31
The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.
32
There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission.
33
Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.
34
When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran.
35
People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.
36
Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
37
And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake.
38
The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying,
39
“No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.
40
On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him.
41
Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him.