📖 Biblical Definition
Legion is the name claimed by the Gerasene demoniac in Mark 5:9: my name is Legion: for we are many. The Roman legion of about 5,000-6,000 soldiers became the demoniac's self-identification — an army of demons within one man. Christ commanded them to depart; they entered a herd of swine; the herd ran into the sea. The man was found sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Roman military unit of ~5,000-6,000 soldiers; the name claimed by the Gerasene demoniac (Mk 5:9).
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Mark 5:1-20 records the most extensive demoniac-deliverance scene in the Gospels. The man was uncontrollable, suicidal, dwelling among tombs; Christ's authority delivered him in moments. The demons begged not to be sent into the abyss; Christ permitted them to enter the swine; the swine drowned.
The man's testimony followed (Mk 5:18-20): he wished to follow Christ; Christ sent him home to declare what God had done. He proclaimed it in the Decapolis — the first Gentile evangelist commissioned in the Gospels.
📖 Key Scripture
Mark 5:9 — "And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many."
Mark 5:15 — "And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind."
Mark 5:19 — "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."
Luke 8:30 — "And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity often softens the demonic; Mark 5 takes it as a real and conquerable enemy.
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The demoniac was beyond human help: chains broken, fetters torn apart, no man could tame him (Mk 5:4). Christ tamed him in seconds. The contrast is theological: human resources fail at this depth; Christ's authority works at every depth.
And the recovered demoniac became the first Gentile preacher Christ commissioned. The household's most broken member, restored by Christ, may yet preach to those Christ Himself has not yet visited. Mark 5 is gospel hope at the deepest level.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Latin legio; Greek legeōn (loanword in the New Testament).
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Latin legio — legion, ~5,000-6,000 soldiers.
Greek legeōn — Greek transliteration; appears in Mt 26:53 as well (Christ's reference to twelve legions of angels).
Usage
"Christ tamed in seconds what no man could chain."
"The household's most broken member, restored, may preach."
"Mark 5 is gospel hope at the deepest level."