The Son of the Most High God

Opening Prayer (Adoration & Petition)

Read Mark 5:6-13

Mark 5:6–13 LSB

6 And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he began pleading with Him earnestly not to send them out of the region. 11 Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. 12 And the demons pleaded with Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 13 And Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

The demons call God “the Most High” because that is what they want to be.

James Montgomery Boice

Do I trust God’s redeeming work and presence in my life?

Jesus is acknowledged and the demons bow. (v.6-7)

The man sees Jesus and led by the unclean spirits within him, he bows down before Jesus calling him ‘Son of the Most High God.’ This is a show of God’s authority among all the created order, as He is God in the flesh.

The text not only shows authority in a temporary sense, but in a Eschatological sense, meaning, the demons acknowledge that they are in the presence of God Himself.

The word Basanizo implies to torture, castigate a subject, to cast punishment. Here the Legion recognizes who has the power to inflict punishment on them for their rebellion.

This assumes that there is going to be a time for punishment and judgement for those who rebel against God.

This further assumes that Jesus Christ will be the one who will apply justice to those who stand against God.

Revelation 19:1–2 “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His slaves shed by her hand.”

Darkness tries, and it is incapable to overcome Light. (v.8-9)

Ancient peoples, as some continue to believe today, believed that to use a name is to access authority over a person, or entity, to control it. The demons appear to think they can control Jesus just because they call him by one of his titles.

Jesus, deals with the man and the Legion, as he demands a name, but the man is unable to speak, as the Legion identifies itself and acknowledges the issue of the man’s afflictions.

The dynamic at play shows that there is one name that has authority, and cannot be controlled or cajoled into submission. The name of God.

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Do you notice the response by the demon when Jesus commands Him? I wonder what is our response when we are commanded by Jesus?

Jesus displays Judgement, Mercy, Grace, and Sovereignty over darkness. (v.10-13)

Legion, speaking as one, or through a head demon, begs the Lord not to dismiss them away from the region of Gerasa, and to be cast away into the abyss, where the unclean spirits would receive judgement and wrath from God Almighty.

Revelation 20:1–3 “1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were finished. After these things he must be released for a short time.”

We also see the continued struggle and haggling Legion attempts with Jesus, being fully, though begrudgingly aware, that the God of the universe is standing before Him. Now, its no longer the human, but now its the closest living thing they crave. The pigs.

Leviticus 11:7 “and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud; it is unclean to you.”

Deuteronomy 14:8 “And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses.”

While Jesus holds the life of the man, a Gentile, to be worthy of rescue, grace, and mercy; the Legion is self-serving, seeking only to not go down to the pit to encounter the Wrath of God to come upon demons and those who did not surrender to the gift of God’s grace through His Son.

Daniel 3:26 “26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he answered and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.”

Hebrews 7:1–2 “1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.”

As soon as the man is delivered from the Legion, the herd of pigs goes wild, exhibiting the demons’ presence and nature to torture and destroy. Eventually the herd ends up running down the embankment and running off the clift, drowning in the Sea of Galilee.

Do I trust God’s redeeming work and presence in my life?

How should I respond to the Son of the Most High God?

The world is the battlefield in a spiritual battle, where we are called to take up arms. Either we stand for God or we stand for the enemies of God.

The Lord has given us two way to respond:

We may plead with Jesus Christ, through the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit to give us new life, confessing our sin, and professing that Jesus Christ is LORD and Savior of our lives; casting all sin away.

We reject his grace and mercy, and face the consequence of our actions and choices.

If we hear this today, may we not discard it, but take it to heart.

Prayer of Repentance and Petition.