Lent 2026 Day 14: Thu 5 Mar
Mark 5:6-13
6 When the man saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees before Him. 7 And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!” 8 For Jesus had already declared, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!” 9 “What is your name?” Jesus asked. “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of that region. 11 There on the nearby hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. 12 So the demons begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water.
Our picture has been cleaned up for respectable viewing. There is no evidence of the dishevelled and tormented man who “self-harmed” (of course it was not he but the presence that controlled him that was harming him). Jesus and his disciples are wearing impractical clothing and are marked by halos on their heads and standard identity traits (e.g. bald, bearded old man Peter). Jesus’ hand gesture carries a deeper theological significance for the viewer of the artwork rather than the man before him. The demons are standard black and scaly. It’s all very symbolic.
What we do not see portrayed is the terror in the man and his possessors. We do not see the active authority of Jesus as he deals with the situation. This man presented to Jesus, and like the man in the synagogue, recognised him for who he was – Jesus, Son of the Most High God. Satan does not get a mention. Kneeling in humility before Lord Jesus, that minion of Satan that possessed the man confessed a higher name.
There followed a strange conversation. Jesus had already called out whatever was in the man, and whatever it was frightened and fearful. “What is your name?” There were so many that they simply called themselves “Legion”, but each had a name. C.S. Lewis delighted in giving appropriately dark names to demons. They were already bargaining with Jesus for their fate. For them, Jesus is the victor, the authority and the judge. They stand condemned. They get their wish to enter the grazing pigs on the hillside. I wonder if Jesus would have given permission if it had been sheep on the hillside. Did they know that this would set the pigs in a headlong rush into the water, or was this a way for them to exit with a little shred of dignity?
Was this just a man with a personality complex?
What do you think happened to “Legion” after the pigs drowned?
Does the way you address Jesus beat the way that unclean spirits address him?
Father God, I don’t fully understand the spiritual battles that are going on in people, between tribes and nations, or the remaining influence of the evil one on individual and corporate affairs. I pray that you will keep me from harm, and alert me to potential danger. Amen.
Paul