“Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.” Mark 5:19
Across the sea, a man no chains could hold lived among the tombs. Jesus crossed the water, set him free with a word, and sent him home to tell what the Lord had done.
After calming a storm, Jesus and His disciples crossed to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, a Gentile area. A man who lived among burial caves ran to meet Him. People had tried to chain him, but he broke every chain, and night and day he cried out and cut himself with stones. When Jesus asked his name, he answered, “My name is Legion: for we are many.”
Jesus commanded the evil spirits to leave. They entered a herd of about two thousand pigs, which ran down a steep slope into the sea. When the townspeople came, they found the man “sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind,” and they were afraid and asked Jesus to leave. The man begged to come with Him, but Jesus said, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee,” and he told it throughout Decapolis.
Who’s who
Jesus Christ: whose word is stronger than any evil
The man among the tombs: tormented by many evil spirits
The swineherds: who ran to tell the town
The townspeople: who were afraid and asked Jesus to leave
Where and when
The country of the Gadarenes, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near the ten Gentile cities called Decapolis.
Watch for the Savior
Watch what the man does when he sees Jesus, and what Jesus asks him to do afterward.
Eight stops from a boat on the shore to a man telling his story in ten cities. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
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The story, plainly
Four scenes: the man runs to Jesus, the herd, the man made whole, and his mission. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Mark 5:1“the country of the Meaning: people of the Gadara region, east of the Sea of Galilee.”
Mark 5:4“bound with Meaning: chains or shackles for the feet.”
Mark 5:4“Meaning: pulled apart, torn in pieces.”
Mark 5:7“I Meaning: solemnly beg; put under oath. thee by God”
Mark 5:13“Meaning: right away. Jesus gave them leave”
Mark 5:17“to Meaning: ask, beg. him to depart out of their Meaning: borders, region.”
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Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from Church leaders, Church resources or outside sources. Each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. The boat, the cave, the chain, the kneeling man, the scribble, the pig, the robe, the door and the towns. Mark 5:1–20
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Where are you?
Feeling trapped, ready to run to Him, at peace, or ready to tell. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Before and after
Jesus changed everything about this man. Tap a “before” on the left, then find the “after” on the right.
Look for what Jesus changed.
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Their world, their words
A little background on the far shore, Roman legions and the ten cities helps the story come alive. Outside sources are labeled.
Church resource · Student manual
The far shore
“It is clear that the miracle took place on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which was inhabited by Gentiles.”3
Jesus went to outsiders too.
Church resource · Jesus the Christ
Feared by all
Talmage: “there he had lived more like a wild beast than a man.”5
And Jesus came to him.
Church resource · Student manual
Why tell?
“Perhaps this was because the miracle occurred in the Gentile region of Decapolis, away from the influence of Jewish leaders.”3
A different mission.
Scripture · Luke 8
Two tellings
Luke adds that the man “ware no clothes, neither abode in any house,” and later was found “sitting at the feet of Jesus.”2
Read both together.
Word study · Greek
legión λεγιών · “Legion” (Mark 5:9)
Bible Hub: “Of Latin origin,” a “Roman regiment.”6Outside · lexicon
A borrowed Roman army word. Many spirits had taken over one man, yet a single word from Jesus sent them all away.1
Word study · Greek
sóphroneó σωφρονέω · “in his right mind” (Mark 5:15)
Bible Hub: “to be of sound mind, i.e. sane.”7Outside · lexicon
The word means a sound, steady mind. Jesus gave back what the man had lost.1
What the text does not say
Jesus doesn’t avoid the man or the Gentile shore. He doesn’t ask what the man did to end up this way. He sets him free, then trusts him with a mission to his own people.1
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Look to Him
He crossed the sea for one man. His power is greater than any evil, and His compassion sends healed people home to share it.
“There is One who sees the good in you, no matter what your life has been like. He knows your name.”
“And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.” Mark 5:17
The healed man
He wanted to stay
“He that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.” Mark 5:18
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Seek Him today
A question to ask in prayer
What great thing hast Thou done for me, and who needs to hear about it? Mark 5:19
Listen for a memory and a name. Then share it simply, the way the man did.
Try it today
One way to come to Him and tell about Him each day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
0 of 7 today
This week:0 of 7 days
Seven days of telling what He has done. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“Go home to thy friends.”
Read Mark 5:1–20 slowly. Picture the man sitting calmly beside Jesus after years among the tombs. What has Jesus done for you that you could tell? Mark 5:1–20
A verse to hold
Talk about it
Where did the man live, and why couldn’t anyone help him?
What did the man do when he saw Jesus?
How was the man different after Jesus healed him?
Why do you think Jesus sent him home instead of letting him come along?
Open
For adults and deeper study
Go deeper
Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
Church magazine
Emily Belle Freeman, “Christ’s Grace in Abundance” (2021)
The man among the tombs and how Christ’s grace reaches us in the very place where we feel bound.4
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
Legion and the Swine is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for March 1–7, 2027 (Matthew 9–10; Mark 5; Luke 9).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The words are in Mark 5:1–20 and Luke 8:26–39; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
