Mark 5:13

New Living Translation

So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

For Meditation

On the lake before Jesus got to this demoniac, a fierce storm came upon Jesus and His disciples that threatened to drown them (Mark 4:37). Now they are on the other side of the lake, and a storm like none other raged in a man and threatened his life every day (5:1-5).

Do you want to know how fierce this storm was? Read Verve 13 slowly with me.

The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

Just stop and think about the power and force of the legion of demons that left the man and entered the 2,000 pigs on the hillside near the point of confrontation with Jesus. Reflect on the speed the pigs packed when the demons possessed them. What tornado could equal its velocity? Imagine the sight of 2,000 pigs rushing downhill and into the lake. How disturbed did the sea get when they entered?

Now, bring this imagery to the demoniac before Jesus came to his rescue. Consider all that power, the sheer force of the demons’ command in him, the rush and speed of their move in him as he ruled the tombs and the surrounding hills (5). Is there any wonder no one could restrain him? Can you understand why he broke every chain the people put on his wrist and the shackles he snapped out of—cutting himself with sharp stones, feeling no pain? 

What a pathetic man this demoniac was — what a hopelessly devastating situation he lived in, but for Jesus!

Nothing sounds sweeter than the word but in this sentence. It is the same delightful sound of the But in Ephesians 2:4—the preposition that changes the situation of every sinner to that of a saint.

We all were like this demoniac under our periscope today but for the mercy and grace of God through Christ Jesus. Argue however you like and for as long as you want. You cannot fully understand God’s redeeming grace until you see yourself as a prisoner of sin and death, controlled by the enemy of your soul. You lived in the tombs, waiting for the day they would put you in one of them and into hell. Like the man, sin had already shackled you, so you needed no chains to restrain your hedonistic lifestyle. 

But because of his great love for [you], God, who is rich in mercy, made [you] alive with Christ even when [you] were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5).

He rescued [you] from the dominion of darkness and brought [you] into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom [you] have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13).

He has accomplished his mission in you (Luke 4:18-19). 

So, can you celebrate your redemption through Christ Jesus today and every other day? And as you do, can you tell your story to bless someone languishing in darkness like you were? Do you taste the honey flow of grace He has lavished on you (Ephesians 1:8)? What is restraining you from giving Him pure worship—the offering of your body as a living sacrifice on His altar now (Romans 12:1)?