Mark 5
The man possessed by Legion
And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
Across the lake in Gentile territory, a man possessed by many demons, living among tombs and beyond all restraint, meets Jesus. The spirits, calling themselves Legion, beg to be sent into a herd of pigs, which then rush into the lake and drown. The frightened locals ask Jesus to leave, and the healed man is sent home to tell what the Lord has done for him.
What does this mean?
A 'legion' was a Roman army unit of several thousand soldiers. 'Adjure' (KJV) means to implore under oath. 'Coasts' (KJV) means region. The Decapolis ('Ten Cities') was a group of Greek-style cities, mostly east of the lake and the Jordan.
Historical context
Manuscripts differ on the region's name — Gadarenes, Gerasenes or Gergesenes — and the exact location is uncertain. Pigs were unclean animals under Jewish law and tombs places of impurity, marking this as non-Jewish territory. Some scholars think the name 'Legion' also comments on Roman military occupation.
Why does it matter?
This is Jesus' first venture among Gentiles in Mark. Unlike others he heals, this man is told to go and tell, and he becomes the first to proclaim Jesus in the Decapolis. The townspeople's fear at his restoration echoes the disciples' fear after the storm.
Editorial notes, not scripture.
Told in three Gospels
Matthew 8:28–34
Two men possessed by demons
How Matthew tells it
Matthew has two possessed men where Mark and Luke have one, and his account is far shorter. The demons' name, Legion, is not given, and there is no healed man asking to go with Jesus and being sent home to tell his story. Only Matthew's demons protest at being tormented 'before the time'.
Continue reading in Matthew →Luke 8:26–39
The man possessed by Legion
How Luke tells it
Luke, like Mark, has one man (Matthew has two). Only Luke has the demons beg not to be sent into "the deep," and he notes that the man wore no clothes. Luke gives no number of pigs (Mark: about two thousand). Jesus tells the man to declare what "God" has done (Mark: "the Lord"); he proclaims what Jesus has done.
Continue reading in Luke →How Mark tells it
Mark tells the longest version. As in Luke there is one man (Matthew has two). Only Mark describes him crying out night and day and cutting himself with stones, and only Mark gives the size of the herd — about two thousand. Mark ends with the man proclaiming throughout the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him.