Recently, Hollywood produced an intense thriller/horror movie titled "Legion." Although I didn't see the film myself, I can tell you from the trailers what inspired the name. Unless I'm mistaken, the movie was about demons and the coming of Christ/the apocalypse. Assuming I'm correct, I'd postulate the story was named after the demons whom once had possessed a man during Jesus' day; together, all the demons called themselves Legion.
This story appears in three of the four gospels but I think Mark showed it nicely.
The man possessed by Legion lived in the outskirts of Gerasenes and his story is important because it shows the difference in a person's life after an encounter with Jesus.
Sometimes, it's easy to dismiss a person's testimony as valid or worthwhile because we just don't think they were a bad enough person--but oh how in awe of God we stand when a former drag queen or heroin junkie shares what God has done for them. With this guy, we not only see how low on the social totem pole he was, but we can also see ourselves down there with him.
This man had problems. He avoided people as much as he could, shown by his living in a graveyard of all places, and when he did run into someone at the market or wherever, he had a tendency to get arrested. When his hands and feet would be chained, he found ways to break free, usually by wrestling with his restraints and those trying to subdue him until he finally broke loose. In other words, he was one of those crazy people who would get jabbed with a sedative even while he was in a straight jacket. From a secular standpoint, it's not clear what was making him looney but maybe he was doping up on some opium or he spent too much time picking the weed from the wheat.
As if his bad trips or psychotic episodes weren't enough, this guy was clinically depressed. All day, he'd cry and moan and wail in despair, and when his situation was more than he could bear (which it usually was), he would carve his own flesh for the sake of relief. That's right, he was a cutter, and he might even have been suicidal.
Note the change in the next verses. While the previous ones described habitual actions, the next few describe one brief interaction with Jesus. That's all it takes for those who are willing to change.
When the man was at his lowest point, at his darkest hour, that's when he found hope. From a distance, he saw Jesus and something deep inside him stirred. Like many of us, the man was afraid of the bubbling sensation welling up in the pit of his stomach, the goosebumps prickling the hairs on his arms and legs, and the helplessness he felt as the last remnants of his former self gurgled down the drain. He reacted in anger and confusion, pleading to know why Jesus would want a wretch like him.
And Jesus gave him the power to change from the wild, uncontrollable beast he had been before. He cast out the demon.
But the man didn't struggle with just one demon; there were many. The same is true for us because there's never just one area of our life that needs work, one sin that needs repenting from.
Because of the power of Jesus, the man's problems went away. His insanity and self-worth issues drowned entirely, and he found healing in Jesus. He put on clothes and he turned his life around entirely, a complete about-face.
When a person accepts Jesus into their life, the person they become is a stark contrast to the person they were. When people see this, they talk amongst themselves, and slowly, they are curious about what happened. It startles many people to see that Jesus turned the sinner they knew into the saint they see, even today.
People never know how to react when they encounter Jesus' great love and power, so they do the only thing they know how. They drive Jesus away, in the case of this man, literally, but in our lives, we see them try to push Jesus out of the picture by tempting us with the sin that dominates their lives. Sin separates us from God, and remember that it was while the man was still living in sin that he was at distance from Jesus.
The man, like anyone who has experienced Jesus one-on-one, craved more. He was on top of the world, and as far as he was concerned, Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life. The passion the man showed is characteristic of all recent converts, and for many believers, it's as inspiring as it is humbling. If only we could reignite the fire we had when we first believed, we'd be so much happier with where God leads us.
Jesus told the man to go tell his story, being sure to include how much the Lord did for him, and how God had mercy on him. Interestingly, Jesus didn't tell the man to go to church on Sundays, or to worship him or any of that jazz. He just instructed the dude to share his testimony.
The instructions Jesus gave apply to us also. Because we have been forgiven and cleansed of our many, many sins, we are obligated to tell our family and friends what God has done in our lives. We don't need some big long sermon about repentance or salvation. All we need to do to share the good news in which we place our faith, is to look at what God has done in our own life. No one can tell you your testimony is not true, because it's what actually happened how you believe it happened.
I bet you'll be surprised what happens when you share what God has done in your life. The people are amazed.
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