17

Dominating Powers
(Mark 5:1–20)

They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 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. Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. (5:1–20)

Why did the Lord Jesus Christ come into this world? The apostle John answered that question with this succinct statement: “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Thus, the Messiah came to vanquish Satan, the usurping prince of this world, in order to rescue sinners from spiritual bondage and usher them into the kingdom of God (cf. Mark 1:14–15; Luke 19:10; Eph. 2:1–10; Col. 1:13–14). As early as Genesis 3:15, in the aftermath of mankind’s fall into sin, God had promised to send a deliverer who would one day crush the serpent’s head. That promise was ultimately fulfilled at the cross, where Christ simultaneously defeated Satan, sin, and death (John 12:31–32; 16:11; Col. 2:14–15). The Lord Jesus died, not as a helpless victim but as the heroic victor, “that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Heb. 2:14–15; cf. 1 Cor. 15:55–57). But the cross was not the only place where Jesus demonstrated sovereign power over Satan and his demon realm. At the outset of His ministry, when He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, Jesus decisively defeated His archenemy (cf. Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1–13). The Lord subsequently went on the offensive against the powers of darkness (cf. Mark 1:32; Luke 10:19). His earthly ministry sparked an outburst of demonic activity unlike anything before or since, as fallen angels shrieked out in terror whenever they were in His presence (cf. Mark 3:11). Jesus dominated them wherever He found them. They did not attack Him; He attacked them, directly and forcefully, and compelled them to succumb to His commands. The power He exercised over them was absolute, so that in spite of their resistant hatred for Him, they were immediately bound to succumb to His demands.

Although some first-century Jews, like others throughout history, attempted to perform exorcisms through various rituals and formulas, they had no real success (cf. Acts 19:13–16). That Jesus commanded demons with such invincible power, and without failure, was a reality the people found astonishing. As the crowd exclaimed in Mark 1:27, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” The apparent ease with which He drove out the forces of darkness from the possessed led His enemies to allege that He was actually in league with Satan (3:22). Jesus exposed the obvious folly of such accusations, explaining that His power came from God:

Jesus’ point was unmistakable: If He were in league with Satan, He would not be attacking Satan’s kingdom. He cast out demons, not because He was colluding with Satan but because He was empowered by the only one stronger than Satan—namely, God Himself. In Matthew 12:28, He attributed this divine power specifically to the Spirit of God. It was because Jesus possessed divine power that He could exhibit such absolute authority over Satan’s domain. (The “finger of God” was an Old Testament reference to God’s power [cf. Ex. 8:19].) His ability to wield that kind of authority proved Him to be the messianic King and the Son of God (cf. Mark 1:1).

Of all the accounts where demons are confronted and cast out, the most dramatic is unquestionably the scene recorded in this passage (Mark 5:1–20; cf. Matt. 8:28–34; Luke 8:26–39). In the biblical record, not since God cast Satan and his rebellious angels out of heaven (cf. Rev. 12:7–12) had so many demons been simultaneously displaced by divine command. Perhaps nothing of this magnitude will occur again until Satan and his forces are bound for a thousand years and subsequently thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:2, 7–10; cf. Isa. 24:21–23).

In the previous passage (Mark 4:35–41), Jesus demonstrated His power over the forces of the natural world by His complete control of the wind and waves. In this passage (5:1–20), He exercised His absolute sovereignty over the forces of the supernatural realm. The account illustrates three spiritual forces at work: the destructive power of demons, the delivering power of deity, and the damning power of depravity.

THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF DEMONS

They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” (5:1–7)

It had been both an exhausting and exhilarating night for Jesus’ disciples. When they set out in their boats from Capernaum the previous evening, they expected to sail quietly across the Sea of Galilee. Instead, they encountered the most unforgettable storm they had ever experienced. But it was not the force of the wind or magnitude of the waves that made their harrowing journey so memorable. In the midst of the tempest, Jesus “rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm” (4:39). The fury of the storm caused them momentary panic, but the sovereign omnipotence of Jesus produced a far more profound fear in their hearts. Astonished, they asked themselves a question to which they already knew the answer, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (v. 41).

The disciples were undoubtedly still in a state of shock and awe when, early the next morning, they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. According to Luke, this predominantly Gentile region was “opposite Galilee” (Luke 8:26), running along the eastern shore of the lake. Both Mark and Luke called it the country of the Gerasenes (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26), while Matthew referred to it as “the country of the Gadarenes” (Matt. 8:28). Both designations are correct. Mark and Luke were evidently referring to the small village of Khersa (or Gersa, modern-day Kursi), located by the Sea of Galilee near the place Jesus and His disciples landed, about six miles from Capernaum. Matthew was referencing the larger town of Gadara, situated to the southeast of Gersa, which gave the region its name and may have been its main city.

The disciples likely thought they had traveled across the lake as they had done before to find some reprieve from the relentless crowds. Jesus, however, knew He had a divine appointment to keep. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him. No sooner had the disciples reached the shore and docked their boats than a raging lunatic came racing down the slope to the edge of the lake to meet them. Matthew 8:28 indicates there were actually two such men. Though Mark and Luke chose to focus solely on the man with whom Jesus spoke, nothing in their accounts contradicts the material found in Matthew. (For an example of how the three Synoptic Gospels can be harmonized regarding this account, see John MacArthur, One Perfect Life [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012], 180–82.)

That the man had an unclean spirit indicates he was demon-possessed—a point reiterated in verse 15. When the New Testament speaks of those “with an unclean spirit” (cf. Mark 1:23; 7:25), those who “have a demon” (cf. Matt. 11:18; Mark 3:22, Luke 4:33; 7:33; 8:27; John 7:20; 8:48, 49, 52; 10:20), or those who are “demon-possessed” (cf. Matt. 4:24; 8:16, 28, 33; 9:32; 12:22; 15:22; Mark 1:32; 5:15–16, 18; Luke 8:36; John 10:21), it is describing people who were indwelt, and thus controlled and tormented by evil, fallen angels. It is because demons indwell their victims (cf. Luke 8:30) that Jesus cast them out thus liberating the afflicted person (Matt. 8:16; 9:33; 12:24, 28; Mark 1:34; cf. Matt. 8:32; Mark 5:8, 13). Though demons generally work in society through the promotion of error, lies, false religion (1 Tim. 4:1; cf. 1 Cor. 10:20–21), and apostasy (1 Tim. 4:1–3; cf. James 3:13–16), demon possession is an extreme form of individualized subjugation, wherein one or more evil spirits control a person’s mind, body, and voice. While demon possession can cause physical symptoms (cf. Matt. 9:32; 12:22; 17:14–15; Mark 1:26; 5:5; Luke 8:27; 9:42), it is a supernatural phenomenon that goes beyond scientific, psychological, or medical explanation. It should be added that, when Scripture speaks of the power of fallen angels, it does so to demonstrate the infinitely greater power of God (cf. Eph. 1:21). This is especially true in the ministry of Jesus, where the emphasis is on Christ’s power over the spirits of darkness. Those who belong to Jesus Christ are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. They need not fear demon possession because they are the temple of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 6:19–20). And as the apostle John told his readers, “Greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

In describing the demon-possessed man, Mark began by noting that he had his dwelling among the tombs. In ancient times, burial chambers were often carved out of the hillside, and a number of such tombs have been discovered near Khersa. The Jews generally avoided lingering near tombs for fear of becoming ceremonially unclean by touching a dead body (cf. Num. 19:11). Here, in a Gentile region was a demon-possessed man who was more comfortable among the dead than among the living. Luke adds that he “had not put on any clothing for a long time” (Luke 8:27). The man’s nakedness not only indicated sexual perversion (cf. Lev. 18:16–19; 20:11, 17–21) and shame (cf. Gen. 3:7; Rev. 3:18), it also illustrated the physical torment he suffered at the hands of the demons who possessed him, since he was constantly exposed to the natural elements. The raucous approach of this Gentile madman, along with his frenetic companion, must have severely startled the disembarking disciples. After a traumatic night on the lake, they were once again shocked and alarmed by the sudden appearance of this dangerous lunatic and his friend.

Recognizing the obvious threat posed by the man, the local residents had tried repeatedly to restrain him, unsuccessfully. No one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Under demonic domination, the man was a supernaturally strong, raging, self-mutilating, deviant madman. To this startling description, Luke 8:29 adds that he had been “driven by the demon into the desert,” and Matthew 8:28 notes that he and his companion were “so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.” Seated on their hillside perch, they watched as Jesus and His disciples reached the shore and began to disembark. Likely thinking they had new victims to terrify, the naked man and his companion raced down the slope toward the shore, screaming and yelling.

But waiting on the shore this time was the Son of God. Seeing Jesus from a distance, the demons who indwelt this man could sense the presence of the glorious King of the universe and they panicked. They verbalized their fear through the voice of the tortured soul, who screamed in terror (cf. Luke 8:28) as he ran up and bowed down before Him. The word for bow (proskuneō) means to worship. This reverence was not motivated by repentance (since demons cannot repent) but out of the horrifying recognition of their heavenly sovereign (cf. James. 2:19). Compelled by sheer dread, the demons were utterly subdued before their Judge. What no human being could tame, even through the use of ropes and chains, Jesus restrained with nothing more than His presence.

The demons addressed Jesus through the man’s voice. Shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” As fallen angels who served God from their creation until they joined Satan’s rebellion and were cast out of heaven, they knew exactly who Jesus was: the Son of the Most High God. The name Most High God is a glorious title used throughout Scripture to accentuate God’s absolute sovereignty over all other powers (cf. Gen. 14:19; Deut. 32:8; 2 Sam. 22:14; Pss. 18:13; 21:7; 47:2; 57:2; 78:35, 56; 97:9; Lam. 3:38; Dan. 3:26; 5:18, 21; Acts 16:17; Heb. 7:1). That Jesus is the Son of the Most High God means that He possesses the same authority and essence or nature as His Father (cf. Luke 1:32, 35; John 10:30).

Trembling in the presence of their divine Judge, the demons feared Jesus might immediately cast them into the bottomless pit where other fallen angels were held captive (Luke 8:31; cf. 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 9:1–12). But they also assumed that they were not destined for final incarceration until the end of human history (cf. Rev. 20:7–10). Aware of God’s eschatological timetable and believing their appointed day of punishment to still be future, they blurted out, “What business do we have with each other?” and also, “Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matt. 8:29). As they groveled before Jesus, all they could do was plead for a little more time before being sentenced to the pit. Thus, one of the demons cried out on behalf of the whole host, “I implore You by God, do not torment me!” Though the time of final judgment for fallen angels has not yet come, their reign of terror on earth has its end. One day Satan and his entire host will be cast into the lake of fire, in which they will suffer eternal torment (cf. Matt. 25:41; Rev. 14:11).

THE DELIVERING POWER OF DEITY

For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 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. Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. (5:8–16)

The demons were fully acquainted with the Son of God and aware of their inability to resist His power. They had no option but to leave their human victim, for Jesus had been saying to him (namely, the fallen angel who in verse 7 had spoken on behalf of the entire demon host), “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” In the process of casting out the demon, Jesus paused to ask him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” That name, of course, was not the man’s name but the title taken by the demon forces who indwelt the man. Legion is a military designation used to identify groups of soldiers. At that time, a Roman legion consisted of up to six thousand soldiers, demonstrating just how “many demons had entered him” (Luke 8:30; cf. Matt. 12:43–45). Jesus demanded the name of these demons for one simple reason: to demonstrate the extent of His power over the realm of Satan. He not only had the authority to cast out a solitary demon but even an entire horde. Fallen angels, whether they numbered few or many, were under the control of His will and incomparable power.

The spokesman for the demons, after divulging their name, began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Luke 8:31 adds, “They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.” Jesus could have exiled them to any place He wanted. Their desire was to stay in that Gentile region, evidently to continue operating in and through the local culture and pagan religious practices. Noticing a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain, they saw a possible escape. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” The request of the demons was bizarre, reflecting the desperation caused by both their realization that they could not stay where they were and their recognition that they might be cast into the abyss if they did not come up with a quick alternative. If they could no longer wreak havoc through the man, they would do so through a herd of pigs. That would be temporary, they likely thought, until they could find other human victims.

It is important to note that, if it had been His desire, Jesus could have immediately sent these demons to the abyss. That He chose not to do so was neither a sign of compromise nor compassion toward these evil spirits. The Lord Jesus had another purpose for them to fulfill, and so He gave them permission to enter the swine. As powerful as they are, Satan and his demonic forces can do nothing outside of what God either commands or permits them to do (cf. Judg. 9:23; 1 Sam. 16:14; 1 Kings 22:19–23; Job 1:9–11; 2:3–6; Isa. 37:7; Luke 22:31; 2 Cor. 12:7–8; Rev. 20:1–3). Certainly, God is not the author of evil (James 1:13). Yet even the chaos and corruption produced by evil spirits fits within His sovereign plan (cf. Prov. 16:4; Isa. 45:7; Lam. 3:38)—in which all things work together both for His glory and for the spiritual good of those who belong to Him (cf. Rom. 8:28). By granting permission for these demons to go into the herd of pigs, Jesus was allowing them to put on display the true magnitude of their destructive and deadly force. In so doing, He also highlighted the glorious superiority of His own power.

With permission received, the demons did not hesitate to relocate. 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 dramatic scene provided stunning, undeniable proof that the evil spirits had left the man. It similarly demonstrated their damaging power on a massive scale; the fact that roughly two thousand pigs were affected suggests that an equivalent number of demons were cast out of the man. More importantly, it demonstrated the extent of Jesus’ authority over them. The demons had no choice but to comply with His sovereign command. Though fallen angels are exceptionally powerful beings (cf. 2 Kings 19:35; Ps. 103:20; 2 Peter 2:11), they instantly submitted to the omnipotent authority of the divine Son.

Thus, the unclean spirits were cast into a herd of unclean animals (Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8); once there, they caused a massive stampede, as the pigs charged violently down a slope and drowned in the lake. Some people wonder why Jesus would allow so many animals to be killed in such dramatic fashion. Several points might be made in response. First, and most obviously, Jesus did not kill the pigs; the demons did. That God sovereignly permits Satan and his agents to act wickedly does not mean that God is responsible for their sinful actions (cf. James 1:13). Second, the Lord’s focus was on rescuing the man. The loss of the pigs represented a relatively small sacrifice in comparison to the human life that was recovered when the demons were expelled. Third, all of the swine would have eventually been slaughtered anyway, since they were being raised for food. Though it hastened their deaths, the drowning of the swine did not destroy their meat. The herd’s owners undoubtedly recovered much of it by retrieving the dead pigs from the water, butchering their meat and sending it to market. Finally, to become fixated on what happened to the pigs is to fall far below the point of this event, which is that the demon forces were so numerous and violent that, within moments of their expulsion from the man, they were able to occupy and drown a multitude of otherwise impersonal beasts. The only power that could control them was that of the Lord Jesus.

Understandably alarmed by what they had just witnessed, the herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. According to Matthew 8:33, they “reported everything,” indicating that even they realized the connection between the man’s deliverance and the herd’s traumatic demise. The alarming report—from the untamable madman bowing before Jesus to the pigs charging recklessly into the sea—piqued the curiosity of the local residents, who hurried to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion.” When they arrived on the scene, they saw the former demon-possessed lunatic and local menace, not raging violently as always but sitting down, clothed and in his right mind. What a startling evidence of the total transformation that had taken place in his life! Undoubtedly, Jesus had explained the gospel to him, so that he had been delivered not only from demons but also from sin and hell. If the townspeople were at all concerned about the pigs, they failed to mention anything about them. Instead, their focus was on Jesus and on the man who had been dramatically delivered from a demon horde.

Given the man’s miraculous deliverance, one might expect the people to respond with relief, gratitude, and worship. In reality, they reacted with utter dread. Their fear had previously been directed toward the demon-possessed man who terrorized the countryside. But he was clearly no longer a threat. So what made them afraid? They became frightened as they heard those who had seen it explain to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. Frightened translates a form of the Greek word phobeō, referring to extreme fear or terror (the related noun phobos is the root of the English word “phobia”). In the same way the disciples had been initially terrorized by the raging sea, only to experience a far greater fear when they realized they were in the presence of deity (Mark 4:40), so it was for these townspeople. Their fear of the man was gone; in its place was the terrifying dread that accompanies a recognition of being in the presence of God, who has power over spiritual beings. The disciples were frightened by the storm but more frightened by Jesus after He calmed the storm (cf. Luke 8:25). The next day, the local people were initially frightened by the demoniac, but they were far more fearful of Jesus when they became aware of His supernatural power.

THE DAMNING POWER OF DEPRAVITY

And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. (5:17–20)

One would expect such a dramatic miracle to produce a spontaneous revival in that region. Instead, the response of the people was immediate rejection. Motivated by fear, they began to implore Him to leave their region. The word implore translates a form of the Greek verb parakaleō, meaning to entreat or beseech. In a tragic twist, the demons implored Jesus to let them stay in that country (v. 10) while the people implored Jesus to leave (v. 17). Their reaction revealed the calloused depravity of their lost condition (cf. John 3:19; 2 Cor. 4:4). They preferred the company of dangerous demons to that of the divine Deliverer.

In their rejection of the Lord Jesus, the people stand as an instructive illustration of the power of unbelief. The astonishing miracle Jesus performed did not lead them to faith in Him as Lord and Messiah. In fact, it had the opposite effect. No one could deny that He had displayed divine power. Nor did anyone doubt the transformation of the former demoniac. (Matt. 8:33 implies that his companion was also delivered.) Yet, in the face of such undeniable evidence, their hearts remained cold and impenetrable. Confronted with the presence of God the Son, and gripped with fear, they begged Him to leave their shores immediately. Earlier, Jesus had conceded the request of the terrified demons, allowing them to go into the pigs. Here He yielded to the wishes of the terrified residents, granting their wish for Him to depart.

Jesus and His disciples got back in their boats in order to return to Capernaum. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. In contrast to the unbelieving townspeople, the former demoniac did not want to live another day without Jesus. His tormented soul had been reborn, as clearly evidenced by his eagerness to leave everything behind to follow Christ. As a new believer, he begged the Lord to allow him to accompany Him. But Jesus had other plans for this man. Consequently, He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” Instead of bringing him back to Capernaum, the Lord commissioned this man to be a missionary where he was. As the Lord had earlier explained to His disciples, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?” (Mark 4:21). With his life dramatically transformed, the former demoniac known to all in the region would radiate the transforming glory of the gospel simply by being there and declaring what Christ had done for him.

Though he initially and understandably wanted to accompany Christ, the man faithfully submitted to Jesus’ directive. And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Traveling throughout the Gentile region east of Galilee, the former demoniac spread the news about Jesus far and wide. It is important to recognize his impact. When Jesus again visited the region around Decapolis (Mark 7:31–8:9), a massive crowd came to hear Him teach—motivated, surely, by the reports from this man. The response to his testimony was that everyone was amazed. The word amazed (a form of the Greek verb thaumazo) means “to marvel” or “to admire with wonder.” Undoubtedly many, like the disciples, found themselves asking the question, “Who is this man, that even the demons obey Him?” (cf. Mark 4:41).

The main point of this account, like the storm on the Sea of Galilee, is to underscore the divine authority of Jesus Christ. As God incarnate, He rules over both the natural and the supernatural realms. No angelic power is any match for His absolute sovereignty (cf. Eph. 1:21). Thus, those who love the Lord Jesus have nothing to fear from demonic powers (cf. Rom. 8:38). Secondly, this account also teaches an important lesson about the requirements necessary for being a faithful evangelist. The former demoniac had no formal theological training, yet he still had everything he needed to fulfill Christ’s commission for him. Having been delivered and transformed by the Lord Jesus, he was given the simple responsibility of relating the wonder of his salvation transformation to others. That same responsibility is shared by all who belong to Jesus Christ. When believers tell others about how the Savior delivered them from sin and gave them eternal life, they similarly fulfill their God-given commission to the world (cf. Matt. 28:18–19).