Tell Them…

Mark 5:1-20

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. ²And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. ³He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; ⁴for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. ⁵Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. ⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; ⁷and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” ⁸For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; ¹²and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” ¹³So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. ¹⁶Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. ¹⁷Then they began to beg Jesus^£ to leave their neighborhood. ¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” ²⁰And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

Jesus and His disciples cross the sea to the other side of Galilee – Verse 20 identifies the city as Decapolis, a gentile city.

This healing narrative is a little different than the others in that no one, including the demon-possessed, asks for this man to be healed. He is obviously not right in his mind and is demonstrating super-human strength.

When the man sees Jesus from a distance, he recognizes Jesus as the Son of God and comes running to Him and bows down. He seems to know that Jesus has the power over them and requests for Jesus not to torment him.

Jesus asks for the demon’s name, and the demon tells Him that he is many — A legion (four to six thousand). He asks Jesus for two things – To not send them out of the country, and instead, send them into the herd of swine. Jesus obliges, and the herd runs into the sea and drowns.

 The towns’ people heard about it and came to see what had happened. They saw the formerly demon-possessed man sitting quietly, fully clothed, and in his right mind, and they were afraid. They also were troubled by the economic cost of the pigs drowning and beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.

The formerly demon-possessed man begs to accompany Jesus, but Jesus refuses and tells him to go home and tell the people what the Lord did for him. The man obeys and begins to proclaim what Jesus had done for him in Decapolis, and everyone is amazed.

There are several things that we can glean from this passage.

When the man was possessed, he could not stand to be with Jesus. After he was healed, he wanted to spend his life with Jesus. After the herd of pigs ran into the sea and drowned, the towns’ people came to Jesus, but they wanted Him to go away. We must acknowledge that when we encounter people who will not come to church or refuse to hear the gospel, the enemy might be at work. There may be a spiritual element, and we should pray accordingly. Before we share the gospel, it may be a good idea to pray that if the enemy is at work to interfere with the gospel that their power would be bound in Jesus’ name.

It must have been encouraging to Mark’s audience that Jesus had the power to overcome the enemy. They were living in a time when they could be executed for their faith. They probably knew believers who had been tortured and killed for their faith. They probably sensed that the enemy was at work.

In today’s world, it seems that the enemy is at work. This passage is a good reminder to us and an encouragement that God’s power is far greater than Satan’s and for us not to lose hope or confidence in God.

We saw earlier when Jesus called the apostles, they were to leave everything and follow Him. When this man was healed of his demon-possession, he wanted to leave everything and follow Jesus. Instead, Jesus told him to go home and tell everyone how much the Lord had done for him. And the man did. It is significant that this is the first gentile mission that is recorded in Mark. This man was most likely a gentile, and the people he would be proclaiming about Jesus would also be gentiles.

We all know people who are not believers, and sometimes we just are at a loss as to how to witness to them about Jesus. What Jesus told the man is a good one – To tell everyone how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy He has shown you.

Sometimes what is needed is a logical explanation about mankind’s sins, how we cannot help ourselves, and that the only thing we can do for God to count us as righteous is the accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

 At other times, what people need to hear are all the wonderful things that God has done for us.

Each one of us has a different calling from God. Not everyone is called to be a pastor or preacher. But everyone is to be a witness for Jesus to those who are near to us as well as those who are far from us.

In some way, we need to let the world know how much the Lord has done for us and what mercy He has shown us. We need to tell them.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on June 28, 2026.)