Gadarene Domoniac
As he was climbing out of the boat a man from the city of Gadara came to meet him, a man who had been demon-possessed for a long time. Homeless and naked, he lived in a cemetery among the tombs.
As soon as he saw Jesus he shrieked and fell to the ground before him, screaming, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of God Most High? Please, I beg you, oh, don't torment me!" For Jesus was already commanding the demon to leave him. This demon had often taken control of the man so that even when shackled with chains he simply broke them and rushed out into the desert, completely under the demon's power.
"What is your name?" Jesus asked the demon. "Legion", they replied - for the man was filled with thousands of them! They kept begging Jesus not to order them into the bottomless Pit.
A herd of pigs was feeding on the mountainside nearby, and the demons pled with him to let them enter into the pigs. And Jesus said they could. So they left the man and went into the pigs, and immediately the whole herd rushed down the mountainside and fell over a cliff into the lake below, where they drowned. The herdsmen rushed away to the nearby city, spreading the news as they ran.
Soon a crowd came out to see for themselves what had happened and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting quietly at Jesus' feet, clothed and sane! And the whole crowd was badly frightened. Then those who had seen it happen told how the demon-possessed man had been healed. And everyone begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone (for a deep wave of fear had swept over them). So he returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake.
The man who had been demon-possessed begged to go too, but Jesus said "no, go back to your family," he told him, "and tell them what a wonderful thing God has done for you." So he went all through the city telling everyone about Jesus' mighty miracle. On the other side of the lake the crowds received him with open arms, for they had been waiting for him.
Mantra: Jesus Son of God most high, heal me.
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