MY NAME IS LEGION
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. Mark 5:6-10
The conversation Jesus had with the demon-possessed man was a strange mixture of sane interaction with a man created in God’s image and capable of responding to God, and the crazed outbursts of terrified demons who knew who He was and feared the fate that awaited them. Although this man had endured terrible torment from the demons – it was a miracle that he was still alive – there was a sense in which they actually benefited him in the end. Because of their disclosure, there was no doubt in the man’s mind who Jesus was.
The demons kept butting in to keep the man from conversing with Jesus until they were silenced and dismissed from him and he was able to respond to Jesus without interference. Why did he plead with Jesus not to banish the demons from the country? Was this their last stand before they were driven out? Why did Jesus capitulate and send them into the pigs? Was it because He had not yet accomplished His final victory over them so that He could banish them to hell?
Judgment day still lies in the future and the demonic powers still serve their purpose in the world until Jesus returns.
This man’s deliverance was a process, part of which was to acknowledge his condition, symbolised by his name. It seems that his confession, “I am a rioting mob!” brought about his final release. The demons fled into the pigs who reacted violently by hurling themselves over the cliff into the lake.
This is an incident we need to keep uppermost in our minds. This happening proves Jesus’ authority and power over the demonic realm without a doubt. There is no power struggle here, no equal contest between God and Satan, between good and evil. There is no question here as to who is in charge. Jesus is Lord, always was and always will be. Even in His human life, He stood and because He is in us and we are in Him, we can also stand.