The story of Legion would be hard to believe if we didn’t have the Biblical record and a key witness – The Lord Jesus Christ. It’s a grave warning of what can happen when we treat sin as a light thing. The power of sin is actually to be feared. The path on which sin takes us is spelled out in James 1:14-15. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
The Bible not only reminds us that we are all sinners (Rom 3:23), and that dying in our sins will keep us from heaven (John 8:24), but it warns us that living without regard to our sin will lead to consequences in life that will be like the jaws of a trap from which there often is no escape. The story of Legion is a warning that a life of sin will end in disaster if not rescued by the Lord Himself.
He is called Legion. Why Legion? His life of allowing sin to go unchecked led him to be indwelt by “many” demons. Careless sinning often has a “multiplying” effect that seizes your life. It ends up defining who you are. Think of how many lives have been wrecked by the jaws of drink, drugs, apathy, bitterness, and greed! By the time we realize where “sin” has taken us, it’s often too late.
Legion meets the Lord at the shore’s edge. His life is totally out of his control now. He’s going to make one last attempt to be “freed” from sin. When he was a boy he must have had dreams of what he thought his life would be. He allowed sin in, thinking he could control it. Sin slowly draws us in; we think we are in control, and then we wake up one day and realize “sin” is controlling us!
Sad to say, no one else could help him. He couldn’t be contained. We find him beyond all human intervention. Look at the extremes that failed: he was chained, banished to the outreaches of town, hanging out in the tombs. Finally, when the Lord released him from the hold of the demons he saw firsthand what his final end would have been if not for the Lord: “The whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.” He had not been far from death and eternity!
The only thing that could help him was a cure. The only Person with the power to cure him was the Lord Jesus. How amazed the town was when they came out and found him “sitting at the feet of Jesus … in his right mind”! The same holds true today. No matter how little or great the hold that sin has on our lives, only the Lord can provide the cure for us. The Lord’s death on the Cross for sin is the “cure” for our sins – any and all of them. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from ALL sin” (1John 1:7). What a relief for the sinner to come to understand the truth of 1John 4:14, “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”