What does it really mean to believe in Jesus? In today’s passage, the demons had no doubt about His identity. In verse 7, they rightly called Him “Son of the Most High God.” Moreover, they had absolute confidence in His power, acknowledging His ability to torment them (verse 7). They even recognized the authority He had to force them to leave the man they were possessing and to enter a herd of pigs instead (verse 13).

But that doesn’t mean they had saving faith. For in spite of the demons’ correct knowledge about Jesus they remained devoted to their mission to kill and destroy as much of God’s creation as possible. Just so, giving intellectual assent to the truth of the Bible while refusing to bow down before Jesus and seeking to do His will is not true faith – it’s demonic.

So what about the crowd that gathered in verse 14 to witness the results of Jesus’ miracle? Like the demons, they could not doubt Jesus’ power or authority. But also like the demons, their encounter with Christ didn’t change their priorities. Instead of seeking release from their own sicknesses and afflictions, and instead of bowing down and recognizing Jesus as their Lord, they begged Him to leave them (verse 17). Yes, they seem to have been more concerned about their dead pigs than about one of their neighbors who had been set free from his demons.

And many people continue to have a similar reaction to Christ. They don’t want to worship Him because they don’t want to change the way they live. Being more interested in the things of this world, they cling to their comforts and possessions, rather than devoting themselves to His glory and His service. They have no desire to follow Jesus.

And that’s at least in part because truly following Jesus often means not getting what we want. For even though Jesus granted the requests of the demons and of the crowd, He refused to allow the man who had been freed from the demons to follow Him. Instead, He sent the only truly faithful person in this passage to live among the unfaithful crowd, to bear a continual witness to Jesus’ power and mercy (verse 19). And even though he desperately wanted to follow Jesus, it was only in setting aside his own desires into order to obey Jesus’ wishes that this unnamed man proved himself to be truly faithful.

So, do we really have faith in Jesus? Will we not only admit His identity and recognize His power but also bow before Him, giving Him all we are and all we have? Will we do what we can to bear witness to His power and mercy? Indeed, can there be any other way to follow Jesus?

Mark 5:1-20 (NASB)

And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.
2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,
3 and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain;
4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
5 And constantly night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones.
6 And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;
7 and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”
8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”
10 And he began to entreat Him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
11 Now there was a big herd of swine feeding there on the mountain.
12 And the demons entreated Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.”
13 And He gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.
14 And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened.
15 And they came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened.
16 And those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine.
17 And they began to entreat Him to depart from their region.
18 And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was entreating Him that he might accompany Him.
19 And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”
20 And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone marveled.