Reflective Bible Study

In one of the most unique and spectacular healings Jesus ever did, Jesus heals a multiple-demon-possessed man who had been written off by society. In this healing, a phrase stood out to me that I had not paid much attention to. This phrase comes as the demons respond to Jesus’ question.

Mark tells us that Jesus asks the man, “What is your name?” (v. 9a)

This question is simple enough, but the response the man gives is far from ordinary. The man responds to Jesus by saying, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” (v. 9b)

Prior to looking closer at this passage, the man/demon’s response didn’t really stand out to me, but something in this response struck me as I read it this time: the first half of the response uses the word “my”, which is singular, while the second half of the response uses the word “we”, which is plural.

This contrast is clearly shown in how Mark shares the response, but the parallel idea that I thought of when reading this is that it is similar to how we describe God. We use singular pronouns to describe the Godhead, and the whole belief of the Trinity (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) is a blend of a singular and plural thought.

If we read earlier in Mark, we get a description of what this man was known for. Mark describes the man by saying, “This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.” (v. 3-5)

While nothing really speaks to this man trying to take the place of God or even Jesus, it is clearly evident in Mark’s description that the man was supernaturally strong. Reading this description prompts me to think that he may have been trying to set himself up as the god of the dead – to contrast Jesus being the Savior of the living.

But looking at Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we know that Jesus is also the Savior of the dead and that Jesus’ power extends over both life and death. But before this was clear in the minds of those living in that era, part of me wonders if that singular and plural response the demons gave Jesus was a jab at God’s own nature that is both singular and plural.

In this response, I am reminded that almost anything can try to impersonate Jesus and God. Many things try to take the place of God in our lives, but none of them fit into the place God designed for Himself in our hearts. None of the impersonations can truly bring life and joy into our lives – and none of the impersonations can offer salvation for eternity. Life, joy, and salvation are just a few of the gifts God gives us when we choose to bring Him into our lives.

In one of His challenges to the disciples, Matthew records Jesus sharing an interesting description of the spiritual state of the people of Israel. In this description is also a direction for their upcoming task.

Matthew tells us that Jesus commissioned His 12 closest followers somewhere in the middle of His ministry with a mission: “Jesus sent these 12 out with the following orders. ‘Do not go among the Gentiles,’ he said. ‘Do not enter any town of the Samaritans. Instead, go to the people of Israel. They are like sheep that have become lost. As you go, preach this message, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”’” (v. 5-7)

This commission from Jesus is amazing in my mind. Jesus describes God’s people “like sheep that have become lost”. (v. 6)

Jesus was describing the Jewish nation with these words, but part of me wonders if Jesus could use the same phrase to describe the Church (i.e. the broad banner of everyone who claims the name of Christ). With the hundreds of different denominations, and a growing number of churches who act like denominations while claiming to exclude themselves from that label, it is not hard to conclude that there is just a little bit of confusion within the umbrella of Christianity. With each group believing themselves to be the closest to the truth, Jesus’ description of Israel may be even more applicable to us today as members of the Christian Movement.

This is why Jesus’ commission to the disciples is amazing in my mind: Jesus sends the disciples to the people of Israel.  This would be like Jesus sending missionaries to His Church. If God sent an evangelist or a messenger to His people living today, would we pay attention? Would God’s people pay attention to a message from Him specifically for us living after the 20th century, or would we ignore His words and simply refer back to our own interpretation of what the Bible says.

God has given us everything we need for salvation through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. God has given us the Bible, and He has kept its message safe throughout history. But what would happen if God realized that His people had become lost, even with salvation being accomplished and the Bible’s message being preserved? Would God send a prophet like He did in the Old Testament or would He send a disciple like He did in the New Testament?

God’s church has not been perfected enough to no longer need His guidance. This will never happen. Instead, God sends messengers, like He sent the disciples, to those in His churches to draw His people back to focusing on Him.

If you have ever wondered where to find/get joy, you don’t need to look any further than our passage in Luke’s gospel. This passage in Luke’s gospel opens by sharing Jesus’ source of joy. Luke tells us, “At that time Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit” (v. 21a)

For Jesus, the Holy Spirit was His Source of joy. Jesus was full of joy because of the Holy Spirit working in His life, and it gave Jesus even more joy to be doing the will of His Father.

But Luke doesn’t stop there, because while full of joy, Jesus makes a profound statement that both confuses and clarifies what we see in the world today. Luke continues by sharing Jesus’ statement, which is a prayer of thanks to God: “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.” (v. 21b)

In Jesus’ prayer, we see an interesting characteristic of God. It would seem that He hides knowledge from those who are wise and educated, while sharing this knowledge with those who are not educated. This idea challenges me because in many ways, I may fall into the camp of the educated (though still developing wisdom).

This idea challenges me because it makes me wonder what God may be hiding from me, but more specifically, I wonder what the unlearned people have that I don’t have.

There is one possible answer that stands out as being the most probable reason those who are uneducated have more knowledge of God – and that is because they have greater trust and faith in God. While it isn’t a universal idea, generally those who are less knowledgeable about a subject will have a greater need to develop trust in God. I must trust the doctors, nurses, and surgeons when going into surgery since I have almost no knowledge of their area of specialty. In turn, most medical professionals have no knowledge of how a website is programmed, and so they get to trust web developers with the building of their websites.

The more educated someone is, the less they will feel dependant on someone or something else. This also extends to God as well – and because the educated don’t tend to trust God as much, they miss out on seeing the ways God is working and moving around them.

God opens the eyes of those who trust Him and who are looking for examples of Him working. While skeptics may try to explain God out of the situation, too often God simply chooses to work within the structure of the world He created, rather than breaking the rules of nature that He set up. For someone who is looking, examples of God and His love are everywhere, but it takes a level of faith and trust to be open to seeing the world with these eyes. The more “educated” someone is, it seems the less likely they will have this perspective.

When I read the gospels, I am fascinated at how each gospel writer opens their narrative:

Matthew begins tracing Jesus’ ancestors all the way up from Abraham.

Luke begins by sharing how he has researched and organized Jesus’ life through interviewing eyewitnesses and those who were directly connected to Jesus.

John begins with a look at Jesus’ divinity and it echo’s Genesis’ creation account.

But Mark simply makes an opening statement before transitioning to introducing John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus at the start of His ministry.

While it is not all that glamorous or interesting to read, Mark opens his gospel by saying, “This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (v. 1)

Whether the reader believes that Jesus Christ was God’s Son or not, Mark shares that this is his conclusion after what he has learned, seen, and experienced. Mark opens his gospel by stating the topic in a simple and direct way before diving right into the narrative – and this is important for us to pay attention to.

From how Mark opens his gospel, we are reminded that sometimes it is best to simply come right to the point we are trying to make. In today’s culture, there is the belief that we must be creative, different, or stretch the lines in some way in order to be noticed. Instead, Mark says to keep it simple, straight-forward, and clear.

If we were to draw a motto from how Mark introduces us to Jesus, we could say something like: “Clarity beats creativity”, “Communicating clearly is better than communicating cleverly”, or “If you can only pick one thing, pick clarity”.

Mark reminds us that clarity, especially with topics that people can get very opinionated about, is much better than trying to overly be creative. If there is a way that creativity can help a presentation be clearer, then that is great, but when deciding whether to make a presentation, letter, or message clear or clever, choose to make it clear first.