Jesus Heals a Man Possessed by Demons
1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain, 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him, 7 and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region. 11 Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding, 12 and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the man possessed by demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion, and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the swine reported it. 17 Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But Jesus refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
Here we see Jesus venturing into land not owned by the Jews, and we will never know why He went there. But it is here that He confronts a sick man who is possessed by evil demons, to show everyone that He has come to take the full force of evil on Himself and let all others go free. Underneath the pain and injustice of political enslavement there is a spiritual battle. It is through Jesus Christ and His death on a cross that the Kingdom of God reaches it climax and all early powers are brought to heel, even though the messenger of the Kingdom of God suffers in the process.
The story takes on a life of its own in one man who is in deep human distress, and upon meeting Jesus he is healed of that distress. What we all need is the gentle, healing message of Jesus. And when Jesus will not let the man-made-well follow Jesus, it is as though Jesus is telling us all to stand on our own two feet and find the life Jesus has intended us all to live.
In so many ways this man has become the first disciple to the gentiles.
Now it is your turn and my turn to stand on our own two feet and bring the Kingdom of God to others.
Let that be our prayer today, that with the grace of God we may work with Christ to bring the Kingdom of God to others, actively sharing the message and values of Jesus Christ with others, aiming to transform their lives by introducing them to God's love, grace, and righteousness.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” Matthew 6:33.
“Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” John 18:36.
““The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” Mark 1:15.
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