GADARENE MAN
And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. Mark 5:18-20
Matthew 8:28-34
28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
Mark 5:1-20
1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
Luke 8:26-39
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
Verse-By-Verse Breakdown
The story of the healing of the demon-possessed man (often referred to as the Gadarene Demoniac) is recorded in three of the Synoptic Gospels: Mark 5:1–20, Luke 8:26–39, and Matthew 8:28–34.
(Note: While Matthew mentions two men, Mark and Luke focus primarily on the more vocal or prominent of the two. The breakdown below draws heavily from the detailed narrative in Mark 5 and Luke 8).
Crossing into Gentile Territory (Mark 5:1 / Luke 8:26): Jesus and His disciples arrive on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Gadarenes/Gerasenes. This is a Gentile (non-Jewish) area, evidenced later by the presence of a large herd of pigs.
The Outcast from the Tombs (Mark 5:2–3 / Luke 8:27): Immediately upon stepping ashore, Jesus is met by a man with an unclean spirit. Luke notes he is from the local town, has worn no clothes for a long time, and lives among the rock-cut tombs (graves)—a place ceremonially unclean and associated with death.
Total Isolation and Superhuman Strength (Mark 5:3–4 / Luke 8:29): The community had previously tried to subdue him using chains and iron shackles, but he repeatedly snapped them apart. No one was strong enough to tame him.
Self-Destructive Torment (Mark 5:5): Day and night, the man roams the tombs and surrounding hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. This highlights the destructive, isolating nature of demonic oppression.
Running to Worship (Mark 5:6 / Luke 8:28): Seeing Jesus from a distance, the man runs toward Him. Instead of attacking Jesus, he falls down before Him in submission, recognizing a higher authority.
The Demonic Outcry (Mark 5:7 / Luke 8:28): Driven by the entities inside him, the man screams out with a loud voice: "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God?" He begs Jesus not to torment him, recognizing Jesus' divine holiness as a direct threat to their occupation.
The Command to Leave (Mark 5:8 / Luke 8:29): Mark clarifies that Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, which is why the demons are reacting with panic and defensive bargaining.
"What is thy name?" (Mark 5:9 / Luke 8:30): Jesus asks the man his name to establish personal contact and bring his fragmented identity back. The reply reveals the scale of the tragedy: "My name is Legion: for we are many"—a Roman legion numbered up to several thousand spirits.
The Plea for Relocation (Mark 5:10–12 / Luke 8:31–32): The demons desperately beg Jesus not to send them out of the region, or into the abyss. Instead, noticing a large herd of about 2,000 pigs feeding nearby on the hillside, they ask permission to enter the animals.
Destruction of the Herd (Mark 5:13 / Luke 8:33): Jesus grants permission. The unclean spirits leave the man and enter the pigs. The entire herd instantly stampedes down the steep bank into the Sea of Galilee and drowns.
Fleeing and Reporting (Mark 5:14 / Luke 8:34): The terrified herdsmen run off, spreading the news through the town and countryside. Locals rush out to see what happened.
The Transformed Man (Mark 5:15 / Luke 8:35): When the crowd arrives, they expect chaos, but instead find the former maniac sitting quietly at Jesus' feet. He is "clothed, and in his right mind". Paradoxically, this peaceful scene fills the locals with deep fear because divine power has disrupted their comfort zone.
Rejecting Jesus (Mark 5:16–17 / Luke 8:36–37): After eyewitnesses explain how the man was healed (and how the pigs were lost), the local population begs Jesus to leave their region immediately. Fearing further economic loss or spiritual disruption, they prioritize their livestock over the presence of the Savior.
The Desire to Follow (Mark 5:18 / Luke 8:38): As Jesus gets back into the boat to leave, the healed man begs to go with Him, wanting to stay close to his Deliverer.
The Mission Assigned (Mark 5:19 / Luke 8:39): Jesus refuses his request to join the traveling disciples, giving him a different purpose: "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."
A Witness in the Decapolis (Mark 5:20 / Luke 8:39): The man obeys, going throughout the Decapolis (a region of ten Gentile cities) proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him, leaving everyone amazed. The man becomes the first effective missionary to the Gentile world.
The Value of One Soul: Jesus crossed a dangerous body of water through a storm just to rescue one broken, ostracized outcast.
Power Over Chaos: The demons' name ("Legion") and the raging sea (from the previous chapter) both symbolize ultimate chaos—which Jesus subdues effortlessly with a single word.
Material vs. Spiritual Priorities: The Gadarenes chose their pigs over Jesus, showing how worldly wealth and fear of change can blind people to grace.
