A man called Legion – Mark 5:1-20
What a day! Legion had been hanging out for years in the cave-like graves in a cemetery where his demons had driven him. People tried to restrain him with chains but he could break them. Legion had become a wild and crazed man.
(The reference for today is from Mark 5:1-20. Read the passage here to get the full story as I am only picking up the highlights.)
When the man saw Jesus coming he ran at him, because the demons knew who Jesus was. The demons feared Jesus and begged him to send them into the herd of pigs on the hillside. Jesus allowed that and when the demons entered them, the pigs ran down a steep hillside into the lake and drowned.
Legion, for the first time in years, was in his right mind and was able to dress properly. When the people from the countryside came to check out what they had heard, they became fearful of Jesus and asked him to leave. So Jesus and the Disciples left in a boat.
Legion wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go to the people of the town and share his testimony about what Jesus had done for him.
Fortunately today, we can both go with Jesus and share our testimony. Legion met Christ before he had been crucified and raised from the dead, so at that time Jesus was confined to the location of his physical body.
Read what Jesus said to the man once known as Legion:
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. 19 But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” 20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns[c] of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
–Mark 5:18-20 (NLT)
Jesus’ advice to this man also is for us – we must go and tell others what God has done for us. We may be the only Bible some of our friends will think about reading. You don’t have to go to great lengths to tell everything you ever knew about God, but be willing to share your joy over what God has done for you.