What is Your Name? - Legion - Mark 5:9

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 in chapter five and verse nine of his book, Mark shares how Jesus said, “what is your name?” to which he answered “Legion” where we read:

And he asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

The verse reads, “And he asked him, What is your name?” Mark began with the words, “and he asked him” or “and Jesus questioned the unclean spirits within the man”, “what is your name” or “what is the name by which you are identified”? Mark shared how Jesus questioned the “unclean spirit” within the man as to what his name was.

The verse goes on to say, “And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.” Mark continued with the words, “and he answered” which means “and the man with the unclean spirit responded and began to answer by”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “My name” which means “the unclean spirit's name by which he was identified” “is Legion” or “which consisted of sixty eight hundred and twenty six men”: “for we are many” which means “because, since and on account that the unclean spirits within the man were great in number, plenteous and most abundant”. Mark shared how the man answered Jesus by declaring his name was “Legion” because there were over “six thousand” evil spirits within him.

When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we see how the man's name identified the massive number of “wicked spirits” within him. A “Legion” was over six thousand Roman soldiers, and even as they were in allegiance to their commanders, these “unclean spirits” were loyal to their leader “the devil”. This man was tortured by these “wicked and evil spirits”, and Jesus was going to take control over all of them. No one is more powerful than Jesus, and regardless of how “tormented” by “evil” a person may be, by “yielding” one's life to Jesus Christ, a person can and will be “saved” and inherit “everlasting life” with God.

Next time Mark shares how the man, “besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country”, 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".