This passage may be familiar to many people. I’m sure that the statement “I am Legion, for we are many” is familiar even if you might not have known the exact circumstances of its use. I’ve always loved the face-off here of good vs. evil. We shouldn’t mess around with Jesus, right? Perhaps, one could even be forgiven for imagining Jesus in this passage as the consummate good guy sauntering into town — wearing a cowboy hat, boots, and maybe some of those nifty reflective sunshades where you can’t see his eyes, which just adds to the mystery. We could see the passage that way, but I think there is something a lot deeper here…and much less comforting.
The Bible has some wonderful words for us about love conquering fear. Yet, what happens when we give in to fear…we let it win us over completely? Perfect love may drive out fear, but complete fear seems to just…drive out.
Three times in this passage someone begs. We’re often polite in verse 37, but in verses 31, 37, and 38 people beg (especially when you read it in Greek). Begging never quite comes off as heroic, does it? It always seems to come off as a last resort. We cheer for Jesus when the demons are so afraid of him that they beg him to send them into the pigs. That’s right! They better beg…we think. However, when the townspeople come to see the awesomeness of God’s power worked in one of their own, they respond with complete fear. They beg Jesus to leave. They are desperate. Finally, the healed man begs to follow, and Jesus tells him, “No.” Instead, he is sent back to the very people who have given in completely to their fear. How do you imagine he might be treated by them?
To quote another wise sage, Yoda, fictional though he may be, “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Perhaps, for this Sunday, we should meditate on the path of fear and…examine our steps. Are there any current situations in this present world through which our fear could lead us down a dangerous path?