“One thing I have asked of the Lord, I will seek after …”
The simple meaning of the word "plead" is "to earnestly request" (Internet). While reading Mark 5, I noticed that the word "plead" appears five times: The unclean spirits pleaded with Jesus not to send them out of the region of Gerasa (Mark 5:10, Korean Modern Bible). The unclean spirits pleaded with Jesus, saying, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to enter them.” (Mark 5:12). The people of Gerasa pleaded with Jesus to leave their region (Mark 5:17, Korean Modern Bible). The man who had been possessed by demons and was healed by Jesus pleaded to go with Him (Mark 5:18, Korean Modern Bible). Jairus, a synagogue leader, fell at Jesus’ feet and pleaded, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and lay Your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.” (Mark 5:22-23, Korean Modern Bible). As I meditate on these five instances of pleading, several thoughts come to mind:
(1) Jesus allowed the two requests of the unclean spirits. As a result, the unclean spirits came out and entered a herd of pigs, nearly 2,000 pigs, which rushed down a steep bank into the sea and drowned (Mark 5:13). It is important to note that it was not the evil spirits that drowned in the sea, but the pigs, which have no souls. Although the reason the many demons [whose name, "Legion," refers to their great number (v. 9)] pleaded with Jesus not to send them out of the region of Gerasa (v. 1) is unclear, at least we know that Jesus commanded the unclean spirits to come out of the demon-possessed man (v. 8). As a result, the many demons left the man and entered the pigs, and almost 2,000 pigs drowned in the sea (v. 13). An interesting detail is that the demon-possessed man lived among the tombs (v. 3). This is intriguing because the unclean spirits were living in a man who resided in a cemetery, and eventually, through their request, entered into the pigs, causing them to drown. In short, unclean spirits are associated with death.
(2) When the herdsmen saw the herd of nearly 2,000 pigs drown in the sea, they ran off and told the townspeople and villagers what had happened. The people came to see for themselves and, when they saw the man who had previously been possessed by a legion of demons sitting with clothes on and in his right mind before Jesus, they were afraid (vv. 14-15). After the people who had witnessed the event told others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs, they pleaded with Jesus to leave their region (vv. 16-17). Why did they plead with Jesus to leave? The reason was that they were greatly afraid of Him (v. 15). This fear, ignorance, and selfishness led them to ask Jesus to leave. In truth, they rejected the Lord of life because of their superstitious imaginations and materialistic desires (4:19) (Hokma). We, too, can easily reject the Lord. For example, if we harbor fear within us, we can reject Him. Even if we confess with our mouths that we love the Lord, if fear is in our hearts, we are not fully loving Him. We can know this because the Bible says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18). If we do not fully love the Lord and are led by fear, we could deny Jesus just like the Apostle Peter did. The reason we deny Jesus is not only because of the fear inside us, but also because of the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things (Mark 4:19). Because of these temptations, we can reject and deny Jesus, living as though He is not central to our lives.
(3) Jesus, in response to their plea, got into a boat to leave the region, but the man who had been healed from demon possession begged Jesus to let him go with Him. However, Jesus did not allow him to come (5:18-19). The man who had been healed likely wanted to follow Jesus, perhaps to become His disciple and serve Him fully by walking alongside Him (Hokma). Despite this, Jesus refused his request and told him, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you" (v. 19, Korean Modern Bible). So, the man went and began to tell everyone in the Decapolis region about the great things Jesus had done for him, and all who heard it were amazed (v. 20). Reflecting on how Jesus granted the demons' request but did not grant the healed man's, the words from Romans 9:20-21 come to mind (Korean Modern Bible): "But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?" We learn a lesson in humility and submission to God's sovereign will, understanding that we must obey the Lord's command without hesitation. Just as the healed man obeyed Jesus’ command and returned to tell his family what the Lord had done for him, we too must first go back to our families and share with them how the Lord has shown mercy to us. Afterward, we should share this testimony with our church family, friends, and all around us.
(4) I can somewhat understand the feelings of Jairus, the synagogue leader, who fell at Jesus' feet and begged, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and lay Your hands on her so that she will be healed and live" (Mark 5:22-23, Korean Modern Bible). This is because I too pleaded with the Lord for a miracle to save my firstborn child, Charis, who was in the hospital's intensive care unit and was dying. Furthermore, when one of my beloved children was suffering from a mental illness, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the Apostle Peter’s cry when he was sinking in the water, prompting me to kneel down on the floor and cry out, "Lord, save me" (Matthew 14:30). However, the result was that my firstborn, Charis, did not survive and passed away in my arms (fell asleep), while the other daughter was saved by the Lord, fulfilling the promise He gave me in 1 Peter 5:10, a word He is still fulfilling today: “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (Korean Modern Bible).
(5) “One thing I ask of the LORD, this do I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon his beauty and meditate on him in his temple” (Psalms 27:4, Korean Modern Bible).