Sin is the outworking of evil.  It is the overriding characteristic of the current world.  It negatively affects everyone and everything.  Nothing in this world is what it would be if sin didn’t exist.  It is the biggest problem man faces because it undergirds every problem man faces.  And, most importantly, it separates man from God.

The gospel message is that God defeated sin through Jesus’ death and resurrection and made a way for man to be reunited with God as it was intended at creation.  So for the believer – the one who trusts in that death and resurrection to restore him to God – sin is seen in two ways.  One – it is what the gospel defeated and thus no longer sentences the Christian to judgment.  Two – while it’s been legally defeated, it remains in the world and continues to plague the believer.  It can’t technically enslave him, but it continues to affect all aspects of the believer’s life.

The story of the Gerasene demoniac in this text speaks to both aspects of sin.  It mostly addresses the first element – what was defeated at the cross and what the gospel message means – but encourages the believer as he lives with the second.  The central theme of the passage is if Jesus can defeat the level of evil represented by the demon-possessed man in this story, He can defeat any sin.  And that truth encourages us both in our confidence in the gospel and in our confidence in the Holy Spirit as we face the effects of sin in our own lives.  Besetting sins are a reality for the believer; the salvation of the Gerasene demoniac shows they are no match for our Redeemer.

26-33
After Jesus calms the storm and the boat presumably sails the remainder of the way in calm waters, He and the disciples reach the other side of the lake from Galilee (they’re now on the east side of the lake).  The area they reach is called the country of the Gerasenes (or Gergesenes, or Gadarenes depending on translation).  Why it’s referred to as the ‘country of’ instead of just ‘Gerasene’ is unknown.  For reasons that become obvious later in the story, we know this is a gentile area.

As soon as they land, they’re approached by a very scary man (in Matthew’s account of this story – Matt 8:28-34 – there are two men; it’s hard to know why both Luke and Mark (5:1-20) only mention one, but perhaps the other man is a minor character who doesn’t address Jesus).  He’s naked, he lives among the tombs, and he’s very obviously demon-possessed.  Matthew tells us that no one can pass by where he lives because he’s so violent.  The backstory that Luke relates – and it’s interesting to wonder if the townspeople tell it to the disciples before sending them away or if the gospel writers find this on their own – is that the man has been locked up on several occasions (presumably because he’s such a danger to everyone around), but his supernatural strength allows him to break free from any shackles or chains they’ve put on him.  And he lives in tombs because the demons that control him drive him into the desert away from civilization.

When this man approaches the group, Jesus sees his condition and immediately commands the demon to come out of him.  Before it does, the man falls down before Jesus and cries out, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me.”  This is obviously the demon speaking through the man and it clearly knows who Jesus is.  It’s frightened to come face to face with the Son of God.  Notice that the man – in keeping with his gentile status (even speaking as the demon) – uses a non-Jewish title for Jesus.  He doesn’t call him ‘Messiah’; he calls Him ‘Son of God’.

Interesting that the demon perhaps knows Jesus better than the disciples (it wouldn’t have been surprised by what He did on the boat ride over).  James says the demons believe who God is and shudder (Jas 2:19).

Something to note at this point in the story is the man’s state.  He is completely helpless in his condition.  He has absolutely no chance of changing anything.  He is wholly at Jesus’ mercy and if Jesus can’t help him, he’s totally lost and hopeless.  Said another way, he’s in the same condition as anyone who has not believed the gospel.  He thus is a type of every future hearer of the gospel message. 

Jesus asks the demon for its name.  The demon answers that its name is Legion because it’s not just one demon; it’s actually many demons that inhabit the man.  We now understand more fully just how awful the man’s situation is.  He’s not just possessed by A demon; he’s possessed by a MULTITUDE of demons.

After telling Jesus their name, the demons beg Jesus not to make them depart into the abyss.  They don’t want to be cast into eternal judgment.  What’s interesting about their request is that it means the demons understand they’ll eventually be eternally damned.  They have no illusions about this.  They also know they can do nothing to change it.  So that means an element of their judgment is to know they’re doomed and that their fate is sealed.  This knowledge likely makes them afflict man with impunity because there’s no reason not to, but also to live in constant fear of God and the possibility that He could carry out the ultimate sentence at any time (in Matthew’s account they say to Jesus, “Have You come here to torment us before the time?”).

Interestingly, Jesus actually grants their request.  He does not sentence them to damnation (more on this below).  They see a large herd of swine feeding on the side of the mountain (the herd of pigs points to the area being gentile – this is the first we’ve heard about a mountain, so apparently the group is either on it or next to it) and ask Jesus if they can go into them (which means that demons can presumably inhabit any living being, not just humans).  Jesus allows them to do this, and the demons come out of the man, enter the swine, and the pigs all run down the mountain and drown themselves in the lake.  The pigs destroying themselves shows the destructive nature of the demons (and it’s not clear if the demons are now destroyed or live on to inhabit someone else).  What happens to the pigs also shows beyond any doubt that the demons are out of the man.

In Mark’s version (Mk 5:13), he says there are roughly 2000 pigs in the herd.  That means two things.  Number one – this is a huge economic loss for someone.  Jesus and the disciples don’t seem concerned about this (although in good gospel fashion, since it’s not germane to the story it could be that the gospel writers leave out any reference to Jesus’ concern or any remedy provided to the owners of the herd), but losing 2000 pigs has to affect someone in a big way.  Number two – the demons that come out of the man cause TWO THOUSAND pigs to destroy themselves.  TWO THOUSAND!!  That presumably means that the man had at least that number of demons possessing him.  TWO THOUSAND!  He makes Mary Magdalene and her seven demons seem pedestrian.

Think about what this magnitude of evil means regarding our Savior.  He has no problem overcoming the power of 2000 demons.  Since that’s true, what does it say about Jesus’ power over the sin of the unsaved and what does it say about Jesus’ power over the besetting sins in our lives?  There is no secret sin, no addiction, no ugly habit that is beyond the power of God.  To repeat – there is NO SIN that’s stronger than our Redeemer and His Spirit who indwells us.  Jesus overcomes 2000 demons with a word; He can handle anything our fallible hearts struggle with.

One more item to highlight from this scene.  As noted above, Jesus doesn’t sentence the demons to the abyss (and He doesn’t mitigate the damage they do to the swine).  He doesn’t accelerate their eternal judgment.  It’s perhaps dangerous to read too much into this, but it seems to point to how God functions in this world.  As long as the world exists, it will be filled with evil.  Until Jesus returns, believers are called to live in the world but not be of it (Jn 17:13-16) and to live not according to its precepts and values but according to the precepts and values of the kingdom of God (Matt 7:24).  In this story, Jesus doesn’t permanently destroy the evil in the man but He definitely demonstrates His power over it.  That shows that as long as we live in His strength, we can live for Him in a world dominated by powers opposed to Him.  We don’t get to escape and evil isn’t going away, but we get to rely on His power to overcome.  And in so doing we walk with Him in a way we otherwise wouldn’t, and know Him and become like Him more and more.   

34-39
When the herdsmen tending the pigs see what happens – and it must be an incredible sight – they go into town to report it (and to report it not only as an incredible spectacle but also likely to explain to the owners of the herd what happened and how they were helpless to stop it).  When the people in the city hear their story, they come to see for themselves what the situation is.

When the people reach Jesus and the disciples, they see the man sitting at Jesus’ feet – he’s now in the pose of a disciple – fully clothed and in his right mind.  As they begin to understand what happened – the man is healed and the pigs are gone – they become frightened.  The man is apparently well-known (which makes sense since his condition was so extreme) and to see him completely restored and healthy, and to hear the story of how Jesus healed him and cast the demons into the pigs, is more than they can handle.  Jesus isn’t just a religious man or a doctor; He’s a man with some kind of divine power at His disposal and that’s scary.

In their fear (and perhaps anger over the lost herd), the people ask Jesus to leave their land.  As opposed to the disciples whose belief was reinforced by witnessing Jesus’ power over the storm, these people see the aftereffects of Jesus’ power and want nothing to do with Him.  They perhaps see Him as some kind of sorcerer and they want Him to leave.  They also – unlike the delivered man – see no role for Jesus in their lives.  They have no concept of their own need of repentance and so see no reason for Jesus to stay with them.

Unlike the people, the healed man wants to follow Jesus.  Jesus tells him instead to stay and become a witness.  He essentially gives him a mini-great commission.  Note how Luke describes the commission and the man’s actions in verse 39.  Jesus tells him to tell everyone the great things GOD has done for him.  Luke ends the verse by saying the man does what he was told and describes the great things JESUS had done for him.  Luke shows that the two words are one in the same.   

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that this man essentially becomes the first messenger bringing good news to the gentiles.  His status as a delivered sinner fits perfectly.  He’s been delivered from more evil than most anyone can comprehend and so he’s motivated to proclaim all that God’s done for him.  It’s always those who have the greatest appreciation for the enormity of their forgiveness who are most eager to testify.

Final Thought
One last point not to be missed and one that shows the heart of our Redeemer.  Think about this narrative overall, starting with verse 22.  It starts with Jesus saying to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.”  On the way they face a storm that He calms and once they get to the other side, He heals a man, and they get back in the boat and return to Galilee.  There doesn’t seem to be any reason for going across the lake apart from the storm and healing the man (they do nothing else in Gerasenes).  So that means there were two purposes for the boat ride.  One – to demonstrate Jesus’ power over nature and show His divinity to His disciples.  Two – to cast thousands of demons out of a man and demonstrate Jesus’ power over evil and give a man his life back.  They cross the lake not for food or rest; they cross the lake to glorify Jesus and deliver men.  The disciples are saved from a storm and the demoniac – a gentile, remember – is restored to humanity.

This is a picture of our Father.  He always works to glorify Himself, but when He does His children always benefit.  And this story perfectly illustrates Jesus’ earlier parable about searching for one lost sheep.  The demoniac is a gentile living in a gentile land and is only one person.  Yet Jesus goes to the trouble of traveling to him to deliver him.  God’s glory combined with God’s mercy.