Mark 3:1-20
They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Ger'asenes.
And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones.
And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; and crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me."
For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"
And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many."
And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country.
Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him, "Send us to the swine, let us enter them."
So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.
The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened.
And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the legion; and they were afraid.
And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine.
And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their neighborhood.
And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
But he refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decap'olis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.
Homily:
What is interesting about this passage was how 3 characters begged and asked of Jesus - 2 were granted, one was refused.
First the unclean spirit known as Legion begged - "Send us to the swine, let us enter them."
He gave them leave.
Secondly, the people of the city "began to beg Jesus to depart from their neighborhood."
He got into the boat.
Lastly, the man who had been possessed with demons "begged him that he might be with him".
Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
Many other times in the bible, Jesus asked those he healed not to tell anyone, but in this case, he asked that the good news should be shared.
In the times when he asked those he healed to tell no one, they spread the good news even more.
This time, when the people wanted him out of their neighborhood, he asked that the good news be shared and it was.
And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decap'olis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.
Ask and you shall receive, is not predicated on the state of being that asks, but on the giver.
Even those that do not do the will of God can ask and receive. But what do they ask for?
If you do not want Jesus within you, He will get in the boat and leave. But because He loves you so much, He will keep your conscience alive within, to remind you of all God has done and still wants to do for you.
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” - Mark 2:17
Dear Lord, never depart from me.
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