Jesus Casts Out Legion

In the region of the Gerasenes, Jesus encounters a man possessed by a legion of demons living among the tombs. Jesus casts the demons into a herd of pigs that rush into the sea. The man is restored to his right mind.

Demonstrates Jesus' absolute authority over demonic forces. The healed man becomes the first Gentile missionary, proclaiming Jesus throughout the Decapolis.

Key Verses

Background

The region of the Gerasenes lay on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, within the Decapolis — a confederation of ten Greco-Roman cities with a largely Gentile population. The presence of a large herd of pigs confirms this Gentile context, as Jewish law prohibited the keeping of swine. Jesus and his disciples had crossed the sea by boat, immediately after calming the storm, and stepped ashore into a landscape of tombs and unclean animals. The man they encountered was the embodiment of desolation: stripped of clothing, driven from human society, living among the dead, and unable to be restrained even by iron chains (Mark 5:3–5). His condition represented total demonization — the full negation of human dignity and community.

The Event

As Jesus stepped ashore, the man ran toward him and fell on his knees — not in worship but in a desperate, convulsive acknowledgment of the presence of sovereign power (Mark 5:6–7). Speaking with the voice of the possessing spirits, he identified Jesus as the Son of the Most High God and begged not to be tormented. Jesus commanded the spirit to come out and asked its name. The response — "Legion, because there are many of us" — conveyed both the scale of the possession and its military, oppressive character. The demons begged to be sent into the nearby herd of approximately two thousand pigs. Jesus granted permission; the herd immediately rushed down the hillside into the sea and drowned (Mark 5:11–13). The townspeople who came to investigate found the previously uncontrollable man sitting calmly, clothed and in his right mind. Their response was not rejoicing but fear — they pleaded with Jesus to leave. As Jesus prepared to depart, the restored man begged to go with him. Jesus instead commissioned him: "Go home to your own people and tell them everything the Lord has done for you" (Mark 5:19). The man obeyed, proclaiming throughout all ten cities of the Decapolis.

Theological Significance

The exorcism of Legion represents the most dramatic display of Jesus' absolute authority over the demonic realm in the Synoptic Gospels. The name "Legion" invoked the terror of Roman military occupation, and Jesus' command over such a force carried unmistakable apocalyptic resonance — the powers of darkness, however numerous, are subject to the word of the Son of God. The restored man becomes, without formal instruction, the first missionary to Gentile territory. His commission to declare what God had done for him anticipates the church's mission to the nations and demonstrates that transformation is itself a proclamation. The townspeople's fear and rejection of Jesus also anticipates the broader pattern of his reception: miraculous power confronts people with a choice, and many choose the security of the familiar over the disruption of liberation.