Jesus Cures Two Demon-Possessed Men^(A)

²⁸ When he arrived in the territory of the Gadarenes on the other side ⌞of the Sea of Galilee⌟, two men met him. They were possessed by demons and had come out of the tombs. No one could travel along that road because the men were so dangerous.

²⁹ They shouted, “Why are you bothering us now, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before it is time?”

³⁰ A large herd of pigs was feeding in the distance. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you’re going to force us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

³² Jesus said to them, “Go!” The demons came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water. ³³ Those who took care of the pigs ran into the city. There they reported everything, especially about the men possessed by demons.

³⁴ Everyone from the city went to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their territory.

Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Man^(A)

5 They arrived in the territory of the Gerasenes on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. ² As Jesus stepped out of the boat, a man came out of the tombs and met him. The man was controlled by an evil spirit ³ and lived among the tombs. No one could restrain him any longer, not even with a chain. ⁴ He had often been chained hand and foot. However, he snapped the chains off his hands and broke the chains from his feet. No one could control him. ⁵ Night and day he was among the tombs and on the mountainsides screaming and cutting himself with stones.

⁶ The man saw Jesus at a distance. So he ran ⌞to Jesus⌟, bowed down in front of him, ⁷ and shouted, “Why are you bothering me now, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me.” ⁸ He shouted this because Jesus said, “You evil spirit, come out of the man.”

⁹ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

He told Jesus, “My name is Legion [Six Thousand], because there are many of us.” ¹⁰ He begged Jesus not to send them out of the territory.

¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on a mountainside nearby. ¹² The demons begged him, “Send us into the pigs! Let us enter them!”

¹³ Jesus let them do this. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and drowned.

¹⁴ Those who took care of the pigs ran away. In the city and countryside they reported everything that had happened. So the people came to see what had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. The man was sitting there dressed and in his right mind. The people were frightened. ¹⁶ Those who saw this told what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. ¹⁷ Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their territory.

¹⁸ As Jesus stepped into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him, “Let me stay with you.” ¹⁹ But Jesus would not allow it. Instead, he told the man, “Go home to your family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been to you.”

²⁰ So the man left. He began to tell how much Jesus had done for him in the Ten Cities.^[a] Everyone was amazed.