Yes, Jesus had stilled the storm in chapter 4—a breathtaking display of power—but this encounter is something different. Here, Jesus steps onto Gentile soil and meets a man no one dared go near. A man consumed by darkness, living among the tombs, uncontrollable and utterly alone. Society had done all it could: bind him, exile him, forget him. But Jesus does not avoid what is unclean or broken. He steps ashore with purpose. And with just a word, He confronts and commands an entire legion of demons—thousands of them—and they flee. No one had the strength to tame this man… but Jesus didn’t need strength. He had authority.

This man’s story is haunting, but also beautifully familiar. He is unclean, unwanted, and untamable—a walking picture of what Satan aims to do to every person made in God’s image. And yet, in a moment of shocking grace, Jesus travels across a stormy sea just to reach him. That’s not a throwaway detail. It’s a gospel preview. If Jesus would endure a storm for one man, surely no one is beyond His reach. Maybe you feel chained by sin, crippled by anxiety, or buried in shame. You’ve tried everything, but nothing works. The same Jesus who silenced the storm and freed the demoniac is still rescuing today. He isn’t repelled by your darkness. He’s drawn to it. And He alone can bring healing, wholeness, and freedom.

Yet not everyone responds to Jesus with joy. The townspeople—shaken by the cost of this miracle—beg Him to leave. They prefer pigs and predictability to the presence of the Savior. It’s a sobering warning: many are okay with Jesus at a distance, as long as He doesn’t disrupt their comfort. But the man who was freed? He begs to go with Jesus. He is clothed, restored, and transformed—and now, he wants nothing more than to be near the One who saved him. And yet, Jesus sends him out instead. He commissions him as the first Gentile missionary—to tell his story, to declare what the Lord had done for him. That’s what Jesus does: He saves us to send us. Every Christian has a story of mercy that someone else needs to hear.

And that’s really the heart of the passage—and the gospel. Jesus delivers us from the kingdom of darkness and brings us into His marvelous light. But He does it at great cost. Did you notice? Jesus leaves this man restored and accepted, but He Himself is rejected. That’s the pattern of the gospel. He trades places with the broken. Like the man in the tombs, we too were spiritually dead—unclean, unwanted, and unable to change. But Jesus came for us. He was cast out so we could be brought in. He bore our sin and shame on the cross, and on the third day, He rose again with all authority in heaven and on earth. Friend, if you look to Him today, you too can be clothed, forgiven, and sent with a new purpose. Jesus still steps ashore—and maybe today, He’s stepping ashore in your heart.

Main Point – Jesus delivers us from enslavement to evil so that we might proclaim the goodness of his mercy.