A Demon Possessed Man

This account is told as if we are experiencing through the eyes of one of the disciples. Which of the twelve disciples is not important, it is just seeing it from a different angle that can be found in the pages of the New Testament. I have added the question mark to the title not to be in any way controversial, I am inviting questioning of just what did occur that day.

The Healing of the Demon-Possessed Man?

It had been a very calm and peaceful sail we had experienced across the lake towards Gerasenes. The water had indeed been very calm but there was just enough of a breeze to keep the boat moving. The skill of those who had once been fishermen meant that they could keep the sails full of wind and we made steady progress. It was good to have these moments when we were alone, twelve of us and Jesus, with no interruptions from others.

It seemed that we were constantly surrounded wherever we travelled, each in their own way making demands on the attention of Jesus, and often each of us. It never failed to amaze me how calm Jesus stayed under all of the pressure; we often, on the other hand, got short tempered. At times such as this, we often asked what lay in the future for all of us? When Jesus took the time to give us answers we did not always understand just exactly what he was saying and we were left bewildered.

It had been a good sail with lighthearted conversations, the sun was bright in the sky but there had been enough breeze to stop it from becoming uncomfortable.

Then everything changed, as we arrived at the shore Jesus hardly had his foot out of the boat when this thing came screaming from the caves, many of which were used as tombs. I say this thing, in fact, we could see it was, in fact, a human being, a man. At first sight, I had thought it was some kind of animal, a frightening enormous animal. My heart was in my mouth and as I looked at the others they also looked alarmed. The only person unmoved and calm was Jesus. 

I felt sure we were about to be attacked. He was like a screaming dervish, as he yelled and screamed,arms flying all over the place. Alongside the noise, he was making there was the rattling of the many pieces of chains that had, at one time and another, been placed on his arms and legs. It became plain to see many attempts had been made to restrain him but he had broken free. It was very obvious that this man was possessed in some way but it was also clear that this was a very strong and dangerous man.

It was not made any easier when he hurtled towards us at great speed. We all looked as if we were making ready for trouble. So I am sure you can imagine the surprise when he threw himself on the ground in front of Jesus begging him to leave him alone.

He yelled at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus Son of the Most High? Swear that you will not torture or torment me."

I looked towards this man and then to Jesus and asked myself who was the most likely to be the torturer?

Jesus turned towards him and said, "Come out of this man, evil spirit!" He then spoke to him again and asked his name. The man responded, "Legion, for we are many."  Or something to that effect. It was a very strange almost weird conversation. 

He certainly seemed to have the strength of many, but yet he did just look like one very mad man.

There did seem to be some kind of understanding passing between him and Jesus. What happened next was even stranger. Some sort of discussion took place between Jesus and this man.

Now the next thing that happened was either part of this ongoing event or some kind of coincidence, but a herd of pigs came hurtling down a steep bank and straight into the lake we had just left. We all stood mesmerised as we watched them all drown. One minute they were there, the next minute they were not.

I turned from watching this to look again towards the mad man, only to see that he was no longer a mad man. he was sitting as calm as you can imagine holding a conversation with Jesus as if they were long lost, friends. It was very difficult to comprehend just what had happened in the last moments.

The events of the day were not yet over. Some of the men who had been in the field with the herd of pigs were running towards as fast as their legs would carry them.  Whether there had been any connection between the healing of the man and the drowning of the pigs or not, what I was sure of was it was time for us to depart the scene. This feeling was only strengthened when I heard talk of demons and pigs.

Soon almost the total population of the town were there beside us and the place was abuzz with questions. There were those who seemed happy for the man that he had somehow calmed down and seemed very normal. There were those who were more annoyed about what had happened to the pigs and the first noises of us being in some way to be the cause.

We were asked, if not ordered, to leave. I for one thought this sounded like a wise decision and the sooner the better. Some of the locals spoke kindly to us advising us to leave.

We headed towards our boat, which we had so recently left. We clambered aboard and those experts in such matters made ready the sails. Jesus was the last to make a move to climb aboard, he was still conversing with some of the people. As he boarded, the man who had been yelling and screaming quietly asked Jesus if he could join them in the boat. It was very obvious to all that he was pleased to regain his lost sanity. Jesus spoke firmly, "No, you return to your family and share with them what has happened to you."

His head dropped but he did as Jesus had asked him. He set off for home leaving behind his cave. How I would have loved to be there when he entered his home and they saw him. I imagined much celebration in that household that night.

This story can be seen on many levels. It can be viewed as Jesus performing a miracle cure, and there could very well be truth in that belief. It could be seen as an account of Jesus bringing calm and peace to a distraught human being, that of itself is something not to be undermined. There is also the message of the instructions of Jesus firmly but quietly given, sometimes our first priority is to our families. We must learn where our priorities are.