Who was the first missionary among non-Jewish peoples? The answers we are likely to receive from this question are either the apostle Peter or the apostle Paul. But as this story makes clear, neither of them was the first. It was the man who was delivered from a battalion of demons! Immediately following his deliverance, Jesus turned down his request to follow him in the company of his other disciples. Instead Jesus instructed him, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. In fact he didn’t stop there but traveled to the Ten Towns located East of the Jordan in Gentile territory.

The story presents us with a dramatic transformation in this man’s life resulting from his encounter with Jesus. He was well known, greatly feared and socially outcast. As such, he became a most effective witness to the power of Jesus to deliver and restore a person to wholeness, especially among those who had known him personally, or knew about him because of the stories that had circulated in the region.

DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR
Jesus and his disciples arrive on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee after a stormy night passage, but one in which the disciples have witnessed the power of Jesus to rebuke and calm the raging waters. They respond in amazement, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Arriving exhausted after their nighttime ordeal, they now witness a further demonstration of Jesus’ power over destructive forces. Demonic influences within the life of an individual are as destructive as the force of circumstances that surround us.
As soon as Jesus steps ashore the demon-possessed man approaches them. His very appearance gives cause for alarm; disheveled, dirty, and undressed. For a long time he had been a social outcast, living in the tombs, as a dead man among the dead. The cemetery was the only place that provided him with sanctuary, because people avoided such places.
Jesus and the demonized man, standing face to face, represents not just human contact but a spiritual encounter. The man is a mess not just physically, but spiritually and psychologically. This man needs more than sympathy and counseling; he needs deliverance from the powerful forces that have been tearing him apart for so many years. His community had tried in vain to subdue him by chaining him like a wild animal and placing him under guard. But the demons within had given him superhuman strength sufficient to break the chains. As far as his people were concerned, he was a hopeless case.

DRAMATIC DELIVERANCE
When confronted by the Jesus, the demonic is forced to come out into the open. Sometimes formal religion can blind us to spiritual reality. The demon-possessed man, who was not even a Jew, has a clearer understanding of who Jesus is than either the Jewish religious leaders or Jesus’ own disciples. “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High?” He immediately realized that this was no casual encounter, but was a spiritual confrontation.
Deliverance for the man is torture to the demons as they are overpowered and dispossessed. The demonized man has been so torn apart by the powers of evil that rage within him that it is a struggle for him to find release after so many years. When Jesus asks his name, he reveals that the demons have now destroyed any sense of personhood when he responds, “My name is Legion.”
Then comes the puzzling response of the demons, pleading not to be sent into the Abyss, or place of departed spirits, but to be allowed to take possession of the pigs. What can we learn from this bizarre incident? First, the fact that a large herd immediately stampeded over the cliff is evidence of the extent of the infestation of the demonic from which the man had been delivered. Second, for Jews, pigs were regarded as unclean animals. The fact that they are drowned as they stampede into the sea, is evidence of their evil influence being dramatically terminated. Third, it brings reassurance to the man that his deliverance is assured.
When those who had been tending the pigs run into town and throughout the surrounding countryside to report what has happened, the people gather to learn more. Their neighbors who had witnessed the event describe what happened. Evidently, the crowd of locals is more impressed with the change in the man it knew to have been demon-possessed than concerned with the loss of their pork and livelihood! They find the man sitting at the feet of Jesus, dressed and in his right mind. The transformation in him causes them to be filled with reverential fear.

PUBLIC DECLARATION
Any individual who has experienced such a dramatic deliverance and resulting transformation has a ready audience among those who cannot deny the change that has taken place. His place of maximum effectiveness as a witness to the power of the gospel is among his own people. That is the reason why Jesus declines his appeal to join the band of disciples. Jesus did not send him away because he was rejecting him, but because he was commissioning him. “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” While Jesus calls some to leave their homes and livelihood to follow him, for most people, his call is to remain where they are and to witness where God has already placed them.
The presence and power of the demonic is evident in every age, but manifests itself in different forms. It may be within individuals or the very structures of our society. Sometimes as one event leads to another with a seemingly inescapable escalation in which the demonic takes over, with violence begetting violence.

A FURTHER THOUGHT
As Western societies witness the continuing collapse of Christendom, and it being replaced by religious pluralism and a resurgent neo-paganism, we may see the demonic manifested in a more overt manner. In the face of such malevolent challenges the followers of Christ must re-affirm their belief in the Gospel of the reign of God that is indeed the power of God for salvation to all who believe. Just as Christ drove out the regiment of demons from the man in our story, so we can today proclaim the victory of Christ on the Cross. We are not trapped in the irresolvable tension of a dualistic struggle between good and evil. The death, resurrection and ascension of Christ have ensured the ultimate outcome. We need to learn to live in the experience of that victory.