Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 8:29
And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
29. What have we to do with thee ] Not “what is there in common between you and us?” but “what cause of war is there between us?” The same expression occurs in this sense 2Ch 35:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 29. What have we to do with thee] The literal translation of , is, What is it to us and to thee; which perhaps might be understood to imply their disclaiming any design to interfere with the work of Christ, and that he should not therefore meddle with them; for it appears they exceedingly dreaded his power.
What have we to do with thee, is a Jewish phrase, which often occurs in the Old Testament, signifying an abrupt refusal of some request, or a wish not to be troubled with the company or importunity of others. Jehu said to the messenger who was sent by Joram to meet him, What hast thou to do with peace? David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? Compare Jdg 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; 2Kg 9:18; Ezr 4:3; Joh 2:4. See Clarke on Mr 1:24.
Jesus, thou Son of God] Griesbach omits the word Jesus, on the authority of several MSS. of the greatest antiquity and respectability; besides some versions, and several of the fathers. I heartily concur with these MSS., c., for this simple reason, among others, that the word Jesus, i.e. Saviour, was of too ominous an import to the Satanic interest to be used freely, in such a case, by any of his disciples or subalterns.
Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?] From this it appears that a greater degree of punishment awaited these demons than they at that time endured and that they knew there was a time determined by the Divine Judge, when they should be sent into greater torments.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mark saith, Mar 5:8, that Jesus first said to him, Come out of the man; and, Mar 5:6,7, when he saw Jesus afar off he ran and worshipped him, and cried with a loud voice, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee, that thou torment me not. Lukes relation, Luk 8:28,29, is much the same with Marks. The devils possessing these poor creatures, hearing Christ, to whose power they knew they were subject, to command them out of this man, or these two men, said, What have we to do with, thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? The devils knew Christ to be the Son of God, though the Jews would not believe it; they say unto him,
What have we to do with thee? A usual phrase, made use of where men had no desire to be troubled with the company, converse, or importunity of others, Jos 22:24; 2Sa 16:10; 2Ki 9:18; 2Ch 35:21; Joe 3:4; Joh 2:4, when they came to them with some ungrateful motions, &c.
Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Either they look upon their dispossession as a torment, for the devil is not at quiet but when he is doing evil; and as this is the temper of the old serpent, so we shall observe that he communicates it to his seed, Pro 4:16; or else the devil was afraid lest Christ should have commanded him to his chains before the day of judgment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And behold they cried out, saying,…. This is an instance and proof, of the wonderful power of Christ over the devils; and has therefore the note of admiration, “behold!” prefixed to it, that the devils themselves who had took possession of these men, and made them so fierce and cruel, and outrageous, that there was no passing the way for them; yet upon the sight of Christ, and especially at hearing his orders to come out from them, not only say, but cry out, as being in great consternation, horror, and fear, and with the utmost subjection to him,
what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? They had nothing indeed to do with him; they had no interest in his grace, blood, righteousness, and salvation; he was no Saviour for them: but he had to do with them, and that was what they dreaded; and therefore mean, that he would let them alone, in the quiet possession of these men, and not disturb and dislodge them; for they knew that he was Jesus, the Saviour of sinful men, though none of their’s, the true Messiah; and that he was also “the Son of God”, a divine person, possessed of almighty power, and so an overmatch for them; at whose presence they trembled, and whose all commanding voice they were obliged to obey, though sorely against their wills.
Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? This question implies the apprehension the devils had of Christ as a judge, and their sense of his authority, and power, to punish them; as also that they deserved it, and expected it, nor do they say anything against it; only imagine that the time of their full torment was not yet come; which is generally referred unto the day of judgment, to which they were reserved by the appointment of God; which they had some notion of, and as at a distance; and therefore complain of Christ’s coming to them now, and expostulate with him about it: though it may be understood of the time they had proposed to themselves, to abide in the men they had possessed, and which they concluded they had a permission for; and nothing could give more torment, pain, and uneasiness, than to be turned out, and remanded to their prison, and restrained from doing more mischief to the bodies and souls of men. Or whether this may not have some respect to the time of the preaching of the Gospel, and setting up the kingdom of Christ among the Gentiles, the devils might have some hint of, as not yet to be, I leave to be considered, with this observation; that there seems to be a considerable “emphasis” on the word “hither”, meaning the country of the Gergesenes, an Heathen country, at least where many Gentiles inhabited: and it is as if they had said, is it not enough, that thou turnest us out of the land of Judea, and hast dispossessed us out of the bodies of men dwelling there; but thou pursuest us hither also, and will not let us have any rest, even in this Heathenish land; though the time is not yet come, for the dissolution of our empire and government in the Gentile world?
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Thou Son of God ( ). The recognition of Jesus by the demons is surprising. The whole subject of demonology is difficult. Some hold that it is merely the ancient way of describing disease. But that does not explain the situation here. Jesus is represented as treating the demons as real existences separate from the human personality. Missionaries in China today claim that they have seen demons cast out. The devil knew Jesus clearly and it is not strange that Jesus was recognized by the devil’s agents. They know that there is nothing in common between them and the Son of God ( , ethical dative) and they fear torment “before the time” ( ). Usually is the word in the New Testament for demons, but in 8:31 we have (the only example in the N.T.). is a diminutive of . In Homer is used synonymously with and . Hesiod employed of men of the golden age as tutelary deities. Homer has the adjective usually in an evil sense. Empedocles considered the demons both bad and good. They were thus used to relieve the gods and goddesses of much rascality. Grote (History of Greece) notes that the Christians were thus by pagan usage justified in calling idolatry the worship of demons. See 1Cor 10:20; 1Tim 4:1; Rev 9:20; Rev 16:13. In the Gospels demons are the same as unclean spirits (Mark 5:12; Mark 5:15; Mark 3:22; Mark 3:30; Luke 4:33). The demons are disturbers (Vincent) of the whole life of man (Mark 5:2; Mark 7:25; Matt 12:45; Luke 13:11; Luke 13:16).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And, behold, they cried out, saying,” (kai idou ekrazan legontes) “And behold they (the two demon deranged men) cried out repeatedly saying;” Demon possessed men are never at peace, night or day, but their inner conscience and soul are screaming out in torments, like never-ceasing waves of the seas, Isa 57:20-21.
2) “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?” (ti pro kairou basanisai humas) “What (are you) to us and are we to you, Son of God?” Unclean demons and men are ill at ease in the presence of God, holy people, and in holy places, Luk 5:8; Act 24:25. They recognized Jesus as the Messiah, their most dangerous foe.
3) “Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (elthes hode pro kairou basonisai hemas) “Have you deliberately come here to us before (the season) time to torture us?” Mat 25:41; Luk 16:28; Rev 19:20. This indicates that these demons were the same persons referred to as fallen angels who are reserved under chains (or restrictions) of darkness until the final day of judgment, Jud 1:6; 2Pe 2:4; Heb 2:2. From these passages it may therefore be concluded that demons and fallen angels, as disembodied spirits, are identical beings in consort with Lucifer, the Devil, under whose jurisdiction they jointly fell with him, and like him, are under chains or held in (certain restrictions) waiting doom at the final day of judgment.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Mat 8:29
. What have we to do with thee? Willingly would they, by this word, drive him far from them. But when they see that they are held under restraint, and that it is in vain for them to decline his authority, they complain that they are tormented before the time, and likewise mingle entreaty. Thus we see that the devils breathe nothing but rebellion against God; and yet, with all their swelling pride, they are crushed and fall in a moment: for their malice and obstinacy, which is never subdued, ceases not to struggle against the government of God, and yet it is compelled to yield.
Christ does not openly reject, as he did on other occasions, the confession of the devil; and the reason appears to be, that their enmity towards him was so manifest, as to remove every opportunity of unfavorable or calumnious imputation. Besides, Christ paid regard to the spectators. Accordingly, when malicious and wicked men were present, he was more eager to repress calumnies, and more inclined to put a severe restraint on devils. On the present occasion, it was quite enough that the devils, while they were offering a prayer and entreaty, raged and stormed against him.
Hast thou come hither before the time to torment us? Some explain this kind of torment as consisting in their being compelled to set at absolute liberty the man whom they possessed. Others understand it as referring to the last day of judgment. My view of it is, that they trembled in the presence of their Judge, while they thought of their punishment: for, though Christ said nothing, (552) a bad conscience told them what they deserved. As criminals, when they come to the judgment-seat, expect their punishment, so devils and all wicked men must tremble at the sight of God, as truly as if they already experienced hell, the unquenchable fire, and the torments that await them. Now, the devils knew that Christ was the Judge of the world; and therefore we need not wonder that the sight of him impressed them with dread of immediate torment.
Were they acquainted with the day of the last judgment? This question, which some have proposed, is uncalled for. What, then, is the meaning of the phrase, before the time? It means that the reprobate never reckon that the time for punishing them is fully come: for they would willingly delay it from day to day. (553) Any measure of delay, which the Lord is pleased to allow them, is counted gain; and thus by subterfuges they endeavor to avoid his sentence, though the attempt is to no purpose.
(552) “ Sans que Christ ouvrist sa bouche;” — “without Christ opening his mouth.”
(553) “ Ils voudroyent bien tousjours prolonger leur terme;” — “they would always choose to prolong their time.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(29) They cried out, saying . . .St. Mark adds that the demoniac, seeing Jesus from afar, ran and did homage (worshipped in the English version) to Him, and (with St. Luke) gives the fuller form of his cry, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? It is remarkable that this is the only instance in which that name is addressed to our Lord, though it is used of Him before His birth in Luk. 1:32. A probable explanation is, that the name the Most High God was frequently used in the formulae of exorcism, and so had become familiar to the demoniacs. So, the damsel with a spirit of divination, in Act. 16:17, speaks of St. Paul and his companions as servants of the Most High God. The question meets us. Was the discernment that led to the confession altogether preternatural, or had the possessed man heard of the fame of Jesus? But if he had only heard, how came he to recognise the Prophet a great way off? Possibly the true explanation lies involved in the mystery of the psychological state into which the sufferer had passed under the frightful influences that were working in him.
To torment us before the time.So the abode of Dives is a place of torment (Luk. 16:28), and the ministers of judgment are the tormentors (Mat. 18:34). The man identifies himself with the demons; looks forward, when the hour of judgment shall come, to condemnation; and claims, in the meantime, to be let alone. Who that has been called to minister to the souls of men in their demoniac state has not often heard language all but identical? The words added by St. Mark are singularly characteristic: I adjure thee by God. It is as if the man had listened so often to the formul of exorcists that they had become, as it were, his natural speech, and he too will try their effect as an adjuration. The command given to the unclean spirit to come out of the man had, we find from St. Mark and St. Luke, been given previously, as the man drew near, and was the occasion of this frenzied cry.
At this stage, too, they add, our Lord asked the question, What is thy name? The most terrible phenomenon of possession, as of many forms of insanity, was the divided consciousness which appears in this case. Now the demon speaks, and now the man. The question would recall to the mans mind that he once had a human name, with all its memories of human fellowship. It was a stage, even in spite of the paroxysm that followed, in the process of recovery, in so far as it helped to disentangle him from the confusion between himself and the demons which caused his misery. But, at first, the question seems only to increase the evil: My name is Legion, for we are many. The irresistible might, the full array of the Roman legion, with its six thousand soldiers, seemed to the demoniac the one adequate symbol of the wild, uncontrollable impulses of passion and of dread that were sweeping through his soul. It would hardly have seemed possible that the force of literalism could have led any interpreter to infer the actual presence of six thousand demons, each with a personality of His own, and to calculate accordingly the number that must have entered into each of the two thousand swine: and yet this has been done.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And behold, they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with you, you Son of God? Are you come here to torment us before the time?” ’
And on seeing Jesus they had no alternative but to react with horror. Men might not know that He was One who was close to God, but they were conscious of it immediately. They recognised the power of His Kingly Rule and His very holiness tormented them because of the demons within them. Notice how they and the demons are seen as one and yet many. And they called out to Him as the ‘Son of God’. Yet even they probably did not realise quite how right they were. For in Mark’s account they tried to outface Jesus, something that they would not have done had they been aware of the full truth. (Calling themselves ‘a legion’ was probably with the hope of frightening Jesus off, as they had no doubt frightened off exorcisers before Him). Matthew gives us the Jewish title ‘Son of God’, Mark the title as it would be used among Gentiles, ‘Son of the Most High God’ (compare Gen 24:19-20; Gen 24:22; Dan 3:26).
‘And behold.’ The phrase brings out the unexpectedness of what follows. It was not the normal way in which they approached people.
‘What have you and we in common, you Son of God?’ Suddenly recognising what they were unexpectedly up against, they tried to go into retreat and withdraw. This was not what they had wanted at all. They recognised a heavenly quality about the One Whom they were addressing, which they did not like. They now recognised that here was no ordinary man that they could frighten off at will. Here was One from Heaven, something that they had not expected that they would have to encounter for a long time to come.
Their purpose in questioning Jesus may also have been in order to try to involve Him with themselves. By such questions their hope may have been that their adversary would become involved with them, thus lessening His ability to act against them. Those who have had experience of dealing in such matters in a sensible way know that it is dangerous to be drawn in by the questions of evil spirits spoken through the mouths of their victims, often in awesome voices, or to be drawn into a two way relationship with them. Rather the questioning must be kept under the control of the exorciser, so that he can demonstrate God’s authority over them (compare Jud 1:9). It was with the same aim of avoiding direct involvement that Jesus never touched a demon possessed person, but dealt with them by a word of command. It is a reminder to us not to get involved in the occult or in spiritism in any way. By doing so we too could become possessed.
Their questioning was illuminating. It revealed that, like men, they recognised that they had a limited time span before the time came for their judgment. ‘Are you come here to torment us before the time?’ This revealed that they were aware of what fate lay in store for them, the awful and tormenting judgment of God, but that they were not anticipating it at that time (compare 2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6; and Jewish apocalyptic literature). They knew that that final judgment awaited the future and they had thought that they had at least ‘a little time’ before that. It also revealed that this encounter had shaken them. Why had this Heavenly One come to earth (‘here’) out of His normal sphere? Being confident that they still had quite some time before God stepped in to judge them, it was outside their reckoning to have to suddenly face up to the Son of God. It was not what they had been given to expect at all.
So while Matthew does not give us the same details as are found in Mark, he does tell us enough to recognise something of what Jesus was dealing with. On the whole men think that spiritually speaking they are alone on this planet, just as Adam and Eve had thought that they were alone in the Garden. But Scripture reveals that often unknown to us events are taking place which are outside our knowledge. Forces are at work of which we know little, and it is only occasionally that we are made cognisant of them (Genesis 3; Gen 6:1-4; Job 1-2; 2Ki 6:17; Dan 3:25; Dan 10:1-21; Zechariah 3; 1Co 11:10; Eph 6:10-18; and especially in Revelation). Evil spirits cannot directly interfere with us unless we open ourselves to them through indulging in the occult or the worship of idols. And in Jesus Christ, and especially under the protection of His death on our behalf, we can find full protection against them. But the arrival of Jesus on earth had thrown them into confusion, for He interfered in their world as none other did. They recognised His authority as God’s beloved Son (Mat 1:17). This was something new to them and they did not know how to deal with it. They did not know what God was now planning to do. Suddenly they knew that they could remain undetected no longer.
Indeed Satan later thought that if he could only get men to crucify Jesus it might solve the problem (Luk 22:3; Joh 13:2). He was unaware that he was unsuspectingly carrying forward God’s plan to his own destruction. For it was at the cross that he would suffer the crucial defeat that would guarantee his final end (Col 2:15). From then on things have gone backward for him and he is now on the retreat although still powerful, especially in deceiving mankind. But he will fight on to the end. And it is only through God’s truth, and God’s word, and through prayer that we can overcome him (Eph 6:10-18). Meanwhile the world unconsciously sleeps in his arms (1Jn 5:19), and by him many so-called ‘Christians’ are led off into spurious ideas and activities (2Co 2:11; 2Co 11:3; 2Co 11:14 ; 1Ti 4:1; etc).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Their cry and confession:
v. 29. And, behold, they cried out, saying. What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?
Jesus, having come to destroy the works of the devil, to redeem men from his sinister influence, from his destructive power, 1Jn 3:8, immediately commanded the evil spirits to leave the men, Luk 8:29. But they, speaking with the tongue of one of the demoniacs, pleaded with Him not to torment them. Note: The devil knows the man Jesus to be the Son of God; the evil spirits recognize in Him the future Judge; they fear the last judgment with its condemnation. Even now hell is for them a place of torture, excruciating, incessant. But until the last day, and especially during the days preceding the final judgment, they have, in a measure, the power and the might to destroy and to torture God’s creatures. But even so they are excluded from blessed communion with God. On the Day of Judgment they will be condemned into the abyss of hell, to be chained there forever with fetters of darkness. So they plead not to be tortured before that time.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 8:29 . . ] See on Joh 2:4 . The demons according to their nature , already recognise in Jesus, the Messiah, their mighty and most dangerous enemy, and “cum terrore appellant filium Dei,” Bengel.
] prematurely , i.e. before the Messianic judgment (Mat 25:41 ).
] to hurl us, as servants of Satan, down to the torments of Hades (Luk 16:23 ; Rev 14:10 ; Rev 20:10 ). The lunatics identify themselves with the demons by whom they are possessed. It is plain, however, from their very language that they were Jews , and not Gentiles (Casaubon, Neander).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
Ver. 29. What have we to do with thee ] Horrible impudence. As if Christ were not concerned when his members are vexed. David felt his own coat cut and his own cheeks shaven in the coats and cheeks of his servants; and shall not Christ be as sensible of the abuses done to his? The sovereign suffers in the subject. Neither is it other than just, that the arraignment of mean malefactors runs in the style of wrong to the king’s crown and dignity.
Jesus, thou Son of God ] The devil speaks Christ fair, but only to be rid of him. So deal many by Christ’s ministers, that rip up their consciences, and so put them into a hell above ground. St Mark tells us that they worshipped our Saviour; St Luke, that they adjured him. Satan, saith one, doth not always appear in one and the same fashion. At Lystra he appeared like a comedian, at Athens like a philosopher, at Ephesus like an artificer, and here like an exorcist; as to Saul he appeared like the old prophet, who could not have spoken more gravely, severely, divinely, than the fiend did. But as, when one commended the pope’s legate at the Council of Basil, Sigismund the emperor answered, Tamen Romanus est: Yet I am a Roman, so when the devil comes commended unto us under what name soever, let us cry out, Yet he is a devil; and remember still to resist him, steadfast in the faith, 1Pe 5:8-9 .
Art thou come hither to torment us ] To dispossess us. Lo, it is another hell to the devil to be idle, or otherwise than evil occupied. Should not we hold it our heaven to be well doing? a Learn for shame of the devil, saith father Latimer, to be busy about the salvation of your own and other men’s souls, which he so studiously seeks to destroy. Athanasius hath a conceit, that the devil may he driven out of a body by repeating the 68th Psalm. Origen saith of devils, no greater torment to them than to see men addicted to the Scriptures: In hoc eorum omnis flamma est, in hoc uruntur incendio. Chrysostom saith, we may lash and scourge the devil by fasting and prayer, which the prophet Isaiah calls a charm or enchantment, Isa 26:16 ; ( ).
Before the time ] For they are respited and reprieved, as it were, in respect of full torment, and suffered, as free prisoners, to flutter in the air, and to course about the earth till that great day; which they tremble to think on, and which they that mock at, 2Pe 3:3 , or make light of, are worse than devils. b
a
b Ut iugulent homines, surgunt, &c. Horace.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
29. . . ] . See 2Sa 16:10 ; 2Sa 19:22 . is peculiar to this Gospel: . common to all.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 8:29 . : sudden, startling, unearthly cry, fitted to shock weak nerves. But not the cry of men about to make an assault. The madmen, whom all feared and shunned, were subdued by the aspect of the stranger who had arrived in the neighbourhood. To be taken as a fact, however strange and mysterious, partly explained by the fact that Jesus was not afraid of them any more than He had been of the storm. They felt His power in the very look of His eye. : an appropriate speech even in the mouth of one demoniac, for he speaks in the name of the legion of devils (Mar 5:9 ) by which he conceives himself possessed. Identifying himself with the demons, he shrinks from the new comer with an instinctive feeling that He is a foe. : . . in the Capernaum synagogue case; strange, almost incredible divination. Yet “insanity is much nearer the kingdom of God than worldly-mindedness. There was, doubtless, something in the whole aspect and manner of Jesus which was fitted to produce almost instantaneously a deep, spiritual impression to which child-like, simple, ingenuous souls like the Galilean fishermen, sinful, yet honest-hearted men like those who met at Matthew’s feast, readily surrendered themselves. Men with shattered reason also felt the spell, while the wise and the strong-minded too often used their intellect, under the bias of passion or prejudice, to resist the force of truth. In this way we may account for the prompt recognition of Jesus by the Gadarene demoniac. All that is necessary to explain it is the Messianic hope prevalent in Gadara as elsewhere, and the sight of Jesus acting on an impressionable spirit” (Bruce, The Miraculous Element in the Gospels p. 187). : before the appointed time of judgment. The article wanting here before . as in other phrases in N. T., e.g. , , Mat 24:45 . , to torment with pain in Hades, described as a place of torment in Luk 16:28 , cf. Mat 8:23 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
What have we to do with Thee? A Hebraism. See note on 2Sa 16:10. Occurs in Mar 1:24; Mar 5:7. Luk 4:34; Luk 8:28; and Joh 2:4.
Jesus. All the texts (App-94.) omit “Jesus” here. “Jesus” omitted here by the texts probably out of respect for His name being spoken by demons. Demons irreverently use this sacred name, as is done by so many today: but His own disciples and friends called Him “Lord, “or “Master, “&c. See Joh 13:13.
Son of God. See App-98.
before. Greek. pro. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
29. . . ] . See 2Sa 16:10; 2Sa 19:22. is peculiar to this Gospel: . common to all.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 8:29. , what have we to do with Thee?) A formula of declining interference or intercourse. See S. V. 1Ki 17:18; Jdg 11:12; 2Ki 3:13. They confess in this address their despair and horrible expectation, and at the same time they seem to add, we desire to have dealings, not with Thee, but with men liable to sin.- , Son of God) Men seeking aid addressed Him with confidence as the Son of David; devils with terror, as the Son of God.-, hither) The devils claimed, as it were, some right in that place, and especially over the swine in that place.- , before the time) This may be construed either with , hast Thou come, or with , to torment, or with both. Jesus came indeed when the world was ripe for His coming, and yet sooner than the enemy desired. Thus in Rom 5:6, we read —, IN DUE TIME Christ died.-, to torment) It is torment for the devils to be without the bodies of man or beast, which they ardently desire to possess, that they may thereby, for the time being, extinguish that fire with which they are always burning. See Mat 8:31. This was a prelude to their being hereafter placed in subjection under the feet of Jesus.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
What: 2Sa 16:10, 2Sa 19:22, Joe 3:4, Mar 1:24, Mar 5:7, Luk 4:34, Luk 8:28, Joh 2:4
thou Son: Mat 4:3, Mar 3:11, Luk 4:41, Act 16:17, Jam 2:19
torment: 2Pe 2:4, Jud 1:6
Reciprocal: 2Ki 3:13 – What 2Ch 35:21 – What Job 22:17 – Depart Psa 2:7 – Thou Mat 2:3 – he Mat 8:34 – they besought Mat 12:43 – seeking Mar 14:61 – the Son Luk 4:9 – If Luk 8:30 – many Luk 16:23 – being Joh 1:34 – this Act 19:15 – General Heb 10:27 – a certain Rev 20:2 – he laid
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8:29
These devils were fallen angels (see note on preceding verse), and had been in the place of torment in Hades (2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6) where they ‘would have remained until the time of judgment for which they were being reserved. They had been enjoying a short relief from that torment by being in these human creatures. They knew they would be doomed eternally at the last judgment, but if they could remain on earth until that day they would escape that much torment. But now if Jesus sends them back to their place in Hades, they will again be tormented before the time of the great judgment day that is awaiting all intelligent beings.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 8:29. And behold, they cried out. They strangely enough (behold) did not assail; even their hostile words confessed the superiority of Jesus.
What have we to do with thee, lit What (is) to us and thee, what have we in common? The language of the demons, who recognized Him as the son of God.Jesus is omitted according to the best authorities.
Dost thou come hither before the time to torment us? Before the time, i.e., too soon, to be joined with come; peculiar to this Gospel. It does not necessarily refer to some definite time of judgment or torment, when they would be forced to submit. The language is that of opposition, blended with consciousness of weakness. It is demoniacal to defy and oppose, even when conscious that it is useless! According to Luke, our Lord had already begun to exercise His power, and they knew they must obey.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe, The devils knew Christ to be the Son of God, and that he came into the world to be a Saviour, but not their Saviour; and therefore they cry out, What have we to do with thee? or thou with us?
O what an uncomfortable faith is this, to believe that Christ is a Saviour, and at the same time to know that he is none of our Saviour! But what is their outcry against Christ? This, Art thou come to torment us before the time?
Learn, 1. That there are tortures appointed to the spiritual natures of evil angels. The fire of hell is conceived to be partly material, and partly spiritual; partly material, to work upon bodies of evil men, and partly spritual to work upon the souls of men, and the spirits of evil angels.
Learn, 2. That though the devils be now as full of discontent as they can be, yet they are not so full of torment as they shall be; their speech here intimates, that there will be a time when their torments shall be increased when they shall have their fill of torment: therefore they pray, Increase not our torments before the appointed time of their increase.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 29
The fact that the demoniacs so immediately recognized Jesus as the Messiah, when he had not yet publicly announced himself as such, and the strong fears which they felt, have been regarded as convincing evidence that they were not persons afflicted with ordinary diseases, but were really under a supernatural influence.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
The demoniacs hated and feared Jesus. They recognized Him as Messiah, calling Him by the messianic title "Son of God" (cf. Mat 3:17; Mat 16:16; Luk 4:41). The disciples in the boat did not know who He was, but the demoniacs taught them. The demoniacs may have known Jesus from some previous contact (cf. Act 19:15), or perhaps the demons were already speaking through them (cf. Mat 8:31).
Their second question revealed their knowledge that Jesus would judge them one day. This was a messianic function. Evidently Jesus will cast them into the lake of fire when He sends Satan there (Rev 20:10). [Note: Walvoord, Matthew: . . ., p. 67.] When Jesus cast out demons He was exercising this eschatological prerogative early. These demons asked if He planned to judge them then. He had cast out other demons recently (Mat 4:24; Mat 8:16). "Here" probably refers to the earth, where demons have a measure of freedom to operate, rather than to that particular locale.