In the course of His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus cast down many demons. But this incident is one of the more remarkable, as well as one of the most memorable.
Jesus and the disciples crossed the sea of Galilee, and came to the region near the town of Gadara (v. 1). This was on the southeast coast of Galilee, in a region heavily populated with Gentiles — Gadara was a Gentile city. The demoniac in this encounter may well have been a Gentile himself. The sea of Galilee is about fifteen miles across, north to south, and about six miles across, east to west. The journey across should have taken them a couple of hours. They were met on the beach by a man with an unclean spirit (v. 2).
This miserable man was beyond all help. His family and acquaintances could not even help him through physical restraint. They had attempted it, and had repeatedly failed (v. 4). He now lived in the tombs out in the country (v. 3). Because he was bound he could not be bound. In his frenzy he had uncommon strength. Whether on the mountain or in the tombs, he spent his time, night and day, howling and cutting himself with stones (v. 5).
He saw Christ from a distance, and ran to met Him, and fell down before Him (v. 6). Jesus commands him — the Lord told the unclean spirit to depart from the man (v. 8). The demons know who Jesus is, the Son of the Most High. What does the Son of God have to do with him? He adjures Christ in the name of God to refrain from tormenting him (v. 7). Jesus then asks his name (v. 9). He answers with the name Legion, because there were many demons. A legion had between three thousand and six thousand soldiers. This is probably not overstatement because there were two thousand pigs that were driven into the sea. The demons beseech Christ to allow them to stay in the country (v. 10). A large herd of swine was nearby (v. 11). The demons sought permission to enter into the pigs (v. 12), which Jesus gave (v. 13). The pigs promptly stampeded into the sea and were drowned (v. 13). Whether this was the intention of the demons or not, the text does not say.
Needless to say, the swineherds watched these events unfold with some interest. They hotfooted it into town, telling everyone in town and countryside what had happened (v. 14). A group of interested people came out immediately. When they got there they found Jesus, and the former demoniac was there as well, sitting, clothed, and sane (v. 15). Their response was one of fear. Those who had seen everything told them how it had all happened, and they also told them about the pigs (v. 16). In their fear, they asked Jesus to leave them (v. 17), which He did.
This very grateful man asks Jesus if he may accompany Him (v. 18). Jesus declines, but gives him a mission and a message. He tells him to go home, and tells him to relate the great work of God, and the compassionate work of God (v. 19). The man departs, and becomes a preacher of the great things done for him by Christ (v. 20). He was an effective preacher, because all men marvelled as a result.
A number of things about this account invite us to make comparisons and contrasts. First, the normal pattern is that when Christ does a great work, multitudes flock after him. Here the great miracle causes them to request that He leave. Second, in a very singular way, Jesus tells this man to tell others what has happened to him. Usually, Jesus tells those He has healed to tell no one. This man, unlike the others, is obedient. And last, the demons asked not to be sent from the country, and Jesus granted the request. The people asked Jesus to depart from the country, and He granted their request. We may only remark on a very poor exchange indeed.