My name is ….
God is great. Nothing is impossible for Him. Jesus shows us how great God is and what a good mood God is in.
Imagine this. One day Jesus arrives in the country of Gerasenes by boat. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he always broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones. This is one terrifying dude. See him on the street and you are definitely crossing over to the other side.
When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then bellowed in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”)
Jesus asked him to tell Him his name. He replied, “My name is Mob. I’m a rioting mob.” Then he desperately begged Jesus not to banish them from the country. A large herd of pigs was browsing and rooting on a nearby hill. The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs so we can live in them.” Jesus gave the order. But it was even worse for the pigs than for the man. Crazed, they stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. Everyone wanted to see what had happened. They came up to Jesus and saw the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man.
Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. At first they were in awe—and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but he wouldn’t let him. Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you.” The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town.
Jesus is in control, always. There is no nasty demon that He can’t send packing. They obey him and we must know it.
“Tell me your name.” ~~Jesus to the demons in a man. (Mark 5:9-10)
Jesus has authority over everything. To the demons He says “Get out” and they do. They know who Jesus is. They obey Him.
ow, after all that time. Imagine what Phillip has seen Jesus do firsthand. How the words of our Lord must have stung. But it wasn’t cruelty. It was love.
