Christ's Curate In Decapolis
(No. 2262)
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JUNE 26, 1892.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, APRIL
27, 1890.
"And they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts. And when He
was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil
prayed Him thathe might be with Him. However, Jesus suffered him not,
but said unto him, Go home to your friends, and tell them what great
things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on
you." Mark 5:17-19.
THAT is a striking name for a man, "he that had been possessed with the
devil." It would stick to him as long as he lived and it would be a
standing sermon wherever he went. He would be asked to tell the story
of what he used to be and how the change came about. What a story for
any man to tell! It would not be possible for us to describe his life
while he was a demoniac–the midnight scenes among the tombs, the
cutting himself with stones, the howling, the frightening away of all
the travelers that went near him, the binding with chains, the snapping
of the manacles, the breaking of the fetters–and a great many details
that he, alone, could enter into when he told the story among his own
familiar friends. With what tenderness would he tell how Jesus came
that way and how the evil spirit forced him to confront Him! He would
say, "That was the best thing that could have happened to me, to be
brought to the Master of that desperate legion of demons which had
encamped within my nature and made my soul to be its barracks." He
would tell how, in a moment, out went the whole legion at the word of
Christ!
There are some people who could tell a story very similar to this
man's–a story of slavery to Satan and deliverance by the power of
Christ! If you can tell such a story, do not keep it to yourself! If
Jesus has done great things for you, be always ready to speak of it,
till all men shall know what Christ can do. I think that great sinners
who have been saved are especially called upon to publish the good
news, the Gospel of the Grace of God. If you have been valiant against
the Truth of God, be valiant for the Truth of God. If you were not
lukewarm when you served Satan, be not lukewarm, now that you have come
to serve Christ! There are some of us here who might bear the name of
"the man who was born blind," or, "the leper that was healed," or, "the
woman that was a sinner." And I hope that we shall all be willing to
take any name or any title that will glorify Christ. I do not find that
this man ever persecuted Mark for libel because he wrote of him as, "he
that had been possessed with the devil." Oh, no! He acknowledge that he
was once possessed with the devil–and he glorified God that he had
been delivered by the Lord Jesus!
I. I am going to make a few observations upon the passage I have chosen
for a text–and the first observation is this, SEE HOW MEN'S DESIRES
DIFFERED. We find in the 17th verse that, "they began to pray Him to
depart out of their coasts." In the 18th verse, "he that had been
possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him." The
people wanted Christ to go away from them–the man whom He had cured
wanted to go wherever He might go! To which class do you belong, my
dear Friend?
I hope you do not belong to the first class, the class of the many who
pray Jesus to depart from them. Why did they want Him to go?
I think it was, first, because they loved to be quiet and to dwell at
ease. It was a great calamity that had happened– the swine had run
into the sea. They did not want any more such calamities and evidently
the Person who had come among them possessed extraordinary power. Had
He not healed the demoniac? Well, they did not want Him–they did not
want anything extraordinary. They were easy-going men who would like to
go on in the even tenor of their ways, so they asked Him to be good
enough to go away. There are some people of that kind still living.
They say, "We do not need
a revival, here–we are too respectable. We do not need any stirring
preaching here–we are very comfortable. Do not break up our peace."
Such men, when they think that God is at work in any place, are half
inclined to go elsewhere. They want to be quiet! Their motto is,
"Anything for a quiet life." "Leave us alone, let us go on our old
way," is the cry of these foolish people, as it was the cry of the
Israelites when they said to Moses, "Let us alone, that we may serve
the Egyptians."
Possibly these people wanted the Savior gone because they had an eye to
business. That keeping of the swine was a bad business. As Jews, they
had no business with it. They may have said they did not eat
them–themselves, they only kept them for other people to eat–but now
they had lost the whole herd! I wonder what all those swine would have
brought to their owners? As they began calculating how much they had
lost, they resolved that the Savior must get out of their coasts before
they lost anything more. I do not wonder that, when men sell
intoxicating liquors, for instance, or when they follow any trade in
which they cannot make money except by injuring their fellow men, they
do not want Christ to come that way. Perhaps some of you would not like
Him to see you pay those poor women for making shirts. I am afraid if
Jesus Christ were to come around and go into some people's business
houses, the husband would say to his wife, "Fetch down that book where
I enter the wages and hide it–I should not like Him to see that."
Oh, dear Friend, if there is any such reason why you do not want Christ
to come your way, I pray that the Holy Spirit may convince you that you
do need Him to come your way! He who has the most objection to Christ
is the man who most needs Christ! You can be sure of this–if you do
not desire to be converted, if you do not wish to be born again–you
are the person above all others needing to be converted and to be born
again! Is it not a most unwise decision when, for the sake of swine, we
are willing to part with Christ? "For what shall it profit a man, if he
gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" He will get a corner in
the newspaper saying that he died worth so many thousands of
pounds–and that will not be true, for he was never worth a penny! Who
would give a penny for him, now he is dead? He will cost money to get
rid of and he cannot not take it with him. He was not worth
anything–he used his money for selfish purposes and never used it for
the glory of God. Oh, the poverty of an ungodly rich man!
I do not wonder that these people, taken up with themselves, and with
the world, prayed Christ "to depart out of their coasts." May He not,
even though you may not care to hear Him, stop somewhere on the shore?
No–when men get excited against religion they go to great lengths in
trying to drive it away from their midst. Many a poor man has lost his
cottage where he had a few Prayer Meetings because the landlord not
only did not want Christ, Himself, but, like the dog in the manger,
would not let others have Him who did want Him. Are any of you in that
condition?
I hope that I have some here who are of another kind–like this poor
man who prayed Him that he might be with Him. Why did he want to be
with Jesus? I think he wanted to be His attendant to show his
gratitude. If he might but wait on Christ, loose the laces of His shoes
and wash His feet, or prepare His meals, he would feel himself the
happiest man on earth! He would love to be doing something for the One
who had cast a legion of devils out of him!
Next, he wished not only to be an attendant to show his gratitude, but
a disciple that he might learn more of Him. What he did know of Christ
was so precious–he had personally had such an experience of His
gracious power that he wanted to be always learning something from
every word of those dear lips, and every action of those blessed hands!
He prayed Him that he might be with Him as a disciple who wished to be
taught by Him.
He also wanted to be with Him as a comrade, for now that Christ must
go, exiled from Decapolis, he seemed to feel that there was no reason
why he should remain there. "Lord, if You must leave there Gadarenes,
let me leave the Gadarenes, too! Do you go, O Shepherd? Then let me go
with You. Must You cross the sea and go, I know not where? I will go
with You to prison and to death!" He felt so linked with Christ that he
prayed Him that he might be with Him.
I think that there was this reason, also–one of fear at the back of
his prayer. Perhaps one of that legion of devils might come back–and
if he could stay with Christ, then Christ would turn the devil out
again! I should not wonder but he felt a trembling about him, as if he
could not bear to be out of the sight of the great Physician who had
healed him of so grievous an ill. I would say to all here that we are
never safe unless we are with Christ. If you are tempted to go where
you could not have Christ with you, do not go!
Did you ever hear the story of the devil running away with a young man
who was at the theater? It is said that John Newton sent after Satan
and said, "That young man is a member of my Church." "Well," replied
the devil, "I do not care where he is a member! I found him on my
premises, and I have a right to him." And the preacher could not give
any an-
swer to that. If you go on the devil's premises and he takes you, I
cannot say anything against it. Go nowhere where you cannot take Christ
with you! Be like this man who longs to go wherever Christ goes.
II. Now, secondly, SEE HOW CHRIST'S DEALINGS DIFFER and how
extraordinary they are. Here is an evil prayer–"Depart out of our
coasts." He grants it. Here is a pious prayer–"Lord, let me be with
You." "However Jesus suffered him not." Is that His way, to grant the
prayer of His enemies, and refuse the petition of His friends? Yes, it
is sometimes.
In the first case, when they prayed Him to depart, He went. Oh, dear
Friends, if Christ ever comes near you and you get a little touched in
your conscience and feel a throb of something like spiritual life, do
not pray Him to go away, for if He goes–if He should leave you to
yourself and never return–your doom is sealed! Your only hope lies in
His Presence, but if you pray against your one Hope, you are a
suicide–you are guilty of murdering your own soul!
Jesus went away from these people because it was useless to stay. If
they wanted Him to go, what good could He do to them? If He spoke, they
would not listen. If they heard His message, they would not heed it.
When men's minds are set against Christ, what else is to be done but to
leave them?
He could spend His time better somewhere else. If you will not have my
Lord, somebody else will. If you sit there in your pride and say, "I
need not the Savior," there is a poor soul in the gallery longing for
Him and crying, "Oh, that I might find Him to be my Savior!" Christ
knew that if the Gadarenes refused Him, the people on the other side of
the lake would welcome Him on His return.
By going away, He even saved them from yet greater sin. If He had not
gone, they might have tried to plunge Him into the lake. When men begin
to pray Christ to depart out of their coasts, they are bad enough for
anything. There might have followed violence to His blessed Person, so
He took Himself away from them. Is it not an awful thing that if the
Gospel ministry does not save you, it is helping to damn you? We are a
savor to God, always sweet–but in some men, we are a savor of death
unto death–while in others we are a savor unto life. O my Hearers, if
you will not come to Christ, the seat you occupy is misappropriated!
There might be another person sitting here to whom the Gospel might be
very precious–and our opportunities of preaching it are none too many.
We do not like to waste our strength on stony ground, on hard bits of
rock that repel the Seed. Rock, rock, rock, will you never break? Must
we continue to sow you though no harvest comes from you? God change
you, rock, and make you good soil, that yet the Truth of God may grow
upon you! The evil prayer, then, was answered.
The good prayer was not answered. Why was that? The chief reason was
because the man could be useful at home. He could glorify God better by
going among the Gadarenes and among his own family and telling what God
had done for him, than he could by any attention he could pay to
Christ. It is remarkable that Christ took nobody to be His
body-servant, or personal attendant during His earthly ministry. He
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister! He did not desire this
man to be with Him to make Him comfortable–He bade him go back to his
family and make known the power of Jesus Christ and seek to win them
for God.
Perhaps, too, his prayer was not answered lest his fear should have
been thereby sanctioned. If he did fear and I feel morally certain that
he did–that the devils would return–then, of course, he longed to be
with Christ. But Christ took that fear from him and, as good as says to
him, "You do not need to be near Me–I have so healed you that you will
never be sick again." A patient might say to his doctor, "I have been
so very ill and through your skill have been restored to health, I
should like to be near you, so that if there should be any recurrence
of my malady, I might come to you at once." If the doctor should reply,
"You may go to Switzerland, or to Australia, if you like," it would be
the best evidence that the doctor had no fears about him–and it ought
to put a quietus to his doubts.
You see, then, how Christ's dealings differ with different men. Have I
not known some continue in sin and yet prosper in business, heaping up
wealth and having all that heart could wish? Have I not known others
repent and turn to God–and from that very day they have had more
trouble than they ever had before–and their way has been strangely
rough? Yes, I have seen them and I have not envied the easy ways of the
wicked, neither have I felt that there was anything very amazing about
the rough ways of the righteous, for, after all, it is not the way that
is the all-important matter–it is the end of the way–and if I could
travel smoothly to Hell, I would not choose to do so! And if the way to
eternal life is rough, I take it with all its roughness! At the foot of
the Hill Difficulty, Bunyan makes his pilgrim sing–
"The hill, though high, I covet to ascend,
The difficulty will not me offend;
For I perceive the way of life lies here."
III. My third point is this–SEE HOW GOOD A THING IT IS TO BE WITH
JESUS. This man entreated of the Lord that he might be with Him.
If you have recently been saved, I expect you have a longing in your
heart to always be with Christ. I will tell you what shape that longing
is likely to take. You were so happy, so joyful, and it was such a
blessed meeting, that you said to yourself, "I am sorry it is over; I
should like this meeting to have been kept on all night, and the next
day, and never to end." Yes, you were of the mind of Peter when he
wanted to build the three tabernacles on the holy mountain and to stay
there the rest of his days! But you cannot do it–it is no use wishing
for it. You must go home to that drinking husband or that scolding
wife–to that ungodly father or that unkind mother. You cannot always
stay in that meeting!
Perhaps you have another idea of what it is to be with Christ. You are
so happy when you can get alone and read your Bible and meditate, and
pray, that you say, "Lord, I wish I could always be like this. I should
like to be always upstairs in this room, searching the Scriptures and
having communion with God." Yes, yes, yes, but you cannot do it. There
are the children's socks to be mended, there are buttons to be put on
the husband's shirts, and there are all sorts of odds and ends to be
done and you must not neglect any of them! Whatever household duties
come upon you, attend to them. You wish that you had not to go to the
city tomorrow. Would it not be sweet to have an all-night Prayer
Meeting and then to have an all-day searching of the Scriptures? No
doubt it would, but the Lord has not so arranged it. You have to go to
business, so just put on your week-day clothes and think yourself none
the less happy because you have to show your religion in your daily
life.
"Ah, well!" says one, and this I hear often, "I think that I would
always be with Christ if I could get right out of business and give
myself up to the service of the Lord." Especially do you think that it
would be so if your were a minister! Well, I have nothing to say
against the ministry of the Gospel. If the Lord calls you to do it,
obey the call and be thankful that He has counted you faithful, putting
you into the ministry. But if you suppose that you will be nearer to
Christ simply by entering the ministry, you are very much mistaken! I
daresay that I had about as many of the other people's troubles brought
to me this morning, after I had done the preaching, as would last most
men a month! We have to bear with everybody's trouble, and everybody's
doubt, and everybody's need of comfort and counsel! You will find
yourself cumbered with much serving, even in the service of the
Lord–and it is very easy to lose the Master in the Master's work!
We need much Grace lest this insidious temptation should overcome us
even in our ministry. You can walk with Christ and sell groceries! You
can walk with Christ and be a chimney-sweep. I do not hesitate to say
that, by the Grace of God, you can walk with Christ as well in one
occupation as another, if it is a rightful one. It might be quite a
mistake if you were to give up your business under the notion that you
would be more with Christ if you became a city missionary, or a
Bible-woman, or a tract distributor, or a captain in the Salvation
Army, or whatever other form of holy service you might desire! Keep on
with your business! If you can black shoes well, do that! If you can
preach sermons badly, do not do
that!
"Ah," says one, "I know how I would like to be with Christ." Yes, yes,
I know. You would like to be in Heaven. Oh, yes, and it is a laudable
desire, to wish to be with Christ, for it is far better than being
here! But, mind you, it may be a selfish desire and it may be a sinful
desire if it is pushed too far. A holy man of God was once asked by a
fellow servant of Christ. "Brother So-and-So, do you not want to go
Home?" He said, "I will answer you by another question. If you had a
man working for you and, on Wednesday, he said, 'I wish it were
Saturday,' would you keep him on?" The other thought that he would need
a large stock of patience to do so. Why? You will be glad to see the
back of him before Saturday comes, for he will be no good for work!
Have I a right to be desiring to go to Heaven if I can do any good to
you here? Is it not more of a Heaven to be outside of Heaven than
inside if you can be doing more for God outside than in? Long to go
when the Lord wills! But if not, to remain in the flesh is more for the
good of the Church and the world, and more for the Glory of God–waive
your desire and be not vexed with your Master when, after having prayed
that you may be with Him, it has to be written of you as it was of this
man–"However, Jesus suffered him not."
Still, it is a very delightful thing to be with Jesus.
IV. But now, in the fourth place, SEE THAT THERE MAY BE SOMETHING EVEN
BETTER THAN THIS. In the sense which I have mentioned, there is
something better, even, than being with Christ!
What is better than being with Christ? Why, to be working for Christ!
Jesus said to this man, "Go home to your friends and tell them what
great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion
on you."
This is more honorable. It is very delightful to sit at Jesus' feet,
but if the most honorable post on the field of battle is the place of
danger. If the most honorable thing in the State is to have royal
service allotted to you, then the most honorable thing for a Christian
is not to sit down and sing, and enjoy himself, but to get up and risk
reputation, life and everything for Jesus Christ's sake! Dear Friend,
aspire to serve our Lord–it is a more honorable thing, even, than
being with
Him!
It is also better for the people. Christ is going away from the
Gadarenes. They have asked Him to go and He is going. But He seems to
say to this man, "I am going because they have asked Me to go. My
leaving them looks like a judgment upon them for their rejection of Me,
but yet I am not going away altogether. I am going to stay with you. I
will put My Spirit upon you and so will continue with you. They will
hear you though they will not hear Me." Christ, as it were, resigns the
pastorate of that district, but He puts another in His place, not as
good as Himself, but one whom they will like better. Not as powerful
and useful as Himself, but one better adapted to them. When Christ was
gone, this man would be there and the people would come to him to hear
about those swine and how they ran down into the sea. And if they did
not come to him, he would go and tell them all about it. And so there
would be a permanent curate left there to discharge the sacred
ministry, now that the great Bishop had gone! I like that thought.
Christ had gone to Heaven, for He is needed there, and so He has left
you here, dear Brother, to carry on His work! You are not equal to Him
in any respect, but yet remember what He said to His disciples, "He
that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do because I go unto My Father." That is why
Christ does not suffer you to be with Him at present. You must stay for
the sake of the people among whom you live, as, "He that had been
possessed with the devil" had to remain for the sake of the Gadarenes,
to whom he might testify concerning Christ!
His remaining, also, was better for his family, and do you not think
that, oftentimes, a man of God is kept out of Heaven for the sake of
his family? You must not go yet, Father–those boys still need your
example and your influence. Christian Mother, you must not go yet–I
know that your children are grown up and they are grieving you very
much, but still, if there is any check upon them, it is their poor old
mother–and you must stay till you have prayed them to God. And you
will do so yet! Be of good courage! I believe that there are many here
who might be in Heaven–but God has some who He intends to bring in by
them–and so they must stay here a little longer. Though infirm in
body, shattered in nerve and often racked with acute pain–perhaps with
deadly disease upon you and wishing to be gone–you must not go till
your work is done.
"However, Jesus suffered him not." This demoniac must go home and tell
his wife and his children what great things the Lord had done for him.
Many eminent preachers have pictured the scene of his going home, so I
will try to do it. You may only fancy what it would be if it were your
case and you had been shut up in an asylum, or had been almost too bad
even for that! How glad your friends were to have you taken away and
then how much more glad to find you come back perfectly well! I can
imagine how the man's wife would look through the window when she heard
his voice. Has he come back in a mad fit? How the children will be
filled with terror at the sound of their father's voice until they were
assured that there was, indeed, a change in him! Ah, poor Sinner, you
have come here tonight! Perhaps you forget that your children often
have to hide away under the bed when Father comes home. I know that
there are such persons about and they may even find their way into the
Tabernacle. The Lord have mercy upon the drunk and turn his cups bottom
upwards and make a new man of him! Then, when he goes home, to tell of
Free Grace and dying love, and of the wonderful change that God has
worked in him, he will be a blessing to his family and to all about
him. It may be, dear Friend, that you have to stay here till you have
undone some of the mischief of your early life. You have to bring to
God some of those whom you tempted and led astray and helped to ruin.
So, you see, dear Friends, there is even something better than being
with Christ–working for Christ.
V. But lastly, CONSIDER THAT THERE IS YET A CASE WHICH IS BEST OF ALL.
We must always have three
degrees of comparison. What is the best state of all? To be with Christ
is good. To be sent by Christ on a holy errand is better. But here is
something that is best of all, namely, to work for Him and to be with
Him at the same time! I want
every Christian to aspire to that position. Is it possible to sit with
Mary at the Master's feet and yet to run about like Martha and get the
dinner ready? It is! And then Martha will never be cumbered with much
serving if she does that–and she will never find fault with her sister
Mary. "But, Sir, we cannot sit and stir at the same time." No, not as
to your bodies, but you can as to you souls! You can be sitting at
Jesus' feet, or leaning on His breast and yet be fighting the Lord's
battles and doing His work!
In order to do this, cultivate the inner as well as the outer life.
Endeavor not only to do much for Christ, but to be much with Christ and
to live wholly upon Christ. Do not, for instance, on the Lord's-Day, go
to a class and teach others three times, as some whom I know, do. But
come once and hear the Master's message and get your soul fed–and when
you have had a spiritual feast in the morning, give the rest of the day
to holy service. Let the two things run together! To be always eating
and never working, will bring on excessive fullness and spiritual
indigestion! To be always working and never eating–well, I am afraid
that you will not bear that trial so well as the gentleman who
yesterday ate his first meal after forty days of fasting. Do not try to
imitate him! It is not a right and wise thing to do, but very
dangerous. Get spiritual food as well as do spiritual work.
Let me say to you, again, grieve very much if there is the least cloud
between you and Christ. Do not wait until it is as thick as a November
fog–be full of sorrow if it is only like a tiny, fleecy cloud! George
Muller's observation was a very wise one, "Never come out of your
chamber in the morning until everything is right between you and God."
Keep in perpetual fellowship with Jesus and thus you can be with Him
and yet be serving Him at the same time!
And mind this, before you begin Christ's service, always seek His
Presence and help. Do not enter upon any work for the Lord without
having first seen the face of the King in His beauty. And in the work,
often, in your mind, remember what you are doing for Him–and by whom
you are doing it! And when the work is completed, do not throw up your
cap and say, "Well done, Self!" Another will say to you, by-and-by,
"Well done!" if you deserve it. Do not take the words out of his mouth.
Self-praise is no recommendation! Solomon said, "Let another man praise
you and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."
When we have done all, we are still unprofitable servants–we have only
done that which is our duty to do. So, if you are as humble as you are
active, as lowly as you are energetic, you may stay with Christ and yet
go about His errands to the ends of the earth! And I reckon this to be
the happiest experience that any one of us can reach this side of the
gates of pearl. The Lord bless you and bring you there, for Christ's
sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON MARK51-29.
1,2. And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the
country of the Gadarenes. And when He was come out of the ship,
immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean
spirit. Our Lord crossed the Sea of Galilee on purpose to rescue this
poor man from the power of the unclean spirits that possessed him. He
knew that there were many who needed Him on the Galilean side of the
lake and He could foresee the storm that would threaten to sink the
little ship. Yet He calmly said to His disciples (see chapter 4, Verse
35), "Let us pass over unto the other side." As soon as the great
Physician landed, a dreadful apparition appeared. "Out of the tombs,"
an uncanny place, rushed a man, howling and yelling like some wild
beast, or, still worse, under the influence of Satan who had taken
possession of him.
3, 4. Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him,
no, not with chains; 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. See how the
world deals with furiously guilty men! It tries to fetter them, or else
to tame them, to keep them in check by fear of punishment, or else to
subdue them to a gentleness of morality–this is poor work! Christ
neither binds nor tames–He changes and renews! Oh, that His aid were
sought everywhere, and not so much reliance placed on the fetters of
law, or the power of morals!
5. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the
tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. It must have been
dreadful for travelers to pass that way at night, or to meet with this
terrible madman at any hour of the day. But how terrible must have been
the poor creature's own condition? We get just a glimpse of it from the
words, "al-
ways in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying and cutting himself
with stones." See what Satan does with those who are in his power.
6. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him. The devil
does not like doing it, but if it will serve his purpose, he will
pretend to be a worshipper of Christ. He comes here, sometimes. He goes
to all sorts of places of worship and makes men turn worshippers who
have no worship in their hearts, for there is no end to the depth of
his cunning, and many are they that have served the devil best when
they have pretended to worship Christ.
7. And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with you,
Jesus, You Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, that You
torment me not. Using the lips of this poor man, Satan spoke in him and
through him. He is afraid of Christ. This dog of Hell knows his Master
and crouches at His feet. He beseeches the "Son of the Most High God"
not to torment him before his time.
8. For He said unto him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.
Christ never wastes words over the devil. He speaks to him very shortly
and very sharply. It would be well, sometimes, if we could be more
concise when we are dealing with evil. It does not deserve our words as
it did not observe Christ's words. Jesus said to the devil, "Come out
of the man, you unclean spirit."
9. 10. And He asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My
name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought Him much that He would
not send him away out of the country. The devil can pray–he did so in
this case. It is not because a man is fluent in prayer that we are sure
of his salvation. It is not because a man prays with such fervor that
his knees knock together, that we may conclude that he is a saint. It
may be that he is trembling through fear of God's judgment! Satan
besought Christ much.
11, 12. Now there was there near unto the mountains a great herd of
swine feeding. And all the devils besought Him, saying, Send us into
the swine, that we may enter into them. Satan would rather vex swine
than do no mischief at all. He is so fond of evil that he would work it
upon animals if he cannot work it upon men. What unanimity there is
among the evil spirits! "All the devils besought Him, saying, Send us
into the swine, that we may enter into them."
13. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. The devil cannot enter even a
pig without Christ's permission! So he cannot tempt you, my Friend,
without our Lord's permission! You may rest assured that even this
great monster of evil is under Christ's control. He cannot molest you
till Jesus gives him permission. There is a chain around the roaring
lion and he can only go as far as the Lord allows him.
13, 14. And the unclean spirit went out, and entered into the swine:
and the herd ran violently down a deep place into the sea, (they were
about two thousand), and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the
swine fled. At which we do not at all wonder! Who would not flee when
they thus saw the power of Christ?
14, 15. And told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out
to see what it was that was done. And they came to Jesus, and saw him
that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and
clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. You would have
thought that it would have been said, "They marveled and they praised
Christ for this great and wonderful deed." No, "They were afraid." If
you see another converted, do not be afraid! But rather have hope that
you may be saved, yourself! What a beautiful sight these people
saw–"they come to Jesus, and saw him that was possessed with the
devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right
mind." That thought ought to have made them rejoice instead of being
afraid! There are still people who are afraid of what will happen when
they see those whom Christ has blessed spiritually as He had healed
this man.
16, 17. And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was
possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began
to pray Him to depart out of their coasts. If Jesus should come to you,
tonight, do not ask Him to go away! Open wide the door of your heart
and entreat the Lord to come in and dwell there forever and ever! This
narrative teaches us that the Lord Jesus Christ will go away if He is
asked to do so–He will not remain where His company is not desired.
18-20. And when He was come into the ship, he that had been possessed
with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him. However Jesus
suffered him not, but said unto him, Go home to your friends, and tell
them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had
companion on you. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis
all the great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. He
was told to tell what great things the Lord had done for him. He went
and told what great things Jesus had done for him. Did he make a
mistake? Oh, no! It is but another name for the
same Person, for Jesus is the Lord–and when you speak of Him as
Divine, and talk of Him in terms fit only for God– you do but speak
rightly, for so He deserves to be praised! "And all men did marvel." So
our Lord left them all wondering. Leaving this one messenger to bear
testimony to Him, He went His way elsewhere, to carry blessings to many
others on the other side of the sea. The man appears to have gone
through the wide district that bore the name Decapolis and his
testimony to the power of Christ was so convincing that, when the
Savior revisited that part of the country, He had a very different
reception from that which He received on this occasion. (See 7:31-37;
8:1-10).