From the disciples' perspective, the encounter between Jesus and the demon-driven man must have seemed like it was a standstill. In fact, Jesus was fully in control at all times. Mark continues:
9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
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. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
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. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
When the disciples got off the boat, scared stiff from the storm and even more scared by Jesus' power over it, their fear had been increased at the sight of these two demon-driven men. Jesus had told the evil spirit to depart, but this man continued to be a roadblock into town. Jesus knew why. It was not simply a demon, but many, so He exposes that fact by His question. The demons had no option but to answer honestly: "Legion", as in thousands. There were many more reasons for these disciples to be scared than they could see. It's a good thing we cannot see all the evil around us. Either we would live in constant fear or we would be like the citizens of that area: they were so accustomed to and complacent with such activity that they would rather have Jesus leave than expose it. That's the kind of world we live in: much of the sin and evil we see is just a surface glance at what lies beneath. We ought not to live in fear, but neither should we ignore it or accept it as normal or get comfortable with it. This evil world needs peace, and the only way it will get it is the way this man did, when Jesus did a work in his life.
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