I’ve been reading through Mark, but only a pericope or two at a time, repeatedly. I’m trying to read it like someone who’s never heard of this Jesus guy before and to keep an eye on the broader story Mark is telling. When I came to the account of Gadarene demoniac, a familiar story I’m quite fond of, I saw something on my third pass through I would probably not have seen if I wasn’t reading with a pen in my hand.
You might want to read the whole passage in Mark 5, but here’s a quick recap:
Jesus comes upon a man possessed by many demons, who is so strong he can break chains. He runs up to Jesus and says, “Please, Jesus, don’t hurt me!” So Jesus allows the demons to go into a herd of pigs (who promptly drown themselves). The herdsmen run into town and tell what happened, and the people come and ask Jesus to leave. The man freed from the demons wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus tells him to go home and share what God has done.
It’s a familiar story; you probably could have written that recap cold. Which is the problem. Slowing down, making myself dig for details, I saw something I’d never noticed before that really reached out and grabbed me.
My third pass through the passage, I’m looking for things I’ve noticed being repeated. I get to verse 17 and see the word “beg.” Didn’t I see that above? Yes.
9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
Then the townspeople arrive.
16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
Two begs. Keep reading, and there I see one more.
18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
We assume authors use the same term for a reason and look for why, so what’s going on in this passage?
The demonic Legion begs Jesus “not to send them out of the country”, and Jesus complies. The townspeople beg Jesus “to depart from their region,” and he complies.
The freed victim of the demons begs Jesus “that he might be with him.” He just wants to go with Jesus, to be with the one who saved him. But to this request, Jesus says no.
19 And he did not permit him but 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.”
Jesus granted the request of the demons. He granted the request of the people who were afraid of what Jesus would do next. Why did he reject the request of the man who just wanted to be with him?
Because he’s now part of the mission. “Go and tell how much the Lord has done for you.” Once we belong to Jesus, his mission is our mission. Our short-term desires are less important than the long-term good.
20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
God does not waste anything. This man’s suffering now proclaims the gospel.
And when God doesn’t give me what I beg for, it’s not because he’s hard-hearted or tight-fisted. It’s because there’s a mission, and my path is to further that mission, even if it’s a little uncomfortable for a while.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2Cor 4:16-18)
Image: Mosaic of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, dating to the sixth century AD
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