Mark 5:12-13 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
This passage is about a man possessed by demons. Not at a subject that we like to talk about, yet an issue that was of such importance that it is the Bible. Here is someone who has physical strength enough to keep other people from restricting him with chains. He was isolated from other people. He lived among the graves of the dead. His waking mind was haunted day and night. He wandered about talking to himself and screaming out to others. People avoided him. His self-hatred expressed itself in cutting at his own flesh with sharp stones. The pain within was nothing compared to the pain of cut skin. Everyone, including Jesus, knew this man was not acting within his own powers and abilities. This man was possessed by a legion of demons whose purpose was to torment and destroy.
We have all seen such people possessed by legions of demons. Today Satan and his minions use alcohol, “crack”, heroin, mental illness, and deformity to enslave, torment and destroy people the world over. Like the neighbors in this story, people find themselves without sufficient resources to cure these problem people. They give up on them, preferring that they just disappear. And they do; remaining hidden in the woods, in the dark alleys and among the tombstones of our community.
The power of Jesus Christ extends into the darkest corners of human life. Not even a legion of demons can oppose him. They in fact understand the power and the authority that Jesus commands. With a spoken word, Jesus dispels their power and with one direct order sends them flying down the embankment. The demons demonstrated their understanding of who Jesus was. The formally demon-possessed man knew what happened and by whose power he was freed. He knew the power of Jesus and the reality of flying pigs.
