Jesus and the disciples have just crossed the Sea of Galilee to reach what Mark calls "the region of the Gerasenes". The name comes from a city known as Gerasa on the eastern shore of Galilee, and its citizens were primarily Gentiles. Some of the citizens may also have been Hellenized Jews (Jews who had adopted the Greek culture).
"They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet Him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 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. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones." (Mark 5:1-5) This man has been suffering for quite some time. He lives morbidly among the dead. He has superhuman strength and all attempts to control him have failed. He has been reduced to unintelligible mutters and screams while he practices the self-harm of cutting himself with sharp rocks. The gospel writer Luke provides this additional detail, "For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house." (Luke 8:27) The dark spiritual forces in control of this man have cut him off from family and society and have caused him to no longer observe any of the common rules of decency. Lest there be any doubt that the man is truly possessed and not merely insane, Jesus is going to do something that demonstrates the correct diagnosis.
If the disciples had not witnessed Jesus calming the sea, I doubt they could have stood their ground when the demoniac meets them on the shore. But they remain rooted to the spot while Jesus interacts with this pitifully afflicted man. "When He saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of Him. 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!' For Jesus had said to him, 'Come out of this man, you impure spirit!'" (Mark 5:6-8) It was an ancient superstition that knowing a person's name gave you power over him. The man calls Jesus by the highest title he can think of in an attempt to gain the upper hand. The demons inside this man force him to his knees, not to worship Jesus, but to beg Jesus not to make them depart their human host. Demons desire to inhabit bodies because they can do more harm that way. They are able to use a body as a weapon, and although I don't believe we should assume most cases of serial killings or mass murders are caused by demonic possession, a small percentage of them likely are.
Jesus now asks the man's name. I am certain He knows the man's name, along with the names of any demons inhabiting him, but we have to keep in mind that there is an audience present. Jesus asks the question for the sake of the disciples and for the Gerasene pig-herders who witness this event. "Then Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?' 'My name is Legion,' he replied, 'for we are many.' And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area." (Mark 5:9-10)
The demons don't want to leave "the area". Satan has a stronghold in this Gentile region where pagan and occult practices abound. He doesn't want to give up any of his territory. Missionaries who have gone into regions of the world where Christ has never before been preached have testified to the heavy sense of intense darkness there, to the displays of demonic activity, and to the dark spiritual opposition to the ministry of the gospel.
"A large herd of pigs was feeding on a nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, 'Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.' 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." (Mark 5:11-13) Here is the proof that the man was not simply mentally ill. He was possessed by enough demons that at least one of them went into each of the two thousand pigs. The fact that the pigs destroy themselves when the demons enter them shows everyone watching what Satan's true intentions are, "to steal and kill and destroy". (John 10:10) They had almost completely destroyed the man before Jesus got to him and they would soon have finished the job. The pigs, being animals, perhaps lack the strength to withstand the forces of darkness for very long, and they leap to their deaths. Or it could be that, compelled to leave their cozy human host, the demons have a temper tantrum and immediately destroy the pigs in a rage. Either way, allowing the demons to go into the pigs proves to everyone that the man was truly possessed and it proves to everyone that Jesus has power over evil spirits.
"Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 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. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man---and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region." (Mark 5:14-17) Can't you just feel the cool freshness of this man's mind? How wonderful it must have been to have all his mental and emotional faculties restored! He is the only person who is happy about the turn of events. The Gerasenes are unhappy about the loss of livestock and about the strange things that have happened. They would rather have demoniacs in their midst than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus never stays where He is not welcome. "As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with Him. Jesus did not let him, but said, 'Go home to your own people and tell how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.' So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed." (Mark 5:18-20) Naturally the man wants to follow Jesus. Naturally he wants to leave the Satanic stronghold of the Gerasenes. But Jesus leaves him there to be a light to the people, just as He leaves Christians in the world to be a light to the world. The Decapolis is made up of ten Greek cities on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, and the man goes into all these cities preaching about Jesus Christ. The Gentiles of the region may have been able to dismiss Jesus and tell Him to get back in the boat and leave them alone, but they find it difficult to dismiss the living proof right in front of them. The man's testimony no doubt converts many. Lives all over the area are changed because of his testimony. This is still one of the primary ways in which lives are changed: by giving our testimonies in both words and deeds.
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