The Man Among the Tombs

The Story

Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee into the country of the Gadarenes. As soon as He stepped out of the boat, a man came running toward Him from the tombs.

This man lived among the graves. People had tried to bind him with chains, but he tore them apart. No one could tame him. Night and day he cried out in the mountains and the tombs and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell down before Him. Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.

“What is thy name?” Jesus asked.

“My name is Legion: for we are many.”

The spirits begged Jesus not to send them out of the country. A large herd of pigs was feeding nearby, about two thousand. Jesus gave them permission to enter the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down a steep bank into the sea and drowned.

When the people of the area came out to see what had happened, they found the man who had been possessed sitting quietly, clothed, and “in his right mind.” And they were afraid. They begged Jesus to leave.

As Jesus got into the boat, the healed man begged to go with Him. But Jesus said no. “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.” So he went throughout the Decapolis telling everyone what Jesus had done, and they all marveled.

Reflection