Day 33: Go home and tell

Mark 5:1-20 (OTB)

¹They crossed over to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. ²As Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit immediately came from the tombs to meet Him. ³This man lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with chains. ⁴For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he tore the chains apart and broke the shackles; no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵Day and night among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out and harm himself with stones. ⁶When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and bowed down before Him. ⁷He shouted with a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!” ⁸For Jesus had been saying to him, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰And he begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region. ¹¹A large group of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹²The demons pleaded with Jesus, “Send us into the pigs so that we may enter them.” ¹³He gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned. ¹⁴Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people came to see what had happened. ¹⁵When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were filled with awe. ¹⁶Those who had seen it described to the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man and about the pigs. ¹⁷Then the people began to urge Jesus to leave their region. ¹⁸As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with Him. ¹⁹Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” ²⁰So the man went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.