An Unlikely Disciple

WHAT a frightening sight as Jesus steps ashore! Two unusually fierce men come out from the nearby cemetery and run toward him. They are demon possessed. Since one of them is possibly more violent than the other and has suffered much longer under demon control, he becomes the focus of attention.

For a long time this pitiful man has been living naked among the tombs. Continually, day and night, he cries out and slashes himself with stones. He is so violent that nobody has the courage to pass that way on the road. Attempts have been made to bind him, but he tears the chains apart and breaks the irons off his feet. Nobody has the strength to subdue him.

As the man approaches Jesus and falls at his feet, the demons controlling him make him scream: "What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I put you under oath not to torment me."

"Come out of the man, you unclean spirit," Jesus keeps saying. But then Jesus asks: "What is your name?"

"My name is Legion, because there are so many of us," is the reply. The demons revel in seeing the sufferings of those they are able to possess, apparently taking delight in ganging up on them in a cowardly mob spirit. But confronted with Jesus, they beg not to be sent into the abyss. We again see that Jesus had great power; he was able to conquer even vicious demons. this also reveals that the demons are aware that their abyssing along with that of their leader, Satan the Devil, is God's eventual judgment for them.

Next time: Conclusion of An Unlikely Disciple

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991