The disciples woke him up and said, “Master, wake up! Don’t you care that we are about to die?”

Jesus woke up and faced the storm. He said, “Stop! Be still!” Immediately the wind stopped and the sea became calm.

He then turned to the disciples and said, “Why did you fear? Where’s your faith?” Then he lay down and went back to sleep.

The men looked at the sky and the calm sea. They said, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and sea obey his voice!”

Their boat came to shore near a place where a wild man lived in the tombs. No one was able to control him. Many times they tried to put chains on him, but he easily snapped them off. He roamed the hills naked, and lived in tombs. He cried and yelled, and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus and his disciples get out of their boat, he ran and knelt down before him. He shouted, “I know who you are. You’re Jesus,the Son of the Most High God! Leave me alone. Don’t torture me.”

Jesus said, “What’s your name?”

“We’re called Legion because we’re many. Please, don’t send us into the abyss. Look, there are pigs over on that hill. Send us there.”

Jesus looked at the pigs, and said, “Yes, you may go there.”

With that, the demons left the man and entered the pigs. All 2,000 of them went wild and rushed down the hill and off the steep bank. They plunged into the sea and were drowned.

The men who were tending the pigs ran into the town and told the people what had happened. A crowd came out to see for themselves. When they got to Jesus, they saw the man who had been demon possessed. He was sitting quietly, fully clothed, and listening to Jesus.

Again, the men told what had happened. Everyone was afraid, so they asked Jesus to leave.

As he got into the boat, the man who was healed said, “Please, may I go with you?” Jesus turned to him and said, “Go back to your people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you. Tell them about God’s mercy on your life.”

So Jesus and his disciples left the shore and returned to the Jewish side of the lake. The man went to his hometown and started telling everyone what Jesus had done for him. The people who heard this were amazed.