A Shocking Bible Verse about Demonic Possession (Mark 5: 1-20)

Mosaic of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, dating to the sixth century AD (Source: Wikipedia)

I was at Mass a few days ago, and heard what I found to be a rather shocking Bible passage. I had heard it before but perhaps I had not paid attention to all the details contained within it. It was about a man who was possessed by demons, more specifically "Legion". It is recounted in Mark 5. When I heard the details I was somewhat shocked. I knew there was a possessed man whom Jesus exorcised and the demons ran into some swine and into the ocean. That much I knew, but I wasn't aware of the entire back story. Let's break it down.

I will post the entire passage from the Bible down below. But I just want to summarize in my own words. First of all, there is a demon-possessed man from Gerasene.

Where is Gerasene?

I looked up the location of "Gerasene", i.e. where is someone from is they are a Gerasene. Wikipedia says the following:

[The] "country of the Gergesenes/Gadarenes/Gerasenes" in the New Testament Gospels refers to some location on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The name is derived from either a lakeside village, Gergesa, the next larger city, Gadara, or the best-known city in the region, Gerasa.

It shows the following picture. Of note, it is in the region of the Decapolis (a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the southeastern Levant in the first centuries BC and AD.) 

So this is where the man was from.

"Lived among the tombs."
Wait, what? He "lived among the tombs."? What does this even mean? He just lived in a graveyard among tombs. Such a strange way to live. Just imagine for a moment a man living in a graveyard all day long. Where does he get food? Where does he sleep? It's so mysterious. Why was he there? I feel he is there because the demons liked to be there around all the death.

"No one could bind him any more, even with a chain."
Wow. "No one" could bind him? That's rather incredible. It seems they had put much effort into constraining this man. His demon-possession seems to have given him extra-human strength. It's another sign of possession. To have this kind of unhuman strength, to be able to break free of fetters and chains? Think about that, it would take physical power many times greater than even the strongest man possesses. Truly incredible strength. Again, this came from the demon possession, which goes to show the power of this type of Satanic interference. This was not mere mental illness. No mentally ill person just suddenly has the strength of 10 or 20 men. This definitely fits the criteria for possession. If you look into some indicators sought out by exorcists, one of them is super-human ability such as impossible strength or ability to know things that are essentially unknowable.

"Bruising himself with stones"

Without all the other factors, this part would seem to indicate some form of self-harm mental illness. However, given the totality of the situation, it is another indicator of Satan's power over this man and his actions. The devil caused him to injure himself. What could this mean? Well, we know evil does damage to us in general, and this is just a more direct and obvious example of it. It is also a sign of possession. God wants to restore and heal us, the Devil wants to harm us and especially wants us to harm ourselves.

"He ran and worshiped him"

Despite his possession, the man immediately recognized Jesus Christ and ran towards him. This was the action and will of the man, who was hidden by his possession, the interior person. Deep down this man sought liberation from this oppression, and upon recognizing Jesus Christ, could do nothing else but run to him like a trusting child. Never doubt or question the power of Our Lord, no matter how strong it seems evil influences are around you.

"My name is Legion"

What does this name indicate? Fr. Hardon, a renowned Catholic scholar, wrote "Some of the possessed were controlled by several demons (Mark 12:43). In one case so many devils possessed a man that their name was Legion."

In Rome, a "legion" was the largest army division. It numbered approximately 5000 men. A legion was further broken down as follows (thanks to http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/romans/legion.html):

Contubernium: consisted of 8 men.

Centuria: (century) was made up of 10 contubernium with a total of 80 men commanded by a centurion.

Cohorts: (cohort) included 6 centurie, a total of 480 men.

Legio: (Legion) consisted of 10 cohorts, about 5,000 men.

    Eques Legionis: Each legio had a cavarly unit of 120 attached to them.

That was just a little side note there. But it shows the gravity of the situation. It's like saying he was possessed by 5,000 demons. But more important than showing the power of the demons, it shows the power of Christ to overcome evil. No amount is even a tiny blip to Christ. As some saint once put it, God's mercy is like a raging furnace into which a tiny drop of water is thrown. The tiny drop of water represents even the most serious sins.

"And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country."

I honestly do not know what is meant by this, I could not find anything on it. Who is begging him? Why is this being asked? If anyone knows, please comment below!

“Send us to the swine, let us enter them.”

The evil spirits are begging Jesus to send them into the swine. So, Jesus orders them to do so and 2,000 swine run into the sea and are drown. I believe the reason for this is that the demons cannot stand being in the presence of Jesus Christ. They would rather be anywhere else. This is why exorcisms are carried out in the name of Our Lord. The "legion" of demons is begging to be gone from the presence of Our Lord. See, although demons chose to oppose Christ, they are still subject to him, as the Bible says at the name of Jesus EVERY knee shall bend, including those on Earth, in Purgatory, in Heaven and in Hell. They may not want to, but they have no choice.

After this, the herdsmen who were there, ran to tell people from the city what had happened. They all came to see Jesus after this. It indicates they were "afraid". This is a common reaction in the Bible. Usually it's because the power of God is so great that people are overcome with righteous fear of the Lord. It's not a small thing which has occurred and people are enthralled.

However, the passage goes on to say the people demanded Jesus Christ leave their village. What a strange reaction. The only thing I can think of is that people seemed suspicious even when apparently good things happened, such as the casting out of demons. In one part of the Gospel, Jesus even addresses this by asking if God can act against himself, and whether a person who brings healing and miracles can be coming from a bad place? Later, he says those who are not against him are for him. He reminds us also that we will know a person by their fruit. Yet, people in this case are suspicious, with one exception.

The one exception to the suspicion is the man who was healed. He is now clothed and "in his right mind". He asks Jesus to be his follower. Jesus refuses and instead tells the man to go into the Decapolis (see above), and preach what Christ had done for him. They say "all men marveled".

This is a very interesting passage in the Bible. So many contrasts. It's interesting that people are suspicious and tell Christ to leave, but when the man goes into the major cities "all men marveled". What a difference in reaction. Perhaps the people were not willing to believe this man, whom they had known for so many years, was healed by this humble carpenter. It's kind of like when Jesus says a prophet is not accepted by those closest to him. Although the people closest to the possessed man were reluctant and suspicious, those outside the town were much more open to hearing about the miracle which had happened.

Overall, this is an interesting and very powerful part of the Gospel!

Here is the full verse in the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE):

Mark 5: 1-20

Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac

5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Ger′asenes.[a] 2 And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus[b] asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; 12 and they begged him, “Send us to the swine, let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. 17 And they began to beg Jesus[c] to depart from their neighborhood. 18 And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But he refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decap′olis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.

How Holy Men dealt with Great Temptation

It is well-known by many holy men and women of God, that the holier one is and the more pious one strives to be, the more the Devil will seek to tempt you. This was no different than many of the great saints we venerate today. I will profile three of these saints in this posting, and show how they were tempted, and how they dealt with it. These men are Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and Saint Benedict.

Saint Francis of Assisi knew well the temptations of the body and how they interfered with the desires of the soul. Because the body is made to carry burdens, and sometimes is sluggish and needs to be beaten, St. Francis called it Brother Ass. In his early years in the 1200s, Francis was often tempted, sometimes almost unbearably. To overcome this temptation, he sometimes rolled around in the snow. This must have an effect similar to getting a cold shower, except it is probably a lot colder. When there was no snow and St. Francis was strongly tempted, he would throw himself onto thorn bushes. This would tear his skin and cause him to bleed. St. Francis understood the dangers of temptation, and avoided them at all costs.

From the book "A History of the Church: from the birth of Christ to the present time", written in 1834 by Charles A. Goodrich, the author describes the lengths to which St. Bernard of Clairvaux would go to avoid temptation. It states: "Such was his austerity, that happening one day to fix his eyes on a female face, he immediately reflected that this was a temptation, and running to a pond, he leaped up to his neck into the water, which was of an icy coldness, to punish himself and vanquish the enemy."

St. Benedict, the founder of Western monastic life, was also tempted thoroughly by the Devil. Yet, with grace, he was able to overcome his tempter. The following information was found on EWTN.com's website, and is quoted from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc:

Benedict, like the Desert Fathers, had to struggle with temptations of the flesh and the devil. One of these struggles is described by Gregory. "On a certain day when he was alone the tempter presented himself. A small dark bird, commonly called a blackbird, began to fly around his face and came so near him that, if he had wished, he could have seized it with his hand. But on his making the sign of the cross, the bird flew away. Then followed a violent temptation of the flesh, such as he had never before experienced. The evil spirit brought before his imagination a woman whom he had formerly seen, and inflamed his heart with such vehement desire at the memory of her that he had very great difficulty in repressing it. He was almost overcome and thought of leaving his solitude. Suddenly, however, with the help of divine grace, he found the strength he needed. Seeing near at hand a thick growth of briars and nettles, he stripped off his habit and cast himself into the midst of them and plunged and tossed about until his whole body was lacerated. Thus, through those bodily wounds, he cured the wounds of his soul." Never again was he troubled in the same way.

As the founder of Opus Dei, Josemaria Escriva said, "To defend his purity, Saint Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, Saint Benedict threw himself into a thorn bush, Saint Bernard plunged into an icy pond... You..., what have you done?"

Hitler and Stalin were possessed by the Devil, says Vatican exorcist

In a fascinating article by the British Daily Mail, the top Vatican Exorcist Gabriele Amorth, who wrote the book titled "An Exorcist Tells his Story", which I profiled in another blog posting and which I am currently in the process of reading. The following is from the Daily Mail website:

Adolf Hitler and Russian leader Stalin were possessed by the Devil, the Vatican's chief exorcist has claimed.

Father Gabriele Amorth who is Pope Benedict XVI's 'caster out of demons' made his comments during an interview with Vatican Radio.

Father Amorth said: "Of course the Devil exists and he can not only possess a single person but also groups and entire populations.

"I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler - and Stalin did. Almost certainly they were possessed by the Devil.

"You can tell by their behaviour and their actions, from the horrors they committed and the atrocities that were committed on their orders. That's why we need to defend society from demons."

According to secret Vatican documents recently released wartime pontiff Pope Pius XII attempted a "long distance" exorcism of Hitler which failed to have any effect.

Father Amorth said: "It's very rare that praying and attempting to carry out an exorcism from distance works.

"Of course you can pray for someone from a distance but in this case it would not have any effect.

"One of the key requirements for an exorcism is to be present in front of the possessed person and that person also has to be consenting and willing.

"Therefore trying to carry out an exorcism on someone who is not present, or consenting and willing would prove very difficult.

"However I have no doubt that Hitler was possessed and so it does not surprise me that Pope Pius XII tried a long distance exorcism."

In the past Father Amorth has also spoken out against the Harry Potter books, claiming that reading the novels of the teen wizard open children's minds to dabbling with the occult and black magic.

Father Amorth, who is president of the International Association of Exorcists, said of the JK Rowling books:"Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil."

He said that Rowling's books contain innumerable positive references to magic, "the satanic art" and added the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction "does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil."

Father Amorth is said to have carried out more than 30,000 exorcisms in his career and his favourite film is, according to Italian newspapers The Exorcist.

Padre Pio: "My real mission will begin after my death."

Padre Pio, born Francesco Forgione in 1887, was one of our centuries most miraculous saints. Throughout his life, Padre Pio journeyed with Christ, in a very intimate way. As one may have guessed, this caused anger from Satan, whose attacks become all the stronger the closer someone comes to Christ. With this relationship, Padre Pio suffered greatly, and bore the afflictions of Christ. In this essay, I will explore the life of Padre Pio, and explain the sufferings and joys he endured.

At a very early age, Padre Pio was very pious. His family, though illiterate, memorized the Bible and passed down religious tradition to their children. As a child, Pio communicated with Jesus, Mary, and his Guardian Angel, and did so with such ease that he at first though anyone could easily.

As a youth, Padre Pio experienced visions and ecstacies, and was drawn, by the age of 10 to the life of a Capuchin friar. When he was the right age, his family brought young Pio to the Capuchin community to see if he was eligible to enter their ranks. They said they would willingly accept him, on condition that he further his education first.

Pio's father had to go to the United States in order to make the money necessary for young Pio to get the right education. At the age of 15, Pio entered the Capuchin community. During his novitiate, it is believed that Pio was subjected to attacks by the Devil, which appeared in the form of a monstrous black dog with red eyes.

Padre Pio is famous for his visible stigmata in the form of the wounds bore by Christ. However, much before receiving visible stigmata, Padre Pio was subjected to inivisible stigmata, in which he received the pain of the wounds, without the wounds themselves. The pain was often quite severe.

Padre Pio spent much time in prayer, until he was assigned to go to war during the first world war. Padre Pio disagreed with the War, calling it "the suicide of Europe".

During this period of spiritual suffering, it is believed that Padre Pio was frequently attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually. It is believed that the devil also used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio's torments. These included apparitions as an "angel of light" and the alteration or destruction of letters to and from his spiritual directors. (Thanks to Wikipedia for this information).

As one of his most supernatural sufferings, Padre Pio received Transverberation. World War I was still going on, and in the month of July 1918, Pope Benedict XV who had termed the World War as "the suicide of Europe" appealed to all Christians urging them to pray for an end to the World War. On July 27 of the same year, Padre Pio offered himself as a victim for the end of the war. Days passed and between August 5 and August 7, Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ appeared and pierced his side. As a result of this experience, Padre Pio had a physical wound in his side. This occurrence is considered as a "transverberation" or piercing of the heart indicating the union of love with God.

Padre Pio was very embarrased of his visible stigmata, and tried to hide it as much as possible. Padre Pio prayed, not to be released from the pain of stigmata, but from the visible signs of it. He said: "I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation."

Although Padre Pio would have rathered remain in secret, the world soon knew of the stigmata he suffered, and the miracles he worked. Eventually, everyone in the Christian world and beyond knew of Padre Pio.

People close to Padre Pio affirm that he received many gifts including the gifts of healing, bilocation, levitation, prophecy, miracles, extraordinary abstinence from both sleep and nourishment (One account states that Padre Agostino recorded one instance in which Padre Pio was able to subsist for at least 20 days at Verafeno on only the Eucharist without any other nourishment), the ability to read hearts, the gift of tongues, the gift of conversions, and the fragrance from his wounds.

The Death of Padre Pio
The deterioration of Padre Pio's health started during the 1960s in spite of which he continued his spiritual works. On the day after the fiftieth anniversary of his receiving the Stigmata, he experienced great tiredness. On September 22 his voice was weak when he said Mass. Early in the morning of September 23, 1968, Padre Pio made his confession and renewed his Franciscan vows. As was customary, he had his Rosary in his hands, though he had not the strength to say the Hail Marys. Till the end, he repeated over and over the words: Gesú, Maria – Jesus, Mary. At around 2:30AM, he said,"I see two mothers" (taken to mean his mother and Mary). At 2:30AM breathed his last in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo with his last breath whispering, "Maria!". His mortal remains were buried on September 26 in a crypt in the Church of Our Lady of Grace, and his funeral was attended by over a hundred thousand people. He was often heard to say, "After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death." The accounts of those who stayed with Padre Pio till the end state that the stigmata had completely disappeared without even leaving a scar . Only a red mark "as if drawn by a red pencil" remained on his side which also then disappeared.

May we all say a prayer to Saint Padre Pio, whose powerful intercession we can count on every day!