Who is this? - They implored Him to leave.

Mark 4:26-5:20  from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

…On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. ³⁷ And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. ³⁸ Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. ² When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, ³ and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. 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. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. ¹² The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. ¹⁷ And they began to implore Him to leave their region. ¹⁸ As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. ¹⁹ And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

In today’s text there were two lines that stood out to me as unusual or hard to understand. The first is the response of the disciples when Jesus calmed the wind and the sea. Their response was:  “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”  The second is the response of the people of Gerasenes, when Jesus healed and delivered the man who had been so severely oppressed and possessed by so many demons, for so long. After Jesus cast out the demons, the text says of the people: And they began to implore Him to leave their region.

The context of the disciples response is:  On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”     The disciples had been with Jesus for a while by this time. They had seen Him perform many miracles of healing and deliverance. Yet they were amazed, they did not know Him as one who had authority over all of creation. Jesus said of Himself: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing.” (John 5:19-20)   Jesus said He did what the Father was doing. He spoke what the Father told Him to say; what He, the Father was saying. In the beginning God spoke and the world came into being. Why then should we be surprised that creation still obeys the words and the commands of the Father and of Jesus, His Son?

Don’t we though, like the disciples, still wonder who Jesus is regarding some of the situations and circumstances we face? We may have walked with Him a while. We may have heard His teachings about the kingdom. We may have seen Him perform miracles; healing and delivering people from sickness, oppression and the many demons in their lives. But what about the storm we are facing? What about the raging winds and waves that batter us to the point where we fear we will perish? Do we know and trust who Jesus is? Jesus is not really asleep. He is not unaware of the situation you’re in. Jesus is resting, knowing the beginning and the end of all things. Like God who says:  I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)  Jesus says:   “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)   We should not fear the storm. Jesus will calm it. He will deliver us. He will give us rest. Pray to Him. Seek Him with all Tour heart. He will reveal who He is for every situation and circumstance in our lives.  

The context of those who implored Jesus to leave their region is this:  They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 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!” For He had been saying to him, “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.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region.    

It seems hard to imagine why the people would implore Jesus to leave rather than embracing Him and the presence and power of the kingdom of God. Yet the text gives us the answer. The text says they were told all about the swine. When Jesus cast out the unclean spirits, He permitted them to enter the herd of swine. Swine were themselves considered unclean. The fact that there were those who were caring for a large herd near the city is an indication that those in the city tolerated and embraced what was unclean. They recognized that in order to embrace Jesus and the kingdom, they would need to change. They would need to reject and repent of the things in their lives which were unclean. Is it really surprising then that they implored Jesus to leave? Do we not see the same thing today, given the choice, many will choose to hold onto the things of the world, tolerating and embracing what is unclean, rather than inviting Jesus to come and stay, to abide with Him and in Him. We too, like the people of  Gerasenes, must choose. Will we abide in Christ, rejecting the unclean things of the world or will we implore Him to leave?

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit may I know who You are for every circumstance and situation I face. As I seek You, may I find You. May I know Your peace and Your rest. May I know You as deliverer and redeemer. May I implore You to stay and abide with me. Casting out, not tolerating or embracing anything that is unclean, that I may know all that is mine in the kingdom of God, through Jesus Christ.   Amen.