the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” . For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” . Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” . He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. . Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; . and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” . So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea. . The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. . They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. . Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. . Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. . As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by the demons begged him that he might be with him. . But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” . And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.77 A glance at standard commentaries78 reveals that these verses constitute one of the most puzzling and troubling episodes in the Gospels. Jesus seems not to be portrayed in a very favorable light. 77 The translation, as elsewhere in this lecture, is that of theNew Revised Standard Version. I
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