Who Are You
After walking on the water & calming the stormy sea, Jesus encounters a naked man of Gadara who is stormed with demons. He could not be tamed, breaking chains and shackles, and cutting himself with stones. He had once lived among others in the city, but now tormented himself day and night in the wilderness and among the tombs.
Jesus asks the man, “What is your name?” (Mk. 5:8). Jesus isn’t asking for the name of the demon(s). He could care less about that. (This is where self-appointed exorcists are mistaken.) I don’t think He is even asking for the given name of the man – He probably already knew that. He is simply asking, “Who are you?” It’s a question that drives to the core of the man’s being.
The Gadarene had entertained tormenting voices for so long that he could no longer live among society. The guilt, despair, and perhaps hatred and bitterness, drove him to mutilate himself continually. Jesus simply asked, “Is this who you really are?” He drove out the demonic spirits (along with their accusative voices), and Mark says the man was left sitting in his right mind.
The Greek supports our analysis here. The word for “right mind” is σωφρονέω (sophroneo). It is the verb form of the adjective, σώφρων (sophron), which in turn, is a compound of a verb, σῴζω (sozo), and a noun, φρήν (phren). Sozo is translated as “to save, to make whole, or to heal.” Phren comes from an obsolete root which means “to reign in, or curb”, and is twice translated as “understanding”. Put this together and sophreneo gives the picture of someone being made whole because their mind has honed in on the correct understanding. In our story Jesus caused the Gadarene to reject the condemning voices, and to hear the truth of the unconditional love the Father had always had for him.
There are two more interesting items to point out here. First, Jesus didn’t add anything to the equation. He didn’t speak anything into the man, He caused the darkness to leave. He didn’t create light in the Gadarene, but simply removed the darkness and the light shone forth. God’s life had been in the man all along (presumably since conception), but in the course of his life, he had believed the lies of condemnation that the evil spirits spoke to him.
Secondly, it’s amazing at what the people chose to be afraid of:
“Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid” (Mk 5:15).
Isn’t this astounding?! It wasn’t a demon-infested man that no one could tame, nor the herd of swine the legion of demons drove into the lake that caused fear. No…it was a clothed man sitting in his right mind! Does this speak of the incredible darkness we walk in in this world? Yes, I think so. It’s a darkness that covers over the truth of who we are – a child who is infinitely and overwhelmingly loved by the Father!