Mark 5:1  And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2  And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3  Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4  Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5  And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6  But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7  And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8  For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9  And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10  And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11  Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12  And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13  And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
14  And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15  And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
16  And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
17  And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
18  And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
19  Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
20  And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

Jesus had another appointment to tend to on the other side of the sea. He had calmed the storm and given the disciples another opportunity to witness His deity. They were not prepared to digest all that He was giving to them at that time. He would help them to recall those things as needed after His resurrection and ascension. For now He was just filling their memory banks and preparing their hearts for what was ahead.
Now He needed to deal with another man that was tormented by an unclean spirit. When they crossed the sea they came ashore in the country of the Gadarenes. This was on the southeastern shore of the sea of Galilee. The region was called Gadara. It was named after the chief and the capital city of Peraea.
We read here that it did not take long for the next need to arise. We are told that immediately upon coming out of the ship a man met Him. This man came out of the tombs and he had an unclean spirit. As we have noted before, there seemed to be much activity among the unclean spirits. They were busy then, and they are busy now.
This man dwelt among the tombs. It was a fitting place for him to be. He was spiritually dead and he was living in the place of the physically dead. The unclean spirit had quite the hold on this man. As we will see this man had many unclean spirits in him. His life was a mess. No man could bind him. The chains they had could not even hold him fast. This man was hurting himself due to his possession of unclean spirits. No man could tame him. Today, we use tasers and sedatives to calm this type of people down. We ruin their lives even more than they were. First we create an environment that the unclean spirits love. Then when some people are possessed we use methods that will cripple them and kill them. We have noted before that no one is possessed by accident. Man must open the door for the devil to enter.
In verse 5 we read that this man lived a very restless life. He would be in almost constant pain and misery. In verse 6 we read that this man came to worship Jesus. He saw Him from afar and ran to meet Him. In verse 7 we read further that the unclean spirit knew Jesus. They knew His name and they knew that He was the Son of the most high God. This unclean spirit was well aware of who Jesus was. Too bad the Pharisees were not interested in knowing Him. They at least could have been saved. This unclean spirit could not be saved, but the man that was possessed could certainly be set free. The devils are not ignorant of the facts. They insist on trying to keep the facts from humanity.
In verse 7 we read that this unclean spirit knew what was ahead for him. He was playing with this man at the present time. He knew that in the end, he would be in torment for all eternity. The devils know they are defeated. God has given them some liberties at present, and they are taking full advantage of what they can do. They care nothing for the souls of people. Nor do they care for the physical well-being of people. They just want to cause pain and anguish.
In verse 8 we read that Jesus was not going to allow that unclean spirit to tell Him what to do. He commanded this spirit to come out of the man. This man needed to be set free. He needed to be able to think clearly and to know the peace of God in his heart and soul.
In verse 9 Jesus further asked this unclean spirit to identify himself. Jesus knew who this was. He did this to have the disciples witness what was going on here. This man was not just tormented by one unclean spirit. He had a legion of them in his soul and body.
The unclean spirit continued to interact with the Lord. He did not want to be sent out of the country. He liked it there. It had been quite a welcoming place for him. Jesus would prove His power over the devils. He would also demonstrate that it is up to people to choose life over the death these devils provide.
In verses 11-13, we read that the devils had a plan. They were not only interested in people, they would also settle for animals. We read that Jesus was not in a Jewish area here. Jews did not raise pigs. Swine were an unclean animal for them. This unclean spirit asked that they be sent into the herd of swine that was feeding on the land. Jesus sent them into that herd and immediately that herd ran down a steep place and into the sea. This was a large herd, some two thousand pigs. That would have been quite a financial loss for the owners of that herd.
This would have been quite the scene for those there to witness. We read that those who looked after the swine now ran into the city to report what they had seen. Wherever Jesus was, things were happening. We see here that Jesus put far more value on a human soul than a herd of swine. Today, most people have things mixed up. Money and things are of far greater concern to most than spiritual truth. Church has to be a matter of convenience. If people can find time, they might consider it, but most of the time they are too busy with self.
The people that witnessed this event reported what they had seen. We read that the people of the country and the towns came out and asked Jesus to leave their area. Their commercial interests were of far greater concern than this possessed man. They could put up with his violence and destructive nature. As long as they could make money, that was all that mattered to them. This man was set free. He was blessed but those around him did not realize the importance of that. Sounds very much like our time.
Today is another day of opportunity for all. It is the Lord’s day. It is the day to go to a good Bible-believing local church. Some of those who read these do attend a good church. Others do not. You would do well to take the time to attend a good church today. God has been very gracious to you thus far. The time is short and soon your time will be over. Where will you spend eternity? Jesus Christ came to provide the only way for you to be forgiven and saved. Be sure you know His forgiveness today.
Pastor Bartel