When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me (Mark 5:6-7)!"

This man had never seen Jesus before, but came before him calling him, “Son of the Most High God.” There is something we need to know about the nature of evil spirits. It seems that all evil spirits know who Jesus is, and they do not hide themselves before God nor do they hide the fact that they know Jesus. And they can speak using our vocal cords, which means that they take control over the parts of the nervous system in our brain related to speech and language in the similar way that the Holy Spirit gives us utterance to speak in unknown tongues.

In fact, there are more questions than what we can find in this story. Note, for instance, how the answer came back when Jesus asked him, “What is your name:”

My name is Legion, for we are many (v. 9).

First, it is a kind of surprise to know that so many spirits can stay in one person. Since it is impossible to think of many spirits speaking at the same time using the same nervous system and vocal cords of that person, it must be only one spirit who was speaking. The word “legion” in Greek is a military unit of troops numbering 6000 soldiers. Who gave that kind of name to these spirits? A name reveals the nature and purpose of the being known by that name. Did they give this name to themselves, or someone else gave this name to them? And who was this spirit who spoke and what was his relationship with the rest of the spirits? Note that he spoke on behalf of the other spirits begging Jesus to send them among pigs, and all the other spirits apparently agreed with him. It is amazing to see the kind of unity they had. We know that it would be almost impossible for 6000 different human beings to have the same idea or desire.

And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area (v. 10).

Why was it so important for them to stay in this area? The Greek tense of “he begged” indicates that he was begging again and again. Was it like how we humans often hesitate to leave a town that we love so much because we have lived there for so many years? And look at what the evil spirits did after they were sent among pigs:

He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned (v. 13).

Here is another question to ask. They begged so hard, and Jesus allowed them to do it. Don’t you think they should have stayed in those pigs for a little longer? Once the pigs died, it was no use staying in the dead corpses. What were they thinking?

Another thing we do not understand is the fact that these evil spirits are so obedient to Jesus. These unclean spirits were all rebellious to God. Why didn’t they just go to the pigs if they wanted to? Why did they ask for Jesus’ permission? Pay attention to how the evil spirits saw Jesus. If you are in Christ, they see you the same way they see Jesus. And do you know why?