Volume 2

Jesus Cures the Possessed
245
them and gave them His blessing. They instantly ceased to
rave, were freed from the evil spirit and, hurrying to Him,
fell at His feet. He exhorted them to penance and Baptism,
though bidding them wait for the latter until His disciples
should go to Ennon to baptize. The country about
Galaad was rocky, of a white, brittle formation.
Jesus and the disciples went from here across the mountain,
to the south of which lay Gamala, and took a northwesterly
direction to the lake. He passed Gerasa which, at
about one hour's distance, lay between two ridges of the
mountain. Nearby was a kind of morass formed from a
brook whose waters were dammed up, and whose only
outlet into the lake was through a ravine. Jesus related to
the disciples some incidents connected with this place:
The people of Gerasa had once upon a time ridiculed a
Prophet, on account of his misshapen form, whereupon he
had said to them: "Listen, 0 ye that insult my misfortune!
Your children shall remain obdurate when One greater
than I shall teach and heal in this place. Troubled at the
loss of their unclean herds, they will not rejoice at the
salvation that is offered them." This was a prophecy
regarding Jesus Christ and the driving of Satan into the
swine.
Jesus told the disciples what awaited Him in Capharnaum:
that the Pharisees of Sephoris, exasperated by His
teaching upon divorce, had sent their emissaries to
Jerusalem; that the Nazarenes had joined their complaints
to theirs; and that a whole troop of Pharisees from
Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Sephoris was now despatched to
Capharnaum, to be on the watch for Him and to dispute
against Him.
Just at this moment they encountered several immense
caravans of heathens with mules and oxen. The latter had
great, thick jaws, broad, heavy horns, and went along
with lowered head. It was a trading caravan going from
Syria into Egypt. They had come over into the country of