This is a simplified version of the Bible story found in Mark 5:1-20, written for children to understand. For the original version, please refer to the Bible passage.
Jesus and his friends sailed across a sea to a place called the country of the Gerasenes. When they arrived, they saw a man who lived among the tombs.
The man was possessed by an unclean spirit, which made him very strong and wild. The people there tried to chain him up, but he always broke free. The man would spend his days and nights crying out and cutting himself with stones.
When the man saw Jesus, he ran to him and fell down before him. The unclean spirit inside the man knew who Jesus was, so it cried out.
Then Jesus said to the man, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
The demon inside the man cried out to Jesus and said, “Why are you here, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please don’t hurt me, I beg you, in God’s name.”
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
The man replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
And he begged Jesus earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus told the man to go back to his family and friends and tell them about what had happened. The man listened to Jesus and went to tell everyone in his town about how Jesus had healed him. Everyone was amazed.
Biblical Lessons
- Even those who seem lost and beyond help can be saved by Jesus.
- Demons and evil spirits exist, but they are no match for the power of Jesus.
- Jesus cares about all people, even those who are shunned by society.
- We should not fear the power of Jesus, but instead, we should trust in him and have faith in his ability to heal and save us.
- The power of Jesus is not limited to a specific place or time, but it is available to all who seek him.