(a) Narrate Jesus' encounter with the Gerasene demoniac. [11 marks] (b) In what two ways can the society improve the conditions of mental patients? [4 marks...

(a) Jesus' encounter with the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39)

• Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gerasenes. As He stepped ashore, a man with an unclean spirit met Him coming out of the tombs.
• The man lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him, not even with chains, for he had often been chained but had wrenched the chains apart and broken the fetters. Night and day he cried out among the tombs and on the mountains, and cut himself with stones.
• Seeing Jesus from afar, he ran and fell before Him and cried with a loud voice, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.
• Jesus asked, What is your name? and he replied, My name is Legion, for we are many, begging Jesus not to send them out of the country.
• A great herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. The demons begged to be sent into the pigs, and Jesus gave them leave. The unclean spirits entered the pigs, and the herd, about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned.
• The herdsmen fled and told it in the city. The people came out and found the man sitting, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. They then begged Jesus to depart from their region.
• The healed man begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him, Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you. He went away and proclaimed in the Decapolis what Jesus had done, and all marvelled.

(b) Two ways society can improve the conditions of mental patients

1. By providing well-equipped hospitals, trained specialists and free or affordable treatment so that the mentally ill receive proper medical and psychological care instead of neglect.
2. By showing compassion and removing stigma, welcoming recovered patients back into the community with love, employment and acceptance rather than fear or rejection.