etween the demoniacs described in the
New Testament and those persons who at all times are tormented by envy and
lust and anger and greed and other evil passions which dominate the human
soul.

On the eastern shore of the Lake of Gennesaret Jesus was encountered by a
man whose suffering and nakedness are types of the anguish and
shamelessness of sin. He could not be controlled; he was dwelling among
the tombs, and these, too, are pictures of the helplessness and loneliness
and hopelessness which evil passions produce. Most of all it is
interesting to note that while the demon cried out in dread, the man drew
near to Jesus, really hoping for help. The experience was like that of
those who suffer from mental disease where a dual consciousness is
manifested. Likewise most of us have experienced such a conflict of
desires; we have longed for liberty at the very moment when we have felt
the controlling power of some passion. Some tell us that we must cease to
love the sin before Christ will give us help, but this picture sketched by
Luke gives a more hopeful message. It intimates that as we cry out for
relief, or even before we speak, Jesus sees the heart and recognizes the
longing and assures release.

Jesus asked the sufferer for his name. He wished the real man to be
awakened and to be conscious of the distinction between himself and the
evil spirit by which he was possessed. The reply of the demoniac was full
of pathos. He declared that his name was "Legion," the reason assigned
being that "many demons were entered into him." His case was particularly
desperate; but the evil spirits realized that they stood before One whose
power was absolute. Certain that they were to be expelled from the
sufferer, they asked permission to enter into a herd of swine which was
feeding on the mountain side. A question has often been raised as to why
Jesus granted this request. Probably one reason was that the sight which
followed assured the sufferer of his cure; another may have been that the
destruction of the herd would give to the men of the region an arresting
message both of their own peril and of the power of Christ. However, when
"They went out to see what had come to pass," they were full of terror and
they requested Jesus to leave their land. They were evidently more
concerned for the beasts which had been lost than for the soul that had
been saved, when they saw their countryman sitting clothed and in his
right mind as a disci