Jesus is now on the other side of the Sea of  Galilee, in the district of the Decapolis (greek: ten cities).  In the time of Jesus, the Golan Heights, which we will soon be visiting, were  gentile Greek territory where pagan worship flourished.  The herding of pigs, which are considered unclean animals by the Jews, is an indicator that this is was not a  Jewish area.  It was here that Jesus healed the demon-possessed man, who lived among the tombs.  The miracle again shows how Jesus brings liberty to those who are captive to the devil, so that they might “turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18).

As a result , the people of the area and indeed the entire population are seized with fear and ask Jesus to leave - one of the saddest phrases in the whole Gospel. Jesus has indeed come as a light to the Gentiles, but they were not ready at that point to welcome Him.  The man from whom the demons had come out however now freed and sat at Jesus’ feet, the posture of  a disciple.  The evil one tries to oppress us, tempt us and derail our journey;  so we need to pray as Jesus told us to in the 'Our Father': “deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:13). Empowered with His grace, we are equipped to resist the devil’s evil  4D’s - deception, disunity, diversion and discouragement.