Mt. 8:28a When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes,
Mk. 5:1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. Lk. 8:26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
The thing to note is that this takes place in the area known as the Gadarenes around the city of Girgasha. Gadara is the region and Girgasha is a city in that region. The thing that is important about this is that it is Gentile territory. Also, we are still in the same day as the previous events, including His rejection.
Mt. 8:28b There met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
Mk. 5:2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
Lk. 8:27a And when He had stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.
Here we have a couple of differences in the Gospels that cannot be explained, but are not really that important anyway. Both Mark and Luke say that one demon-possessed man met the Lord when He got out of the boat. Matthew says there were two. Matthew and Mark both say that the man came out of the tombs to meet the Lord. Luke says that he came out of the city. The important lesson to be learned here is that there was some type of demonic activity going on that Yeshua easily overcame.
Mk. 5:3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains.
Lk. 8:27b And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.
Mk. 5:4 Because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him .
Mk. 5:5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
This is the first time in the Gospels that we are given any type of description of what it is like to be demon-possessed. It is not a very pretty picture, to say the least. One possible reason for this vivid description being given is to help disprove the accusation that has just been made against Yeshua — that He works His miracles through the power of demons. There is nothing in Yeshua’s lifestyle that even remotely identifies Him with this man’s lifestyle or behavior.
Mk. 5:6 But when he saw Jesus from a far, he ran and worshiped him.
Mt. 8:29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
Mk. 5:7 And he cried with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
Lk. 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”
Mk. 5:8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit.”
Lk. 8:29 For He commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demons into the wilderness.
Mk. 5:9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”
Lk. 8:30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him.
There was a Pharisaic formula or ritual which required three steps for a Jewish exorcism. First, the exorcist had to establish communication with the demon. The demon spoke using the vocal cords of the person possessed. Second, the exorcist had to find out the demon’s name. Third, after finding out the demon’s name, he would use that name to cast out the demon. Here Yeshua was using the standard formula used also by other Rabbis all over Israel.
Mk. 5:10 And he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
Lk. 8:31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
The abyss is a temporary place of confinement for fallen angels. Some are there now to be released later; others are to be sent there to be confined later. Often when demons were cast out they were consigned temporarily to the abyss.
Mt. 8:30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.
Mk. 5:11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountain.
Lk. 8:32a Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.
Mt. 8:31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”
Mk. 5:12 And all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.”
Lk. 8:32b And they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.
Mt. 8:32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
Mk. 5:13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand), and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
Lk. 8:33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
They begged not to be sent into the abyss, but to be sent into a herd of swine, and the herd was composed of two thousand pigs (an extremely large herd by anyone’s measure). Yeshua gives the permission for them to enter the pigs, at which point the pigs commit mass suicide. Why the Lord allowed the demons to enter the pigs remains unclear. One possible reason is that the demons may have tried to enter the other people that were present there. Or possibly an unclean animal was a fitting place for unclean spirits.
Mt. 8:33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed man.
Mk. 5:14a Now those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country.
Lk. 8:34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
We can only imagine that the herders that were tending the swine saw Yeshua and His disciples going through that area and knew that they would be confronted by the demon-possessed man and watched carefully to see what would happen. They were in for the shock of their lives.
Mk. 5:14b And they went out to see what happened.
Lk. 8:35a Then they went out to see what had happened,
Mk. 5:15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the Legion, sitting clothed, and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
Lk. 8:35b And came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
Mt. 8:34a And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.
Mk. 5:16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed. And about the swine.
Lk. 8:36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.
Mt. 8:34b And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.
Mk. 5:17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
Lk. 8:37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
Mk. 5:18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.
Lk. 8:38a Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.
Mk. 5:19a However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him,
Lk. 8:38b But Jesus sent him away, saying,
Mk. 5:19b “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
Lk. 8:39a “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.”
Mk. 5:20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
Lk. 8:39b And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
When Yeshua does leave, the man requests to follow Him and become one of His disciples. But, He will not permit it. The man is a Gentile, and at this point, the way is not open for the Gentiles. Rather, He tells him to go out and declare the great things that Yeshua did for him. You might say he becomes the first Gentile evangelist. This is in direct contrast to what Yeshua will now allow the Jews to do. He tells them to keep quite about any miracles that He performs. The way for the Gentiles is starting to be prepared. The man goes out to the Decapolis, a confederation of ten Gentile cities. The names of these cities were: (1) Scythopolis; (2) Pella; (3) Hippos; (4) Gadara; (5) Rephana; (6) Dion; (7) Gerasa; (8) Canatha; (9) Damascus; and (10) Philadelphia.
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