Welcome to Day 13 of our 40 Day challenge! Mark 5:1-20

(Catch up with us, with our reading list March, reading list for April,  and Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12)

Today we are in Mark 5:1-20:

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Mark 5:1-20

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man

5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.^{[a] 2} When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³ This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

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.

¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” ¹³ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

¹⁴ Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well.¹⁷ Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

¹⁸ As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis^[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

 

What a wild story of bondage and being set free! What an incredible story of transformation! In it, we see both the compassion and authority of Jesus. This man was wholly in bondage, living a life of torment and isolation. And Jesus crossed the lake solely for him. With a few words, Jesus set him entirely free!  And then, the townspeople saw a man fully delivered from a life of pain and torment and responded in fear, begging Jesus to leave. I wonder what might have happened if they had begged him to stay.

We do see this area mentioned a couple of other times. A bit further on from today’s passage, in Mark 7:31-38, Jesus enters the area of the Decapolis and heals a deaf and mute man. He commands him to tell no one and he runs around telling everyone.

And in Matthew 4:25 it says, Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him.

So interesting! I am going to spend some more time looking at the chronology and geography of this area later! If anyone has info, please share! It’s 10 cities, so it’s not one small town. And it’s so interesting how the man in our passage today was told not to follow Jesus but to go and tell everyone. And the one in Mark 7 was told to tell no one, but he told everyone. And we see in Matthew 4 that many from the area were following Him. It just shows us that we cannot make a formula out of following God. We need His guidance for each of our unique circumstances.

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

 

We’ll see you next time, for Day 14 and John 5:1-15 and Luke 4:38-41

♥ Samantha