4 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Numbers 1
Mark 5:1-20

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Mark 5:9-12 (CSB): “And Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion, for we are many.’ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, ‘Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.'”

Reflecting on God’s Word

As we read the verses I have chosen for today, we hear the demons within the man pleading with Jesus “not to send them out of the country.” If we only had this account of this event, we might wonder why they wanted to stay in the country of Israel. What did they have against being in other countries?

A bit of study reveals that this isn’t the only account of this event. Matthew also wrote about it in Matthew 8:28-34. There, we are told that the demons looked at Jesus and asked: “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). This leads us to believe that the demons weren’t pleading to stay in Israel. Instead, they were pleading to stay on earth and not be sent to Hell before the day of judgment.

One of the many things this passage can do is let us know just how bad Hell really is. We can’t see Hell in this text, but we can look at the demons who HAVE been there and listen for clues as to how bad it is.

If you do a word study on “beg” in the Gospels, you’ll come across quite a few people who were hurting in some form. They pleaded (begged) Jesus to heal them or a loved one. Begging isn’t something a typical person does. It is generally a response we associate with someone who is desperate.

Did you notice how many times the word “beg” shows up in the story of Jesus healing the men who were demon-possessed? Listen to the words that come out of the demon’s mouths:

Mark 5:7 (CSB): “And he cried out with a loud voice, ‘What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you before God, don’t torment me!'”

Mark 5:10 (CSB): “And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.”

Mark 5:12 (CSB): “The demons begged him, ‘Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.'”

Matthew 8:31 (CSB): “‘If you drive us out,’ the demons begged him, ‘send us into the herd of pigs.'”

While this story doesn’t tell us anything about Hell, it does let us know that demons were willing to humble themselves and beg not to go there. If Hell wasn’t that bad, it seems that they wouldn’t have resorted to begging.

Listening to them beg, we realize that Hell must be pretty bad. We need to make sure that we are genuinely saved and that we are ready and willing to share the Gospel with others so that we can spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven, not with the demons in Hell.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you examine yourself to ensure that you are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).
  • Ask God to give you a healthy fear of Hell and a delight in Him so that you are properly motivated to share the Gospel with others.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into the topic of Hell, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What was Jesus’ teaching on hell?”

“How can a loving God send someone to hell?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)