The Demons and the Pigs
Jesus arrives in the Gerasenes and meets a man driven among the tombs, unrestrained, self-harming, and beyond human control.
O1n the other side of the sea, they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes. 2As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, He was met by a man with an unclean spirit, who was coming from the tombs. 3This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains. 4Though he was often bound with chains and shackles, he had broken the chains and shattered the shackles. Now there was no one with the strength to subdue him. 5Night and day in the tombs and in the mountains he kept crying out and cutting himself with stones.
The man falls before Jesus, the demons name themselves Legion, and Jesus permits them to enter the pigs, which rush into the sea and drown.
6When the man saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees before Him. 7And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!” 8For Jesus had already declared, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!” 9“What is your name?” Jesus asked. 10“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of that region. 11There on the nearby hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. 12So the demons begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.” 13He gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water.
The herdsmen report what happened, the town sees the man restored, the people ask Jesus to leave, and the man begins proclaiming in the Decapolis.
14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it described what had happened to the demon-possessed man and also to the pigs. 17And the people began to beg Jesus to leave their region. 18As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by the demons begged to go with Him. 19But Jesus would not allow him. “Go home to your own people,” He said, “and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy He has shown you.” 20So the man went away and began to proclaim throughout the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.