📖 Biblical Definition
The Gerasene demoniac (sometimes Gadarene; Matthew 8 has two such men) was the most extreme demoniac in the Gospels. He dwelt among the tombs in the country of the Gerasenes; no one could chain him; he cried day and night and cut himself with stones. Christ delivered him with a word; the man was found sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind. He became the first Gentile evangelist Christ commissioned, sent home to publish in the Decapolis what God had done.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The most extreme demoniac in the Gospels; delivered by Christ with a word, sent as the first Gentile evangelist (Mk 5).
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Three Synoptic accounts: Mt 8:28-34 (Matthew has two demoniacs), Mk 5:1-20, Lk 8:26-39. Mark and Luke have a single named demoniac (Legion).
Geographic detail: the Decapolis region east of the Sea of Galilee. After the deliverance, the man went home to declare the news; this was Gentile territory; he was the first commissioned Gentile preacher in the Gospels.
📖 Key Scripture
Mark 5:5 — "And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones."
Mark 5:15 — "And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind."
Mark 5:19 — "Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."
Mark 5:20 — "And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity often softens the demoniac scenes; Mark 5 takes them with full seriousness as both spiritual reality and gospel hope.
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The Gerasene demoniac was beyond every human resource: chains, fetters, family, society had all failed him. Christ's word in seconds did what years could not. The contrast is the gospel's claim: human resources fail at this depth; Christ's word works.
And the man's commission afterward is striking. He wanted to follow Christ in the boat; Christ sent him home instead. The Decapolis would hear the gospel from a recovered demoniac before any apostle arrived. The household's most broken member, restored, may yet preach to those Christ has not yet visited.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek Gerasēnoi (people of Gerasa); daimonizomai (to be possessed by a demon).
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Greek Gerasēnoi / Gadarēnoi — the regional inhabitants; manuscript variants.
Greek daimonizomai — to be demonized, possessed.
Usage
"Christ's word in seconds did what years could not."
"The household's most broken member, restored, may yet preach."
"The first Gentile preacher Christ commissioned was a recovered demoniac."