Send Us into the Swine - Mark 5:12

Mark wrote how Jesus and His disciples, “came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes, And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains. Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the most high God? I adjure you by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there near unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding”, and in chapter five and verse twelve of his book, Mark shares how, “all the devils besought him, saying, send us into the swine” where we read:

And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

The verse reads, “And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, …” Mark began with the words, “and all the devils” or “and each, every, the whole and everyone of the evil spirits or demons” “besought him” which means “begged, entreated and prayed to Jesus”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “send us” or “dismiss and make us depart” “into the swine” which means “into the hogs or pigs”. Mark shared how all of the “unclean spirits” begged Jesus to allow them to go into the “pigs”.

The verse goes on to say, “... that we may enter into them.” Mark added the words, “that we may enter” which means “so the unclean spirits might come in, make entrance and go” “into them” which means “into the hogs or pigs”. Mark shared how the “unclean spirits” desired to “possess” the “hogs” upon the mountainous area.

When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we see how these “demons” were in an inferior position to Jesus. They feared Him so greatly that they “begged” Him to allow them to go into “hogs” upon a hill rather than being sent out of their “country”. God rules over all “darkness”, and when a person has been influenced, possessed and controlled by “evil spirits”, the only way to set them free is to bring them to Jesus. Jesus Christ came into the world to destroy the “works of evil”, and when people yield their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”, He will drive out all wickedness and purify their lives so they may inherit eternal and everlasting life with Him.

Next time Mark shares how, “gave them leave” and they “were choked in the sea”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".