The story of the man possessed by “legion” is one of the more unusual in the gospels. One side note to the miracle is Jesus’ admonition at the end: “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Most times after performing some mighty sign Jesus says something like “don’t tell anyone about this.” Scholars call this the “messianic secret.” Jesus seemed to fear that people would focus on the Messiah as miracle worker instead of heeding the call to conversion. Perhaps Jesus can send the healed demoniac as a apostle since he was in pagan territory (Gerasene was a Greek city). Jesus felt he could spread the word without misunderstanding the messianic overtones.
