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Jesus Throws a Trip on a Demon

¹ The next day, they arrived on the other side of the lake. ² They had no more than got both feet on the ground when a man possessed by an evil spirit started trotting out of the cemetery toward them. ³ He lived among the tombs and couldn't even be tied up with chains. ⁴ When he was put in irons, he snapped them like paper. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day he wandered among the dead, howling, and caterwauling, and cutting himself with sharp rocks.

⁶ Jesus was still a far piece out when the man had caught sight of him. He ran out and bowed real low in front of Jesus. ⁷ With an unearthly shriek, he yelled, "Why have you come to stop me, Son of God? By God's good name, please don't torture me." ⁸ Jesus had already told the spirit to light out.

⁹ Jesus said, "What do they call you?"

¹⁰ "They call me Legion. We are too many to count." ¹¹ He then begged Jesus not to throw a trip on them. ¹² There was a herd of pigs grazing nearby and the demonic spirits asked to be sent into the pigs. ¹³ Jesus told them to go ahead. The evil spirits rushed out and filled the pigs. Then the herd of two thousand pigs stampeded into the lake and drown.

¹⁴ Now the people who had been taking care of that herd of pigs ran off to tell everyone what had happened. ¹⁵ People came running and the first thing they saw was Jesus sitting there talking to the man who had been possessed, but this time he was in his right mind. ¹⁶ Word spread quickly about what happened and the people were afraid. They ¹⁷ begged Jesus to leave the area.

¹⁸ As Jesus threw his saddle back in the boat, the former demon-possessed man asked to ride with him, ¹⁹ but Jesus told him to go home. "Tell people what God has done for you and that he had mercy on you." ²⁰ So the guy went off and told everyone his story and all who heard it were amazed.

Faith Heals

²¹ When Jesus made it back across the lake, a ton of people gathered around him. ²² All of a sudden, one of the local church leaders named Jairus came up, and when he caught sight of Jesus, he fell at his feet. ²³ He pleaded with Jesus, "My daughter is near dead. Come and put your hand on her so she will live." ²⁴ Jesus told him to lead the way and a large crowd followed.

²⁵ There was also a woman in the crowd who had been bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal and spent everything she had on people who claimed to have a cure. Yet instead of getting better, everything just made her worse. ²⁷ She'd heard about Jesus and got close enough to touch his vest. She kept telling herself, ²⁸ "I bet if I just touch his clothes, I will be fixed." ²⁹ When she touched his vest, her bleeding immediately stopped and she knew that she'd been healed.

³⁰ Jesus also knew that healing power had gone out from him. He turned around and asked, "Who touched me?"

³¹ His cowboys kind of chuckled and said, "There's a thousand people within three feet of you and you want to ask, 'Who touched me?'"

³² But Jesus ignored their jibe and continued to look for whoever had laid a hand on him.

³³ Then the woman came forward, afraid and shaking like a leaf. She fell down on her face before him and explained what, and why, she'd touched him. ³⁴ He said to her, "My daughter, your faith has fixed you. Ride out in peace and be healed."

³⁵ While he was still talking to the woman, some people came from the church leader's house saying, "Jairus, your daughter is dead. No need to bother Jesus anymore."

³⁶ But Jesus didn't pay no mind to what the people were saying. He told Jairus, "Don't be scared . . . believe!"

³⁷ Jesus didn't let anyone go with him except Pete, James, and John. ³⁸ As they neared Jairus's house, there was a terrible commotion of wailing and sobbing coming from inside and out.

³⁹ When he went in, he asked why everyone was carrying on like that. Jesus told them that she wasn't dead. The girl was just asleep.

⁴⁰ They began making fun of him so he put them all out on the porch. He went into the girl's room with her mom and dad, as well as the three cowboys who'd come with him. ⁴¹ Jesus gently took the girl by the hand and said, "Get up, sweetie."

⁴² The twelve-year-old little girl got up immediately and began to walk around the room like nothing had happened. Everyone was flabbergasted. ⁴³ Jesus told 'em all to keep their traps shut about what had happened. If they wanted to do something, they could get the young girl something to eat.