Mark 5:9-13 “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 evil 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.” NIV
This passage of scripture is a fascinating glimpse into the ministry of deliverance. Through this one passage many lessons can be learned about demonic oppression, the interaction between humans and the demonic in deliverance and the authority of the believer over demonic influence in an individual’s life.
Jesus has been approached by this severely demonized man, a man so warped by his bondage that he lives amongst the tombs like a wild-man, intimidating all who came near to him until his encounter with Jesus. After initially commanding the demons to leave this man in verse eight, Jesus evidently discerns a different dimension to this demonic oppression than we see Him encountering in any of His other deliverance ministries. For the first time we see Jesus engaging in an exploratory dialogue with the demons. In most cases He simply commands the spirits to be silent and to leave but in this case Jesus probes deeper.
There is an implied lesson in Jesus’ ministry of deliverance. He does not become fascinated by dialoging with the demons. He gains the information that He needs to bring freedom but does not engage in the novelty of the supernatural encounter. In seeking to find the name of the demon He is seeking to identify the nature of the oppression so that He may set the man free. The measure of Jesus’ authority is so complete that the demon that is speaking on behalf of the group of demons identifies that there are many, many spirits involved in the bringing about this condition of bondage in the man. It is worth noting that this totally deranged state that we find the man in is not the fruit of one demon’s work. It is the accumulative torment of a host of demons that have progressively gained control over his mind.
Jesus does not go through a process of identifying the name and nature of every spirit involved. He simply identifies that there are many spirits at work in this man’s condition and then takes authority over them in mass. He is bold and shows no hesitance even in confronting what he now knows to be a host of demons.
It is equally significant to note that the authority of Jesus is not limited to the time frame when the demon is inhabiting the person. The spirit has to ask permission of Jesus for what it will do after being driven out from the person. Jesus is in total control of the situation and the spirit must gain permission from Him to go into the herd of pigs. Every believer must understand the measure of Jesus’ authority because this is the authority that is available to us as we grow in Christ. In Mt. 10:7-8 the disciples were commissioned by the Lord to preach the kingdom, heal the sick and to cast out demons. Jesus later identifies that this authority and commissioning is conferred upon all who believe in Him for salvation not just a select few super apostles. In Mark 16:16-17 Jesus says “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons.”
The same faith that secures salvation results in authority over demonic oppression that binds the people that Christ came to save. It is time for the church to recognize who we are and what we have been given. It is vital that we throw off all teachings that rob us of our true identity in Christ and leave us as 2 Tim 3:4-5 says “having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
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