting Jesus as well as Jesus confronting Legion. The Legion really wants nothing to do with Jesus and wants to find a way to be clear from him. He doesn't want to be sent far because his desire is to impact pagans locally.

Promise: From Tabletalk- That Jesus could cast out so many demons shows that He was more than a mere man. Rather, He was—and remains—God. We can trust Him to break spiritual oppression and preserve us forever in His kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the power you have over the darkness. There are spiritual forces present in our world, around us. You are in control of them. I submit to You. Continue to protect me and bring order to this world of ours, so that more will know you and surrender to you. It feels sometimes that we are going backwards in our world and getting further from You. Change our ways and train us daily to be Godly.