A terrible truth

In the conversation between Jesus and the possessed man, read Mark 5 from verse 7 to 13.

Now reread it looking closely and see that the demon possessed man refers to himself in the singular. Then notice that when he says his name is Legion, he begins to refer to himself in the plural. And Jesus will also do this in verse 13.

This sentence is where a change begins… “My name is Legion, for we are many.” No human can talk that way. The demon refers to himself in the both the singular (“my name is”) and the plural (“we are”).

My (singular) name is Legion (plural). Try it yourself. Say your name _________, and then say “I am more than a thousand people.” That is a nonsensical statement.

In the story of the father and daughter, there is the sweet truth about her sleeping. In the story of the woman bleeding, there is the profound truth that Jesus’s power is inconceivable, it is impossible for him to ever have more or less power (or goodness or love or grace).

But in the story of the man with the legion, there is a terrible truth. The demon world is non-sensical and illogical to us. It is twisted and incomprehensible beyond human reasoning.  It is convoluted and tangled and impenetrable to our God-given minds. This is an important truth.

It is a terrible truth, which is why Christians should trust nothing said about demons that is not in the Bible. What we might think we know via movies, books, experience, or the internet should always be seen through the lens of a singular demon saying he, himself, one demon, is more than a thousand demons. What we think we might know might be just one one thousandth of the real truth of evil.

The demon world is darker than we can imagine, more wicked than we can imagine, and more twisted and deceiving than we can imagine. The most important word in that sentence is deceiving. 

If all this is heavier than what you wanted to read this morning, end this moment by reading Colossians 1:13-14 and James 4:7. You are in very good, very safe hands (Colossians 1:13-14), and this truth is greater than the wickedness of a thousands demons (James 4:7).

Our God reigns (Psalm 99:1).