Jesus and his disciples sailed on a boat and crossed the sea of Galilea to reach Gadarenes. As soon as they stepped out of the boat, a demon-possessed man appeared in front of Jesus. For a long time, this man had not worn clothes or lived in his house but had been living in the graveyard. Nobody was able to control him even with chains. Though he was restrained many times with chains and shackles, he used to tear the chains apart and break the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night, he would cry out constantly in the hills and tombs and cut himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Jesus then asked, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion (a multitude of demons), for we are many.” They begged Jesus not to send them away from that countryside. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission. The impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed up, and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
As Jesus and his disciples were getting into the boat, the demon-possessed man begged to go with Him. Jesus asked him to go back to his home and tell his own people everything that the Lord had done for him. So, the man went away and told all over the town about what Jesus had done for him.
The demons knew who Jesus was. They were aware that Jesus was the Son of God and He had authority over Satan. They realized that He would drive the evil spirits away and not allow them to cause harm to His beloved creation by residing in him. That is the reason that the evil spirits pleaded with Him not to destroy them.
Jesus is a compassionate God. He felt pity for the demon-possessed man when he came to him crying. He commanded, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” The evil spirits left him, and the man came to his senses, dressed up, and stood next to Jesus.
Evil spirits and demons need a living body to work. It does not really matter whether it is a human being or an animal. That is the reason they pleaded Jesus not to send them to abyss but to the herd of pigs.
When the demon-possessed man was healed and came to his senses, he expressed his desire to be with Jesus. However, Jesus did not allow him and asked him to go back to his home and tell his own people everything that the Lord had done for him. He went across the town of Decapolis and testified to everyone what Jesus had done for him.
For every bad habit, there is dedicated evil spirit. Evil spirit of anger, evil spirit of stubbornness, evil spirit of lies, evil spirit of theft, evil spirit of diseases, evil spirit of lust, and so on and so forth. Let us identify the evil spirits that are residing within us and go to the presence of Jesus. The reason Son of God (Jesus) appeared was to destroy devil’s work. Jesus will drive away the evil spirits from us and fill us with the Holy Spirit. Jesus will change our state.
Thus, in our lives, there will be a subtle change in character and it will be apparent to others around us. That will be our testimony. Let us introduce Jesus, who transformed our lives, to others. Jesus, who changed our lives, is alive.
