(Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39)
Jesus and his disciples come off the boat across the lake to the Gerasenes, a wild, Gentile area across the lake. They run into a guy who is out of control right away. There’s this poor guy living among the tombs, screaming all day and night, smashing chains like they’re nothing, cutting himself with rocks, and running around naked. Nobody can handle him. He’s scary, dangerous, and totally alone. He’s been abandoned by everyone.
Then Jesus shows up.
Once he sees Jesus, the man runs straight to him and gets on his knees. They know Jesus is the Son of the Most High God, and they’re scared. The demons inside him start yelling, “What do you want with us, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God you won’t torture us!” It’s military talk for thousands. This guy’s not dealing with just one or two evil spirits; he’s dealing with a whole army of them.
Jesus doesn’t want to send the demons into the Abyss, where evil spirits are kept. They spot a huge herd of pigs feeding on the hillside, around two thousand, and ask Jesus to let them go into them. Jesus says, “Go.” Boom. The demons leave the man, rush into the pigs, and the whole herd freaks out, charges down the steep bank, and drowns.
Take a moment to think about that. These spirits are pure destruction. They kept the man isolated for years, hurting him, cutting him off from everyone. Once they get into the pigs, they do the same thing: drive them straight to death. Evil doesn’t build; it just tears it down and kills it.
Look at the man now, fully clothed, totally calm, totally in his right mind, hanging out with Jesus. Night-and-day difference. One word from Jesus, and freedom.
Word spreads fast. Pig herders come running into town yelling about what happened. People come running to see for themselves. They find the guy who once terrorized the whole region sitting quietly, looking normal now. Instead of celebrating that a human being just got his life back, they freak out about the dead pigs. They beg Jesus to leave. Seriously. They’re more worried about losing livestock than about saving a man from hell. He gets back on the boat and leaves.
The healed guy wants to jump in the boat too and follow Jesus everywhere, but Jesus says no. “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” So he does. People are blown away by what he says as he goes through all ten cities in the Decapolis.
It’s wild, but it shows some big things about Jesus. First, no matter how bad things get, no matter how many forces are stacked against you, Jesus is stronger than anyone else. Secondly, Jesus crosses the lake to get to this Gentile guy. His love and power are for everyone. Finally, real freedom looks like this: from chaos to peace, from isolation to community, from torment to worship.
People’s reactions are all over the place. Demons scream in fear. Locals pick pigs over a healed person. The rescued man can’t stop talking about Jesus. What happens when we encounter the real Jesus? Do we want him to leave because he messes with our comfort, or do we want to tell everybody about it?
Jesus still steps into messy, impossible situations today. Evil is real, destruction is real, but Jesus still speaks freedom over people who feel beyond hope.
