²⁶They then sailed over to Lake Galilee to the Gentile area of the Gerasenes (also known as the Gadarenes), which is on the opposite side of the lake from the region of Galilee. ²⁷When Jesus stepped out of the boat onto land, he was met by a man from the town who was possessed by many demons. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house. In fact, he had been thrown out of the community and had to make his home in the tombs. ²⁸When the man saw Jesus, he recognized who Jesus was, fell at Jesus’ feet and screamed out furiously, ‘What have you got to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Leave me alone! Why are you hassling me? I beg you, don’t torment me!’ ²⁹The man said this because Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. The evil spirit had seized the man many times before and although he was kept under guard and was restrained with chains and shackles he had broken the chains and had been driven by the demon into the wilderness.

³⁰Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’

The man replied, ‘My name is Legion,’ because many evil spirits had entered him, ³¹and the demons kept on begging Jesus not to command them to go back into the Abyss, the bottomless pit of despair that is the home of demons.

³²Now a large herd of pigs was grazing on the nearby hillside, and the evil spirits begged Jesus to let them enter the pigs, so he gave them permission to do so. ³³When the evil spirits came out of the man, they entered the pigs, and the whole herd of pigs stampeded down the cliff into the lake, where they all drowned.

³⁴When the workers looking after the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported the dramatic incident to the people in the nearby town and countryside. ³⁵This resulted in people coming out to see what had happened, but when they came to Jesus they found the man from whom the demons had been driven out now sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and in his right mind. So they were startled and shaken up. ³⁶Those who had witnessed what had happened reported to the people how the demon-possessed man had been healed. ³⁷Then all the people from that area of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were so awestruck and terrified. So Jesus got back into the boat and went back. ³⁸The man who had been demon-possessed kept on begging Jesus to be allowed to remain with him and become one of his apprentices, but Jesus didn’t let him. Instead, Jesus sent him away, telling him, ³⁹‘Go back home to your family. Take this opportunity to tell those who know you well how much God has done for you.’ So the man went off, declaring throughout the whole town how much Jesus had done for him.

Luke 8:26-39

Key Thought: Tell those who know you well about what Jesus has done for you.