Mark 5 - We are Legion
January 25th, 2026 “We Are Legion” Rev. Heather Jepsen
Mark 5:1-20
This morning, we are continuing in our deep dive into the gospel of Mark. Last week we read the parables Jesus told about the Sower and the mustard seed. We examined the many layers of truth in our scriptures as well as what it might mean for the kingdom of God to be like a lowly shrub instead of a great tree.
We are only skipping about 5 verses before our reading begins today. That is the story where Jesus is sailing across the waters of Galilee with the disciples. While traveling, a storm arises and the disciples fear for their lives. Jesus calms the storm and sea, demonstrating his power over the chaos of nature. In our story for today, Jesus continues to demonstrate his authority, this time over social and religious chaos.
The healing of the Gerasene Demoniac is one of the most frightening stories in the Bible. Mark tells us that Jesus and the disciples leave the Jewish side of the sea of galilee and sail across to the gentile side. Before they can even enter the city, they are immediately set upon by a crazy man who is living in the cemetery.
This guy sounds really scary. He is living among the graves, ranting and raving, howling in the night. He is wild and strong, breaking chains that are meant to keep him captive and running mad through the hills. When Luke copies this story, he will tell us that the man is naked. The man suffers mightily, injuring himself with rocks and the like. Truly a mad man.
When Jesus arrives, the man runs and bows before him. He screams at the top of his lungs “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” That’s the most important part of the story. Jesus’ authority is named and his power will soon be demonstrated. Jesus demands the demon’s name and the man replies, “Legion, for we are many”. The unclean spirits beg not to be cast into nothingness but to be instead sent into a herd of swine on the hillside. Jesus is merciful and grants the request, but the madness continues and the pigs run screaming over the cliff, into the abyss that the waters of the sea represent.
The keepers of the swine run into town and tell the story of what they have seen and heard, the pigs are gone, and the crazy man from the tombs is now dressed and in his right mind. But the townsfolk are not pleased. They ask Jesus to leave, because his actions are upsetting. The healed man begs to go with Jesus as a disciple, but the Lord turns him away. “Go instead and tell everyone about the mercy God has shown you.”
Like so many Bible stories, we can examine today’s reading for various levels of meaning. As always, we begin with the story itself. On the surface this is a story about the power and authority of Jesus who is the Son of God. He is not concerned or confined by Jewish custom and practice, traveling to unclean places and healing unclean people. The symbolism of clean and unclean is everywhere in this story. That side of the lake is unclean, the graveyard is unclean, a demon possessed person is unclean, and pigs are unclean. At every point in this story Jesus is crossing boundaries, and declaring that God’s power to heal covers all peoples in all situations. When it comes to Jesus, nothing is unclean.
The second layer of this story is the time of Mark’s writing. For Mark, is a political story about the Roman occupation of Israel. Legion is the word for the occupying military force. It is the military battalion, the boots on the ground, 2000-4000 men keeping the peace through threats and acts of violence. The 10th Roman legion was the group stationed in Israel since 6CE, and their symbol on their shields and flags is the boar, the pig. It is no coincidence that in this story the demons are named legion, and they flee into a herd of pigs. This is code language for the gospel readers. Mark is telling them that God has power over Rome. That the pax Romana, peace through violence, the boots on the necks of the people of Israel, is brought to its knees before the power of Christ. The occupying military force that has devastated the people and property of Israel is no match for the true prince of peace.
The third layer of our interpretation today is to look at this story in our own time. There are countless parallels we can draw from this reading for our own time and place. We could talk about mental illness, and the sheer force of madness that drives people to desperate behavior. We find hope in Jesus’ willingness to meet such people, to minister to those people where they are, and to offer hope and healing.
We could wonder about the town people who send Jesus away. Are they scared of the healing and change that Jesus brings to the community? Are they upset about the loss of wealth that the death of the pigs represents? In this story, as in so many others, Jesus doesn’t value the things that we do like money, wealth, financial stability, and good business. Jesus clearly doesn’t care about that, which is upsetting to us because we do value those things.
And friends, we can’t talk about Pax Romana and peace through violence without noticing the current violence in our own world. Russia will tell you that attacking Ukraine is in the name of peace and safety. Israel will tell you that the destruction of all things Palestinian is needed for peace. And we are all well aware of the unrest and violence occurring in our own country under the label of keeping us safe. None of this is new to the world or to our experience. And the power of God, the word of Jesus, is always a clear “no” to peace through violence.
But this week I want to zoom out a bit. When I read the story of the Gerasene Demoniac, and he claims that “we are legion”, I imagine the collective voice of all of humanity. We are very literally out of control right now. We are screaming and not listening, we are lashing out with hurt and not healing, we are tearing ourselves apart and tearing each other down. We argue and insult on social media, ignore each other in the street, and allow ourselves to be played by politicians.
Like the man in this story, we are a literal mess. We are living among that which offers no life, worried about money and beauty and power. We are isolated from that which does bring life, nature and relationships, spirit and prayer. We are sullied and unclean, out of control and screaming into the abyss. We are lost in social and religious chaos.
And into that madness, into the mess that we have made, Jesus brings the power to heal. Jesus silences the many voices in our heads, he cleanses us and makes us whole, and we are in our right minds finally. But when the rest of the world sees us, they are upset. If we no longer play the games of legion, then we are a threat to the order. If we don’t care about money and business, about power and politics, then we are told to leave. If you’re not going to be part of this madness, then get out of here.
Today, like every day, we have a question to ask and a choice to make. Why do we come to church on Sunday? What brought us here? And what are we called to do? I am guessing that like me, you are looking for hope in a hopeless world, sanity in a world that has gone mad. God is here and God offers us that in Christ. God calls to us with the power of healing, the power to silence that which is driving us crazy, the power to help us regain control of our hearts and our minds.
Here we sit and listen to the gospel. We study these ancient stories to find fresh meaning. Here we turn our phones off and we turn to God. We pray and sit in silence, we turn to each other and we nurture genuine relationships. Here we sing, lifting our voices in unity in praise of a God who is love. And here we touch, we hug and shake hands, we smile and pat each other on the shoulder. We see each other not as opponents or competitors but as sisters and brothers.
The power of faith is the power to heal us from the chaos we live in. This hour when we gather is a respite from the maddening world outside. Here we find Jesus, who offers us welcome acceptance. He heals us, quiets us down, and sends us out to share the good news. We don’t have to be under the thumb of any legion. Instead, we can be under the blanket of God’s good grace. Amen.
