Mark 5. (14) The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. (15) And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. (ESV)
And now we are arriving at almost the end of this story about the man of Gadara. Looking back to his life before Jesus, he was a raging, powerful, insane maniac. The verses above tell us that after the legion horde of demons were sent out of him by Jesus, this same man was sitting next to Jesus clothed, and in his right mind.
The word that is translated above, “right mind” has expansive, significant, powerful meaning. It is the combination of two words taken together to mean, “thinking in a way unto salvation”, or “thinking in a way that is safe”. It’s wide usage in the New Testament typically is translated in ways which mean, “thinking to be prudent”, “thinking wisely”, or “thinking in a sound mind”. And such was this man of Gadara.
This is one of my favorite moments in the Bible. A powerful lunatic turned around into a well behaved man, who thinks prudently, soberly, and rationally. A man with a sound mind. All brought about by the presence of Jesus and the power of His spoken word.
I’ve tried to picture this moment in my mind, because it must have been such a beautiful thing. I’ve posted my song, “Paradise” below, because it makes reference to the man from Gadara sitting at Jesus’ feet, which is the way Luke 8.35 gives additional details of this moment.