Mark 5:1-6, "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,"
Here's a man who was possessed of the devil. Although we are not exposed to it, to this extreme but, those we know of, their life is in shambles to say the least.
How he got to that point in his life, we'll only know in heaven.
Is there someone in your life like that? Maybe your neigbour's teenage kids?! Maybe the neighbour...?
What really spoke to me is what happens after.
Mark 5:13-17, "And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 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. 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."
It is clear in the first passage that some had tried to tame "Legion". Some saw, somehow, that he would cut himself. Some had heard that his cries.
What was life like for those in the nearby village? I wonder if it was like the haunted stories that are written; where the parents warn their children not to go near that place or talk to that person. Maybe the kids played pranks on him by throwing rocks at him or maybe they watched behind the trees or toombstones at night when he would be cutting himself.
The bible gives the account of how God made a difference in "Legion's" life, his friends and the nearby village, the details of the "behind the scenes", we'll only know in heaven, but we can think of how we would react and speculate that they might of done the same.
We do know that when Legion was freed from the bondage, he was dressed and sane. Did the people seem happy about it? You would think that they would be thankful that Jesus changed him and made him whole, but no, they weren't. "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." Why did they do that?
These are the thoughts that were layed on my heart.
- We sometimes avoid God because we have sin in our life that we do not want exposed nor do we want to be "freed" from.
- Sometimes we are praying for people, desiring God to change them and draw them to Him, to save them and make them whole. Then He does, and we don't, then we reject them.
Mark 5:18-20, "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 on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel."
I was convincted about the second's group response. I have a few people I am praying for and I now pray that when God answers my prayers, that I will marvel with them and rejoice of the greatness of God and His compassion on us.
Have a good day.
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