The scriptures tell us that the Word (i.e. God according to John 1:1) became a man (John 1:14), but those, whom he created, didn’t know him (John 1:10), not even those with whom he had a special relationship (John 1:11). In other words, there simply wasn’t a context in man’s understanding in which they could place the Lord, because they put away such knowledge and understanding long ago (cp. Romans 1:28) Therefore, the townsfolk who heard about what Jesus had done, concerning the demoniac and the swine (Mark 5:14, 16), were very fearful over what Jesus might still do (verse-15), so they asked him to leave (Mark 5:17).
One has to wonder why these folks didn’t want Jesus around. After all, wasn’t the man troublesome to the community (Matthew 8:28), and didn’t Jesus do what they had often tried to do but failed (Mark 5:4)? I believe the problem is that when the townsfolk saw the cost of healing the man, they wondered what else must they surrender for this man, Jesus, to be satisfied. In other words, if they allowed Jesus to do his works in their community, what else must they give up, and what changes must they make in their lives? If a man could destroy a herd of cir. 2000 swine with his words in an effort to heal one man, what would their economy look like when Jesus was finished (cp. Luke 14:25-33)? Therefore, they asked Jesus to leave, for they would rather endure the consequences of the evil they knew than to commit themselves to the ridding of evil from their community without knowing what else it would cost them in the process.
Jesus complied with their request (cp. Romans 1:28), and the former demoniac wanted to go with him (Mark 5:18), but this wasn’t possible. If the man were to grow in the grace of God (cp. John 13:36), it was necessary for him to remember what life was like prior to Jesus healing him, and to tell his story among the folks who knew him or knew of him (Mark 5:19). Jesus was returning to folks who hated and demonized him, to where he would be in an almost constant conflict with Jewish authorities. If a man who had just begun to walk with Jesus were put in this kind of environment, he might begin to question his trust in Jesus. Rather, people like the former demoniac need to grow up in their faith, tell their story over and over to folks who aren’t aware of or who fear Jesus. This is what this man needed to do, and this is what Jesus told him he must do. So, the man did as Jesus said and proclaimed his story throughout the Decapolis (Mark 5:19-20). He told others of how he had been possessed but had been exorcised by Jesus and made clean (Matthew 12:45), but this wasn’t all that the people heard and saw in him, because he busied himself praising God, while telling everyone what the Lord had done for him. Thus, his house was not only cleansed but filled with the Spirit of God. Moreover, when the Lord returned to the Decapolis (cp. Mark 7:31-37), he was greeted by its citizens, and they brought those among them who had infirmities, and Jesus healed them. How would they have known to do such a thing, if they expelled Jesus from their coasts (Mark 5:17-20)? Their change of attitude and understanding must have been due to the preaching of the former demoniac, called Legion (Mark 5:20)!
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