Mensa Otabil - A Man With a Legion
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Mark chapter 5, verses 9 to 11. Then he asked him, «What is your name?» and he answered, saying, «My name is Legion, for we are many.» Also, he begged him endlessly not to send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.
A very interesting conversation here: Jesus asked, «What is your name?» Obviously, Jesus was not asking the natural man what his name was; Jesus identified the spirit within the man and was now addressing the spirit. How could Jesus do that? Remember, Jesus is both the Son of Man and the Son of God. He can operate in the natural and also in the spiritual. At this moment, he understands that this is a spiritual operation, so he’s talking to the unclean spirit that has taken hold of this man and is disturbing his life. In this brief encounter, Jesus shows us the nature of spiritual activities, particularly concerning an unclean spirit.
There are four things I want you to pay attention to. The first is that unclean spirits have names. Everything that has a name is a personality, and so Jesus identified that this is not just a chemical imbalance in the man; there is a personality involved here. He revealed the identity of the force making the man do what he does.
So unclean spirits have names, and they have personalities. Unclean spirits also have ranks. Jesus demonstrates this by asking the man, «What is your name?» and he replies, «My name is Legion, for we are many.» If you look at the structure of the sentence, there is a singular personal pronoun «my name» followed by the plural «we are many.» This indicates a transition between an individual and a group. The reason for this is that the man is possessed by one spirit, one unclean spirit, but this is a ranking spirit that has other spirits under its command. The commanding spirit brings in all these other spirits, highlighting the concept of spiritual ranking in this circumstance.
Thirdly, unclean spirits are territorial. The spirits were begging, «We don’t want to leave this territory; we want to stay close by.» That is the nature of unclean spirits; they are very territorial. They are familial; they stay in families and designated areas because they cannot move to operate elsewhere where other spirits are present. So, there is a territorial awareness among the spirits.
The fourth thing, which is most important, is that they are subject to Christ. No matter what they are, they have names, they have ranks, and they have territories, but their ultimate authority is the Lord Jesus Christ. They are subject to him. This is crucial to understand; there is one truth you must grasp: Jesus is Lord over all principalities and powers. You may not understand everything about the spiritual world, but you must recognize that Jesus has power over everything. You don’t need to study demons; you simply need to know who Jesus is, understand his power, control, and authority. When you know that, you are secure. That is what I want you to understand. Despite everything we discussed about the unclean world, the net effect is that Jesus is Lord over all.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, you rule over all spiritual dominions. I belong to you and operate by your power. In Jesus' name, amen.»