An encounter that always troubles me a bit when I read it is Jesus’ encounter with the demon-possessed man, or demoniac. This week we are focusing on the account taken from Mark 5. Through various onscreen adaptations, this encounter has been “fleshed out” to some degree and is usually a bit disturbing. This man lived among the tombs and had not just one demon, but a whole “legion” of demons. The man is not in his right mind. The demons make him do harmful things to himself. And he is beyond the point of being bound up or chained.
What is the one thing these demons fear? It is the name of Jesus. Jesus shows up on the scene with his disciples and casts out the demons — into a herd of pigs. The pigs rush to the edge of a cliff, fall off, and are drowned in the water below. The townspeople and farmers connected to these animals are more concerned about their livelihood than the healing of this man. For them, the demon-possessed man living apart from them was the status quo. Jesus interrupted that and now things were uncomfortable for them. They asked Him to leave.
This message of this week’s encounter is to see clearly we have a calling AND that Jesus holds the power over sin and darkness. We must be open to these truths as we personally encounter Jesus in ways we may not expect. He is always at work.