Thursday 7 November 2024
Jesus said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” (v. 19)
Background
Yesterday we considered Jesus’ calming of a natural storm; today Jesus calms a violent storm in human nature. The encounter takes place on the east side of the Sea of Galilee in the Decapolis, the Gentile (non-Jewish) region where the Hasmoneans and later the Romans established showcase cities of pagan culture, which were intended to surpass Jewish settlements west of the River Jordan.
The wretchedness of the demoniac is described in graphic detail in Mark 5:2–5. From a Jewish perspective, everything in this account shouts of uncleanness: Jesus meets a man with an unclean spirit living among unclean tombs surrounded by unclean herds of swine, all in the unclean Gentile region. The demoniac says he has a legion of spirits living in him. (A legion in the Roman army consisted of nearly 6000 soldiers.) The superhuman strength and explosive terror of the demoniac, however, are no contest for the Son of God, whom the demoniac recognises in Jesus, and to whom he pleads for clemency.
The demons acquiesce to Jesus’ superior authority but beg not to be banished from the region. There is a measure of grace even in Jesus’ judgment of Satan’s minions, for he consents to their plea. Entering a herd of swine, the demons trigger a stampede down a cliff, causing some 2000 pigs to drown in the lake. The moral question posed by the undeserved loss of the livestock is not considered in the story. Evidently, for Jesus (and Mark) the rescue and restoration of one human being is more important than even a large-scale economic catastrophe.
Jesus restores the demoniac to his “right mind” (5:15), just as he restored the lake to order and calm in yesterday's story; but it also results in fear (5:15) among the inhabitants of the region, as it did on the lake among the disciples. The miraculous exorcism does not lead those in the Decapolis to believe; rather, it leads them to expel Jesus (5:17). Jesus refuses the man's request to come with him (v. 18), perhaps because a Gentile would have been a stumbling block in Jesus’ mission to Israel. Jesus, however, sends him to announce “how much Jesus had done for him” (5:20), which is always the heart of human testimony to the divine. In so doing, the healed demoniac becomes the first missionary to the Gentiles.
To Ponder:
- The healing miracles of Jesus demonstrate the power of God, through Jesus, over the human condition. In our contemporary understanding, this man was mentally ill. Even today such illnesses can carry a stigma. Do you need mental healing; do you know someone who does? Light a candle, bring that person to mind, commend them to God and ask for healing and peace.
- Mental health is becoming more openly discussed than it used to be, but it is still challenging. How can we in the Church behave in order to overcome the stigma and enable the issues of mental health be more openly addressed?
Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Adrian Burdon
Adrian Burdon is Superintendent Minister of the Telford Circuit in the Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District. He has been a presbyter since 1988 and, in addition to Shropshire, has worked in the Oldham Circuit, on the Fylde coast, in Leeds city centre, the Northeast of England and as a mission partner in the South Pacific. Adrian is Chair of the CTBI writing group which writes material for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and is Chair of the Connexional Liturgy and Worship Subcommittee of the Faith and Order Committee.