Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 8:26
And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
26-39. The Gergesene Demoniac.
26. at the country of the Gadarenes ] In all three narratives, here, Mat 8:28-34; Mar 5:1-19, the MSS. vary between Gergesenes, Gadarenes, and Gerasenes, and Tischendorf follows N in reading Gadarenes (by a clerical error Gazarenes) in St Matthew, Gerasenes in St Mark, and Gergesenes here.
i. Gadara, of which the large ruins are now seen at Um Keis, is three hours’ distance from the extreme south end of the Lake, and is separated from the scene of the miracle by the deep precipitous ravine of the Hieromax (Jarmuk). Gadarenes may be the right reading in St Matthew ( , B, C, M, A and MSS. mentioned by Origen) but, if so, it only gives the name of the entire district. Gadara was essentially a Greek city, and had two amphitheatres, and a literary Greek society, and the worst features of Hellenic life.
ii. Gerasenes may be the right reading in St Mark ( , B, D, &c.). Gerasa, now Djerash, is fifty miles from the Lake, and almost in Arabia, but it was an important town (Jos. B. J. III. 3), and like Gadara may have been used as the name of the entire district.
iii. Gergesenes is almost certainly the right reading here ( , L, X).
It was the reading which, because of the distance of Gerasa and Gadara, Origen wished .to introduce into Mat 8:28, being aware that there was a small town called Gergesa in the Wady Semakh which was known also to Eusebius and Jerome, and was pointed out as the scene of the miracle. Yet the reading, “Gergesenes” of K, in St Luke, could hardly have been due to the mere conjecture of Origen in the parallel passage of St Matthew, for it is found in other uncials, in most cursives, and in the Coptic, Ethiopic and other versions. Gergesa has however nothing to do with the ancient Girgashites (Deu 7:1; Jos 24:11), who were probably at the West of the Jordan. The question as to the place intended as the scene of the miracle (whatever reading be adopted) may be considered as having been settled by Dr Thomson’s discovery of ruins named Kerzha (the natural corruption of Gergesa) nearly opposite Capernaum. The name of this little obscure place may well have been given by St Matthew, who knew the locality, and by so accurate an enquirer as St Luke. The reading may have been altered by later copyists who knew the far more celebrated Gadara and Gerasa.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 26. The country of the Gedarenes] Or, according to several MSS., Gerasenes or Gergasenes. See Clarke on Mt 8:28, and See Clarke on Mr 5:1.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We have had this whole story Mat 8:28-34, and Mar 5:1-21. See Poole on “Mat 8:28“, and following verses to Mat 8:34, and See Poole on “Mar 5:1” and following verses to Mar 5:21.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes,…. In Mt 8:28 it is called the country of the Gergesenes,
[See comments on Mt 8:28] as it is here, in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; and “of the Gerasenes”, in the Vulgate Latin; but the Syriac and Persic versions read, “of the Gadarenes”, as in Mr 5:1.
[See comments on Mr 5:1].
which is over against Galilee: from whence the ship launched, and Christ and his disciples came.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
They arrived (). First aorist active indicative of , common verb, but here only in the N.T. Literally,
they sailed down from the sea to the land, the opposite of
launched forth () of verse 22. So we today use like nautical terms, to bear up, to bear down.
The Gerasenes ( ). This is the correct text here as in Mr 5:1 while Gadarenes is correct in Mt 8:28. See there for explanation of this famous discrepancy, now cleared up by Thomson’s discovery of Khersa () on the steep eastern bank and in the vicinity of Gadara.
Over against Galilee ( ). Only here in the N.T. The later Greek form is (Polybius, etc.). Some MSS. here have like Mark 5:1; Matt 8:28.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
They arrived [] . The verb means literally to sail down from the sea to the shore. Compare launched forth, ver. 22. Only here in New Testament. The two prepositions, up and down, are used in our nautical terms bear up and bear down. See Introduction, on Luke’s variety of words for sailing. Matthew and Mark have came [ ] . Gerasenes. The texts vary, some reading Gadarenes, as A. V., others Gergesenes.
Over against [] . Only here in New Testament.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
DEMONIAC OF GADARA HEALED V. 26-39
1) “And they arrived at,” (ai kateleusan eis) “And they sailed down into,” Mat 8:28, from the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee to:
2) “The country of the Gadarenes,” (ten choran ton Gerasenona) “The country of the Gerasenes,” also known as Gadarenes, located on the Southeast side of the Sea of Galilee, now known as the South end of the Golan Heights range of mountains. A village or town of Gadara was then located in that area, Mar 5:1.
3) “Which is over against Galilee,” (hetis estin antipera tes Galilais) “Which is opposite of Galilee,” East of the Sea of Galilee, while most of the population of Galilee was North, West, and South of the Sea, in those days. Mark calls it the “other side of the Sea,” meaning across the sea from where most of the population of Galilee resided, across from Tiberias on the West side of the Sea.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Luk 8:26
. There met him a certain man out of the city It is uncertain whether Luke means that he was a citizen of Gadara, or that he came out of it to meet Christ. For, when he was ordered to go home and proclaim among his friends the grace of God, Mark says, that he did this in Decapolis, which was a neighboring country stretching towards Galilee; and hence it is conjectured that he was not a native of Gadara. Again, Matthew and Mark expressly state that he did not go out of the city, but from the tombs, and Luke himself, throughout the whole passage, gives us to understand that the man lived in solitary places. These words, therefore, there met him a certain man out of the city, I understand to mean, that, before Christ came near the city, the demoniac met him in that direction.
As to the opinion that the man dwelt among the graves, either because devils are delighted with the stench of dead bodies, or gratified by the smell of oblations, or because they watch over souls which are desirous to approach their bodies; it is an idle, and, indeed, a foolish conjecture. On the contrary, this wretched man was kept among the graves by an unclean spirit, that he might have an opportunity of terrifying him continually with the mournful spectacle of death, as if he were cut off from the society of men, and already dwelt among the dead. We learn from this also that the devil does not only torment men in the present life, but pursues them even to death, and that in death his dominion over them is chiefly exercised.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES
Luk. 8:26. Country of the Gadarenes.Rather, of the Gerasenes (R.V.). There is no doubt that the place mentioned is Kerzha or Gersanow a ruined city near the sea opposite to Capernaum. Directly above it is an immense mountain in which are ancient tombs. The lake is so near the base of the mountain that the swine rushing madly down could not stop, but would be hurried on into the water and be drowned (Thomson, The Land and the Book). The reading Gerasenes was formerly rejected because the only Gerasa then known was an important town fifty miles away from the Lake of Gennesaret. St Matthew has Gadarenes (Luk. 8:28, R.V.). The town of Gadara, which is three hours journey distant from the south end of the lake, and separated from it by a deep ravine, probably gave its name to the districtcountry of the Gadarenes.
Luk. 8:27. Met Him out of the city.Rather, there met Him a certain man out of the city (R.V.): he was a native of Gerasa, but since his frenzy began had lived among the tombs. St. Matthew mentions two demoniacs. There is not necessarily any contradiction between the narratives, as St. Mark and St. Luke simply record the healing of the man in connection with whom there were many circumstances of special interest. In the tombs.There were, in ancient times, no asylums in which such persons could be confined and cared for. The isolation, and neglect, and the dreary nature of his place of abode would naturally tend to aggravate his madness.
Luk. 8:28. Son of God most high.This title is only found in Luk. 1:32, and in Act. 16:17, in which last case it is used by another demoniac. Torment me not.The confusion of personality in consequence of the demoniacal possession is so great that sometimes it is the man who speaks, and sometimes the indwelling demon or demons.
Luk. 8:29. Kept bound.Rather, he was kept under guard and bound, etc. (R.V.). Wilderness.Rather, deserts (R.V.).
Luk. 8:30. What is thy name?The question asked perhaps to awaken the mans dormant consciousness. Legion.The word is of course a Latin one, and came to be current in Palestine because of the Roman occupation. A legion consisted of six thousand soldiers. The fact of a multitude of evil spirits taking possession of one person is also alluded to in Luk. 8:2 of this chapter and in Mat. 12:45.
Luk. 8:31. The deep.Rather, the abyss (R.V.). The word is used in Rev. 9:1; Rev. 20:3, where it is translated the bottomless pit, and where it stands for the under-world, in which evil spirits are confined (Speakers Commentary).
Luk. 8:33. A steep place.Rather, the steep (R.V.), the precipice; there being from all accounts but one place where this could have happened. Were choked.Many difficulties of various kinds are connected with this miracle. One of them is as to the injustice of inflicting this loss upon the owners of the swine. The common explanation is that the loss was deserved, as the animals were unclean, and can only have been kept in violation of the Mosaic law. But, on the other hand, the population seems to have been of a mixed character, and the animals may have belonged to Gentile owners. One point seems, however, to have been generally overlooked, and that is that the destruction of the herd was not apparently a necessary consequence of their becoming possessed by evil spirits. So that the permission given to the evil spirits was not a deliberate infliction of loss upon the owners of the herd. It was simply a case of panic to which all herds of animals are liable, and for which no one can have been held responsible. The evil spirits seem to have been carried against their will into the abyss they dreaded to enter. We have no right to speak of Jesus as having authority to punish breaches of the law in virtue of His Divine character, as we have His own word that He resolutely abstained from exercising any judicial powers while on earth (cf. chap. Luk. 12:14).
Luk. 8:34. What was done.Rather, what had come to pass (R.V.); so in Luk. 8:35.
Luk. 8:37. Taken with great fear.Rather, holden with great fear (R.V.), or oppressed with great fear. Besought Him to depart.Cf. with this Peters request (Luk. 5:8), and the different feelings which inspired the similar prayers. Christ seems to have revisited the region at a later period: see Mar. 7:31; Mar. 8:10. Gadara was one of the ten cities in the district known as Decapolis.
Luk. 8:39. The reason why Christ told this man to publish the tidings of his cure is not very apparent. It may be that He wished him to be a witness of His Divine power in the midst of a degraded and godless population. Christ they had entreated to depart, but among them was one who would be a living testimony of His beneficence.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Luk. 8:26-39
The Lord of Demons.The sufferer whom Christ healed was not merely a maniac, but a demoniac. He is not a man at war with himself, but a man at war with other beings, who have forced themselves into his house of life. The narrative of his restoration has a remarkable feature, which may help to mark off its stages. The word besought occurs four times in it (Luk. 8:28; Luk. 8:31; Luk. 8:37-38), and we may group the details round each instance.
I. The demons beseeching Jesus through the mans voice.He was, in the exact sense of the word, distracteddrawn two ways. For it would seem to have been the self in him that ran to Jesus and fell at His feet, as if in some dim hope of rescue; but it is the demons in him that speak, though the voice be his. They force him to utter their wishes, their terrors, their loathing of Christ, though he says I and me as if these were his own. That horrible condition of a double, or, as in this case, a manifold personality speaking through human organs, and overwhelming the proper self, mysterious as it is, is the very essence of the awful misery of the demoniacs. The mere presenec of Christ lashes the demons to paroxysms; but, before the man spoke, Christ had given His stern command to come forth. He is answered by this howl of fear and hate. Clear recognition of Christs person is in it. They know Him who had conquered their prince long ago. The next element in the words is hatred, as fixed as the knowledge is clear. Gods supremacy and loftiness, and Christs nature, are recognised, but only the more abhorred. This, then, is a dark possibility, which has become actual for real living beings, that they should know God, and hate as heartily as they know clearly. That is the terminus towards which human spirits may be travelling. The torment deprecated was expulsion from the man, as if there was some grim satisfaction and dreadful alleviation in being there, rather than in the abyss, which appears to be the alternative. How striking is Christs unmoved calm in the face of all this fury! No doubt His tranquil presence helped to calm the man, however it excited the demons. The distinct intention of the question, What is thy name? is to arouse the mans self-consciousness, and make him feel his separate existence, apart from the alien tyranny which had just been using his voice and usurping his personality. But for the moment the foreign influence is still too strong, and the answer comes, My name is Legion: for we are many (St. Mark). There is a momentary gleam of the true self in the first word or two, but it fades away into the old confusion.
II. The demons beseeching Jesus without disguise.Why should the expelled demons seek to enter the swine? It would appear that anywhere was better than the abyss, and that unless they could find some body to enter, thither they must go. It would seem, too, that there was no other land open to themfor the prayer on the mans lips had been not to send them out of the country, as if it were the only country on earth open to them. That makes for the opinion that demoniacal possession was the dark shadow which attended, for reasons not discoverable by us, the light of Christs coming, and was limited in time and space by His earthly manifestation. But on such matters there is not ground enough for certainty. Another difficulty has been raised as to Christs right to destroy property. But destruction did not necessarily follow upon possession. The drowning of the herd does not appear to have entered into the calculations of the unclean spirits. They desired houses to live in after their expulsion, and for them to plunge the swine into the lake would have defeated their purpose. The stampede was an unexpected effect of the commingling of the demoniacal with the animal nature, and outwitted the demons. There is a lower depth than the animal nature; and even swine feel uncomfortable when the demon is in them, and in their panic rush anywhere to get rid of the incubus, and, before they know, find themselves in the lake.
III. The terrified Gadarenes beseeching Jesus to leave them.They had rather have their swine than their Saviour. Fear and selfishness prompted the prayer. The communities on the eastern side of the lake were largely Gentile; and, no doubt, these people knew that they did many worse things than swine-keeping, and may have been afraid that some more of their wealth would have to go the same road as the herd. They did not want instruction nor feel that they needed a healer. Were their prayers so very unlike the wishes of many of us? Is there nobody nowadays unwilling to let the thought of Christ enter into his life, because he feels an uneasy suspicion that, if Christ comes, a good deal will have to go? How many trades and schemes of life really beseech Jesus to go away and leave them in peace? And He goes away. Christ commands unclean spirits, but He can only plead with hearts. And if we bid Him depart, He is fain to leave us for the time to the indulgence of our foolish and wicked schemes. If any man open, He comes inoh, how gladly! but if any man shut the door in His face, He can but tarry without and knock.
IV. The restored mans beseeching to abide with Christ.Conscious weakness, dread of some recurrence of the inward hell, and grateful love, prompted the prayer. The prayer itself was partly right and partly wrong: right, in clinging to Jesus as the only refuge from the past misery; wrong, in clinging to His visible presence as the only way of keeping near Him. Therefore He who had permitted the wish of the demons, and complied with the entreaties of the terrified mob, did not yield to the prayer throbbing with love and conscious weakness. Strange that Jesus should put aside a hand that sought to grasp His in order to be safe; but His refusal was, as always, the gift of something better. The best defence against the return of the evil spirits was in occupation. Therefore he is sent to proclaim his deliverance among friends who had known his dreadful state, and to renew old associations which would help him to knit his new life to his old, and to treat his misery as a parenthesis. Jesus commanded silence or speech according to the need of the subjects of His miracles. For some, silence was best, to deepen the impression of blessing received; for others, speech was best, to engage and so to fortify the mind against relapse.Maclaren.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk. 8:26-39
Luk. 8:26. Country of the Gadarenes.The connection is very striking in which this miracle stands with that other which went immediately before. Our Lord has just shown Himself as the Pacifier of the tumults and the discords in the outward world; He has spoken peace to the winds and to the waves, and hushed the war of elements with a word. But there is something wilder and more fearful than the winds and waves in their fiercest moodseven the spirit of man, when it has broken loose from all restraints, and yielded itself to be his organ who brings confusion and anarchy wherever his dominion reaches. And Christ will accomplish here a yet mightier work than that which He accomplished there; He will prove Himself here also the Prince of peace, the Restorer of the lost harmonies; He will speak, and at His potent word this madder strife, this blinder rage, which is in the heart of man, will allay itself, and here also there shall be a great calm.Trench.
A Semi-heathen Population.The region into which Christ had come was inhabited by a semi-heathen population, and both in the disobedience to the Jewish law manifested in the keeping of herds of animals reckoned as unclean, and in the earnest request proffered to Christ to depart from the district, we have indications of the spiritual condition of those to whom He now came to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Here where Satan was most obeyed the tyranny of his rule was manifested in its direct form.
Luk. 8:27-28. A certain man, which had devils.We have here one of the greatest dangers, no doubt, to which Jesus was exposed in the course of His life: He was face to face with uncontrolled brutal force. But the sight of His perfect calmness, and of His holy majesty, and of the profound compassion which was expressed in His countenance, affect this furious maniac; as he recognises the contrast between himself and the Saviour, there is awakened even in him a sense of his moral degradation. He feels himself at once attracted by, and repelled by, this Man who holds him under the control of His commanding eye. A crisis arises; it is declared by a loud cry; and then, like a wild beast in the presence of its tamer, the man runs forward and falls upon his knees, though at the same time he protests in the name of the spirit who possesses him against the power which is being exercised upon him.Godet.
Luk. 8:27. Met Him.In the demoniacs coming to meet Christ, and yet entreating to be let alone, we have a picture of a divided consciousness:
(1) an instinctive feeling that He was the Deliverer; and
(2) a sense of the awful gulf between the evil nature and the Son of the most high God.
Abode in the tombs.This wretched man was kept among the tombs by an unclean spirit, that he might have an opportunity of terrifying him continually with the mournful spectacle of death, as if he were cut off from the society of men, and already dwelt among the dead.Calvin.
Luk. 8:29. Bound with chains.The evil spirit is strong enough to break all chains and fetters, and is overmastered only by the power of Jesus. So too on the moral and spiritual side of things an evil habit often cannot be controlled by considerations of health or propriety, or any of the restraints which reason and conscience and public opinion would impose; yet no evil habit is too strong for the power of Christ to fail to give deliverance.
Luk. 8:30. Legion.The name suggests not only numbers, but organised strength and tried couragedistinction of ranks and unity of purpose.
The Christians Armour.Our Lord describes the enemy as a strong man armed (Luk. 11:21-22). Hence the Christian who has to contend with him or his agents is furnished with weapons of warfare also: the whole armour of Godgirdle, breastplate, shield, helmet, and sword (Eph. 6:13-17).
Luk. 8:31. The abyss.The power of Jesus Christ extends over animals, demons, and the abyss. This the demons themselves acknowledge.Bengel.
Luk. 8:32. That He would suffer them.The legion of devils would have had no power over the herd of swine unless they had received it from God: how much less will they have power over the flock of the Good Shepherd!
And He suffered them.If this granting of the request of the evil spirits helped in any way the cure of the man, caused them to resign their hold on him more easily, mitigated the paroxysm of their going forth (see Mar. 9:26), this would have been motive enough. Or still more probably it may have been necessary, for the permanent healing of the man, that he should have an outward evidence and testimony that the hellish powers which had held him in bondage had quitted him.Trench.
Luk. 8:33. Ran violently down a steep place.Gods saints and servants appear not to be heard; and the very refusal of their requests is to them a blessing (2Co. 12:8-9). The wicked Satan (Job. 1:11) and his ministers and servants are sometimes heard, and the very granting of their petition issues in their worst confusion and loss. These evil spirits had their prayer heard; but only to their ruin.Trench.
Luk. 8:35. Sitting at the feet of Jesus.Note the change: the frantic demoniac has become a meek disciple.
Luk. 8:37. Tested and Found Wanting.
I. The Gadarenes testedby the presence of Christ as the Bringer of spiritual blessings and the Deliverer from evil.
II. The Gadarenes found wanting: they had no desire to be delivered from their sins, and felt that the presence of a holy Being would only bring further mischiefs upon them.
Impatience at Loss.How hard it is to recognise the hand of God in anything which interrupts our present enjoyment, brings us loss, and in any way interferes with our worldly prosperity! We overlook the actual blessings which mingle with the most afflicting dispensation. We do not consider how near we may have been brought, by chastisement, to the sacred person of our Lord. We simply are impatient and afraid. We desire nothing so much as to be as, and what, we were.Burgon.
Gods Power and Gods Goodness.The Gadarenes cannot endure to have Christ among them; but he who has been delivered from the unclean spirit is desirous to leave his own country and follow Him. Hence we may learn how wide is the difference between knowledge of the goodness and knowledge of the power of God. Power strikes men with terror, makes them fly from the presence of God, and drives them to a distance from Him; but goodness draws them gently, and makes them feel that nothing is more desirable than to be united to God.
Taken with great fear.An example of slavish fear. Contrast the case of the Samaritans and the consequences. Fear is the beginning of wisdom (Pro. 9:10), but perfect love casteth out fear (1Jn. 4:18).
The Answered Prayer.
I. Besought Him to depart. This is one of the saddest sentences in the Gospels. We can scarcely conceive of any one asking Jesus to go away. He had come to bring blessings. He had begun His work of grace. He would have gone on to other gracious acts of love and mercy had they not besought Him to depart. It was probably all because of the loss of the swine.
II. Some feel like the Gadarenes when a work of grace begins in their community.They are opposed to Christianity because it interferes with their business. They are against Christianity, because Christianity is against them. All of us are apt to want Christ to depart from us when He interferes with our cherished plans.
III. He complied with their prayer.He did not stay after these people asked Him to go. He would not stay where He was not wanted. He carried back the gifts He had come there to leave. Does Jesus never turn away from any heart now because He is not wanted?Miller.
Besought Him to depart.Need we wonder that to those who persist for a whole lifetime in saying to the Saviour, Depart from us, He should, wearied out at length, Himself say in the end, Depart from Me?Morison.
Luk. 8:38. That he might be with Him.Perhaps his motive was fear of a relapse, or it may have been gratitude for the deliverance he had experienced.
Luk. 8:39. Return to thine own house.In the person of one man Christ has exhibited to us a proof of His grace, which is extended to all mankind. Though we are not tortured by the devil, yet he holds us as his slaves till the Son of God delivers us from his tyranny. Naked, torn, and disfigured, we wander about till He restores us to soundness of mind. It remains that, in magnifying His grace, we testify our gratitude.Calvin.
Home Religion.We should be careful to carry religion into the home
(1) Because home is the place of the most sacred relationships.
(2) We need religion in our homes because the commonness and the constancy of the home-relationships are apt to induce in us a semi-forgetfulness of them.
(3) We need religion in the home because home is the most hopeful place for religious service.
(4) Home religion is the best test of the reality of ones religion.
The Gadarene Missionary.The saved man is sent first to his own house and friends.
I. Let all grace from Christ begin to tell at home.If it cannot win its way there, it lacks some of its vital force.
II. The true method of the household missionary.Shew how great things, etc. He has a story to tell of personal experience, of grateful love, of marvellous mercy. Thisin his mouthtouches mens hearts.
III. Success in the narrower leads to success in the wider sphere.The mission was successful. Doing exactly as his Lord bade him, he was soon able to do more. The letter of his commission enlarged. In time he had told his story to all Decapolis. His doctrine enlarged as well as his diocese. He could not tell his story without giving Jesus all the praise, and he found that praising Jesus was giving glory to God, and so he preached a Divine Saviour. The most terrible sufferer from infernal power becomes a preacher of salvation to ten cities. A majestic entrance of the Sun of Righteousness into this region of the Shadow of Death! For though but a momentary gloom, a ray of light was left there. Jesus went a few hours to Gadara. He found a demoniac, and left a missionary.Laidlaw.
Jesus had done.This is a very natural and beautiful trait in the story. Jesus had given all the glory to Godhad told him to return home and declare how great things God had done for him. He went his way and told how great things Jesus had done for him. He could not forget the Deliverer whom God had sent.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Butlers Comments
SECTION 3
In Evil Spirits (Luk. 8:26-39)
26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27And as he stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes, and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me. 29For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the desert.) 30Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he said, Legion; for many demons had entered him, 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them leave, 33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed, with demons was healed. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear; so he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but he sent him away, saying, 39Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you. And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Luk. 8:26-33 Emancipation: Matthew says Jesus arrived across the Sea of Galilee at the country of the Gadarenes. Both Mark and Luke make the place of arrival the country of the Gerasenes. The Greek manuscripts vary here probably due to the fact that Matthew, writing mostly for a Jewish audience, used the name of the city Gadara (about 5 miles southeast of the seashore), which would be more likely used by the Jews, as a generalization for the whole area. Mark and Luke, writing mostly for a Gentile audience used the name of a city 50 miles south of the Sea of Galilee, Gerasa (the Roman capital of the whole region) as a synonym for the whole area. Both Gadara and Gerasa were cities of the Decapolis mentioned in the New Testament. Some ancient Greek texts read Geresa which may be a scribal emendation (attempting to correct what was thought to be an error in an earlier manuscript) since there apparently was a city on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee closer to the seashore than Gadara.
Matthew says there were two men possessed of demons. Mark says there was a man with an unclean spirit. Luke says Jesus met a man from the city who had demons.
a.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are all correct. They are inspired. Our removal from the situation by 2000 years is the problem.
b.
Probably Mark and Luke were interested in recording the more dominant one (the more spectacular one) possessed of many demons.
c.
Mark confirms in his account that the man was possessed of more than one demon (Mar. 5:14-20).
d.
Modern-day news reporters vary in accounts just as these men did and no one accuses them of historical errors.
e.
There is no contradiction unless Mark says there was only one demon-possessed man.
Luke records that when Jesus stepped out of the boat onto the land there met Him a man from the city (Gadara) who had demons. For an extensive discussion of demon possession in the New Testament see our comments on Luk. 4:32-41. Modern archaeologists have excavated the cliffs around Gadara (today called, Um Keis) and found tombs measuring 20 feet square; with side recesses for bodies. Like the demoniacs, people still dwell in them today. Nearby there is a field of several acres strewn with stone coffins and their lids. Every demon possessed person Jesus met received compassion and pity from Him. This was an exceptionally pitiful case.
a.
The man had been naked for a long time.
b.
He lived in tombs among dead bodies.
c.
He was seized with fits of violence many times by the. demons.
d.
He was kept under guard and bound with chains and leg irons by the people of the area.
e.
But he broke the chains and irons and the demons drove him into the uninhabited wild places of the area:
When the man saw Jesus, he prostrated himself on the ground before Jesus and (the demons, or one specific demon among many) cried out, What have you do to with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me. Demons recognise their true sovereign! Jesus is Lord of all, and the demons know it. They know they have nothing in common with Jesus except that He is ultimately set to punish them in torments. When asked his name, the man said, Legion. A Roman legion of soldiers numbered 6000, thus the word legion came to signify many. The word abyssos in classical Greek meant bottomless, and was used to describe the ancient Greek cosmogony of a deep, limitless universe or space beyond this world. In the N.T. it is used to describe the nether world or the place of torments where the disobedient spirits are bound. It is translated bottomless pit in Rev. 9:1; Rev. 2:1-29; Rev. 11:1-19; Rev. 11:7; Rev. 17:8; Rev. 20:1-3. The demons feared this bottomless pit more than anything else.
The demons begged Jesus to allow them to inhabit a herd of swine feeding near the tombs. Mark says there were approximately 2000 swine in the herd. There were strict prohibitions in Judaism against Jews eating, raising or touching swine, However, the Jews who lived east of the Jordan River often accommodated themselves to the culture of the Gentile majority and paid little attention to religious custom, especially if it involved economics. We do not really know if the herdsmen were Jews or Gentiles. The demons knew Jesus would not allow them to inhabit human beingsHe cast them out at every opportunity. They knew they were doomed to return to the abyss if they had no physical body in this world to inhabit. Perhaps they also knew that since the swine had no will by which they could control them, they could destroy the swine and Jesus would be blamed by the populace and the demons would have some temporary victory over Him. The malicious, destructive rebellion of the devil and his cohorts is graphically illustrated here. They will grasp at any straw to destroy anything God has made!
They did not fool Jesus! He knew all along the outcome of this incident. He was not being merciful to the demons. He knew this would shock the materialistic-minded people of this country (which they proved to be, Luk. 8:37) out of their indifference later when the man who had been emancipated from this demonic enslavement testified among them how much God had done for him. Many people of this area later became followers of Christ and some of the earliest Christian churches were formed in this area. Anyone who finds occasion to denounce Jesus for allowing swine to be destroyed is as spiritually blind as the people of Gadara were. They see neither the salvation of the one pitiful demon-possessed man nor the subsequent discipleship of the whole area as important as the loss of private property. Foster comments, How often this is the main thing which men considermaterial lossand not the rescue of human beings! . . . The perverted estimate of the value of material things and of a human soul must needs be corrected. The issue was really: which is more important, hogs or men?
Luk. 8:34-39 Effects: This spectacular demonstration of divine authority over demons and the material creation resulted in a number of exciting consequences:
a.
When the herdsmen saw what happened, they fled, and told it in the city and country. Spontaneous evangelism!
b.
Then people went out to see what had happened. No one could remain indifferent to such storiesthey had to see for themselves.
c.
The multitudes saw the man clothed and in his right mind and were afraid.
d.
When the story was told again of how the demons were cast out of the man and the swine ran down into the sea and drowned, the people were seized (Gr. suneichonto, grasped, gripped in, laid hold of) by great fear (Gr. phobos).
The impact of what Jesus had done, and Who He must be paralyzed them with fear at what He might yet do.
e.
The people of the area entreated Jesus to leave their area. They may have been concerned that more private property might be destroyed by this mysteriously powerful Galilean. More probably, they were afraid of Him because of their sinful guilt. Even Peter had earlier cried, Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man (Luk. 5:8).
Guilty, unforgiven sinners, in the presence of divine holiness and power are slain and destroyed with fear!
f.
The man kept on begging Jesus that he might go with Him:
(1)
His love and gratitude would make him ready to serve Jesus with his very life.
(2)
He could be sure of staying rid of demon possession if he remained at Jesus side.
(3)
Everyone in this area knew him and would forever associate him with the loss of 2000 hogs.
But Jesus had a work for him to do right in the most difficult place on earth to live for Christones own home area.
The emancipated man proclaimed throughout the whole region what Jesus had done for him. The record of this great demonstration of divine power had been proclaimed now for almost 2000 years and millions have believed Jesus is who He claimed to be and have been freed from an enslavement worse than 2000 demons.
Appleburys Comments
The Gerasene Demoniac
Scripture
Luk. 8:26-39 And they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is over against Galilee. 27 And when he was come forth upon the land, there met him a certain man out of the city, who had demons; and for a long time he had worn no clothes, and abode not in any house, but in the tombs. 28 And when he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I beseech thee, torment me not. 29 For he was commanding the unclean spirit to come out from the man. For oftentimes it had seized him: and he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters; and breaking the bands asunder, he was driven of the demon into the deserts. 30 And Jesus asked him, What is thy name? And he said, Legion, for many demons were entered into him. 31 And they entreated him that he would not command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they entreated him that he would give them leave to enter into them. And he gave them leave. 33 And the demons came out from the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd rushed down the steep into the lake, and were drowned. 34 And when they that fed them saw what had come to pass, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. 35 And they went out to see what had come to pass; and they came to Jesus, and found the man, from whom the demons were gone out, sitting, clothed and in his right mind, at the feet of Jesus: and they were afraid. 36 And they that saw it told them how he that was possessed with demons was made whole. 37 And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes round about asked him to depart from them; for they were holden with great fear: and he entered into a boat, and returned. 38 But the man from whom the demons were gone out prayed him that he might be with him: but he sent him away, saying, 39 Return to thy house, and declare how great things God hath done for thee. And he went his way, publishing throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him.
Comments
the country of the Gerasenes.Both Mark and Luke say Gerasenes, but Matthew says the country of the Gadarenes. See Mat. 8:28 and Mar. 5:1. It is possible that the country belonging to Gadarathe city itself was situated several miles southeast of the Sea of Galileereached to the shores of Galilee. Luke locates the incident on the banks of the Lake opposite the territory of Galilee.
a certain man out of the city, who had demons.Matthew says there were two demoniacs (Mat. 8:28). Luke tells of only one of them.
That this is a genuine case of demon possession manifesting itself as extreme mental illnessnote the psychotic symptomscannot be questioned. Luke, a trained physician, says the demon was an unclean spirit. Further proof that this was demon possession is indicated by the following: (1) Jesus conversed with the demons; He asked the man, What is your name? He said, Legion, for many demons had entered him, (2) Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (3) The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss, but to allow them to enter the bodies of the swine. (4) When they entered the swine, the herd rushed headlong into the sea and were drowned.
at the feet of Jesus.When the report of the miracle reached the people of the city and surrounding country, they came to Jesus and found the man whom they had often tried to subdue sitting at the feet of Jesus. The storm that once raged in his wretched life had ceased. He was as calm as the sea after Jesus had rebuked the winds. He was clothed and in his right mind, that is, the demons were gone, and he was in control of his mental powers.
and they were afraid.The miracle of the Lord caused them to fear, for they were sinful people. Peter reacted the same way after he witnessed the miracle of catching fish (Luk. 5:8). Adam and Eve hid themselves from God, because they knew they had disobeyed Him.
asked him to depart.They were seized with a great fear. Fear, not the loss of property, caused them to make the request. Sinners will always hide from God unless they can become convinced that He has commended His love toward them by the fact that Christ died for them while they were yet sinners. Rom. 5:8.
prayed him that he might be with him.At the request of the people, Jesus was leaving their shores. But the man from whom the demons had gone out, wanted to be with Him. Jesus said, Go back to your home and tell how great the things are that God has done for you, for this is the secret of being with Him.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(26-39) And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes.See Notes on Mat. 8:28-34, and Mar. 5:1-20. Here again St. Mark and St. Luke agree in their order, and differ from St. Matthew. The better MSS. give Gerasenes or Gergesenes. See Note on Mat. 8:28 for the localities.
Which is over against Galilee.St. Lukes description of the region, which the other two Gospels name without describing, is characteristic of a foreigner writing for foreigners.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
51. TWO DEMONIACS OF GADARA HEALED, Luk 8:26-40 .
The events 22-42 take place after the day of the seven parables, 49.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is over against Galilee.’
Landing on the east side of the Lake of Galilee they arrived in ‘the country of the Gerasenes’. Differing manuscripts and versions have different names for the area in mind, probably mainly because of the later difficulty of identification – Gerasenes, Gergesenes, Gadarenes, Gergustenes. Gerasa was a well known city thirty miles inland, (and must thus probably be ruled out, although they may have owned land in the area) and Gadara was six miles inland, although the land between Gadara and the sea was known as ‘the country of the Gadarenes’. Both Gerasa and Gadara were included in ‘The Ten Towns’ (Decapolis), and Matthew actually identifies the place as ‘the country of the Gadarenes’ because that was relatively well known and the incident took place in the area around Gadara. Luke, following Mark, may well have had in mind the small coastal town now known as Kersa or Koursi which is in that area (thus now Kerasenes). Near that town is a fairly steep slope within forty metres of the shore, and the cave tombs can still be seen.
The whole region was known as the Ten Towns (Decapolis) because it was originally a place where ten major towns formed an alliance for mutual protection. It was semi-independent and ruled itself, although being loosely connected to the Province of Syria. It was predominantly Gentile but had been conquered by the Macabbees and now also contained a relatively small Jewish population. It may have been Jesus’ intention to proclaim the coming Kingly Rule of God to the Jews in the area, although in the event He did not do so. More likely His intention was mainly to take a respite from the huge crowds that He could not avoid when on Jewish territory.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus Reveals His Authority Over The Legion of Demons That Possessed the Gadarene Demoniac (8:26-39).
Disembarking from the boat in the country of the Gerasenes, fresh from His triumph at sea, Jesus is confronted with another ‘storm’ in the person of a man possessed by many militant evil spirits who had rendered him naked and mad. The whole countryside feared him, and when they could they bound him with chains and fetters. But he was so strong under the evil influence that he could break the fetters and escape to live among the tombs. It would seem that this would be a severe test of Jesus’ power and authority.
It may well be that Luke intended us to see in this narrative an illustration of Gentiles being delivered ‘from the power of Satan to God’ (Act 26:18). The man is depicted as under Satan’s control, he comes to Jesus and confesses Him as the Son of the Most High God, Jesus then removes what is unclean from him, and he ends up sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind having been ‘saved’ (Luk 8:36 literally), at which he confesses Jesus before men.
This is not to doubt its historicity. In this regard it should be noted that Jesus performed a large number of miracles and exorcisms. There was therefore a wide selection from which the writers could select, and they regularly made their selection on the basis that the examples they chose also had another lesson to teach.
Note On Evil Spirits/Demons.
The incident we are now about to examine raises again the question as to the existence of evil spirits. But this is something never doubted anywhere in the Bible. It is not constantly stressed or over-emphasised, but there is the clear indication of evil power at work behind the scenes from Genesis 3 onwards (compare Job 1-2; Daniel 10; Zechariah 3), right through to Revelation. That Jesus Himself believed in Satan ‘the Adversary’ (the Devil, ‘the Accuser’) there can be no doubt (Luk 4:1-13; Luk 10:18; Luk 13:16; Luk 22:31; Mat 4:10; Mat 12:26; Mat 13:39; Mat 25:41; Mar 3:23; Mar 3:26; Mar 4:15; Joh 8:44). Indeed it was to destroy the works of the Devil that Jesus came (1Jn 3:8). He constantly overcame him. And if Satan exists we can be sure that other evil spirits exist also.
The growth of monotheism hindered the ability of these evil spirits to affect mankind for when men ceased seeking to worship them through the worship of the gods (Deu 32:16-17; 1Co 10:20), or to seek to influence them or to contact them through the occult, their effectiveness was largely nullified. But their readiness, when given the opportunity, to enter and control men is evidenced throughout history. The twentieth century saw a rise of spirit possession in Western countries precisely because men and women once more opened themselves to such evil influences in their search for new (and dangerous) ‘amusements’, and the twenty first century may yet see further growth as people indulge in the occult in various ways, but in Africa and the East such possession has always been well known and evidenced. There they do not scoff at the idea of evil spirits, even the educated.
Such activity must not be over-exaggerated. The Gospels distinguish sickness and lunacy from spirit possession (Luk 4:40; Luk 7:21-22; Mat 4:23-24; Mat 8:16; Mat 10:8; Mar 6:13), and Jesus only casts out evil spirits in clear cut cases. He did not believe that they affected every man, or even most men, by entry and possession, nor did He see them as the prime cause of disease except in rare cases, although it is made clear that Christians do ‘wrestle’ with evil powers in heavenly places, often without knowing it for they triumph through Christ (Eph 6:12). There did appear to be a rise in spirit possession in the days of Jesus, but this may well rather be because His presence drew them out and brought them to the fore. At other times they could carry on undisturbed, preferring not to be brought to notice. It is noteworthy that Jesus did not lay hands on men possessed by evil spirits. He dealt with them by a word of command. (A lesson to be well learned by any who deal in such things).
Men possessed by evil spirits may behave in strange, extreme ways and the spirits can to some extent control their actions and even speak through them in different voices. But not all who behave in strange ways do so because they are demon possessed. Mental problems can produce what appear to be similar reactions and a distinction was in fact made between the ‘lunatic’ and the ‘spirit-possessed’ (Mat 4:24). Nor do all demon possessed people obviously behave outwardly in strange ways.
The fact that such evil spirits were personal comes out in that they recognised Jesus for Whom He was, showed fear, were aware of God’s purpose for them, and spoke and cried out. They can probably, however, only enter people when they in some way open themselves to them. This can especially occur when people dabble in fortune telling, astrological influences, seeking the spirit world, witchcraft, idol worship, blanking the mind, attending gatherings where spirits are to be engaged and so on. These things are constantly condemned in the Bible. See for example Exo 22:18; Lev 19:26; Lev 19:31; Lev 20:27; Deu 18:10-12; Isa 8:19. While large numbers who indulge in such things do not become possessed, it is an ever present danger. Medical science cannot deal with such cases, which require exorcism through the power of Christ.
End of note.
Having this in view we now move on to look at an extreme case of spirit possession dealt with by Jesus which revealed His total mastery over the spirit world.
We may analyse this passage as follows:
a They arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is over against Galilee (Luk 8:26).
b When He was come forth on the land, there met Him a certain man out of the city, who had demons, and for a long time he had worn no clothes, and abode not in any house, but in the tombs (Luk 8:27).
c When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, torment me not” (Luk 8:28).
d For He was commanding the unclean spirit to come out from the man (Luk 8:29 a).
e For oftentimes it had seized him, and he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters, and breaking the bands asunder, he was driven of the demon into the deserts (Luk 8:29 b).
f Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”, for many demons were entered into him, and they entreated Him that He would not command them to depart into the abyss (Luk 8:30-31)
g There was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, and they entreated him that He would give them leave to enter into them. And He gave them leave. (Luk 8:32)
f And the demons came out from the man, and entered into the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep into the lake, and were drowned (Luk 8:33).
e When those who fed them saw what had come about, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man, from whom the demons were gone out, sitting, clothed and in his right mind, at the feet of Jesus, and they were afraid (Luk 8:34-35).
d Those who saw it told them how he who was possessed with demons was made whole (Luk 8:36).
c And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes round about asked him to depart from them, for they were gripped with great fear, and he entered into a boat, and returned (Luk 8:37).
b But the man from whom the demons were gone out prayed him that he might be with him. But he sent him away, saying, “Return to your house, and declare how great things God has done for you” (Luk 8:38-39 a).
a He went his way, publishing throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him (Luk 8:39 b).
Note that in ‘a’ they arrive in the country of the Gerasenes, and in the parallel the healed man publishes abroad there all that Jesus has done for him. In ‘b’ the demoniac had been naked and alone, not wanting company or dwelling in any house, and in the parallel he wants to be with Jesus, but Jesus tells him to go back and live in his house as a testimony to what God has done. In ‘c’ the man is afraid of Jesus, recognising Him as the ‘Son of the Most High God’, and in the parallel the people are afraid of Jesus and want Him to leave. In ‘d’ Jesus commands the unclean spirit to come out of the man, and in the parallel those who saw it testify as to how it happened. In ‘e’ we are told of the distraught state of the man before he is healed and in the parallel the evil spirits have gone out and the man is sitting clothed and in his right mind. In ‘f’ the evil spirits plead not to be sent to the Abyss and in the parallel they end up in the sea. In ‘g’ Jesus gives them permission to enter the swine. The central position of this last demonstrates that this is seen as important. Unclean demons are depicted as only fit for unclean pigs. The Jews looked on pigs with abhorrence. They were one of those creatures listed as ‘unclean. Thus this was a rebuke to those who kept pigs in one time ‘Jewish’ territory in open defiance against God (the territory had once been ruled by the Jews), it was an indication of God’s desire to cleanse the land by removing all uncleanness from it, and it was especially an indication of God’s opinion of evil spirits. They are only fit for ‘unclean’ pigs.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
In the Country of the Gadarenes. The demoniac:
v. 26. And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
v. 27. And when He went forth to land, there met Him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
v. 28. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God Most High? I beseech Thee, torment me not.
v. 29. (For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him; and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
See Mat 8:28-34; Mar 5:1-20. Luke’s description is graphic: They sailed down from the deep sea to the land. There was not the faintest indication of the recent tempest, and they had no difficulty about putting in near the shore. The country where they landed belonged to a strip of Gaulanitis, which was variously called the country of the Gadarenes or the Gerasenes, Gadara being a town farther inland, and Gerasa, or Gergesa, being situated near the Sea of Galilee. The strip of the country where the disciples cast anchor was comparatively wild and uninhabited, the hilly section just east of the lake, opposite Galilee. No sooner had Jesus set foot to the land, with the intention of going over to the city which was not far distant, than two demoniacs came toward Him, the more violent of whom Luke speaks of. The home of this unfortunate sufferer was in the city, but he himself was not living there at the present time, being possessed of demons, who tortured him in various ways. Their power over him was such as to make him spurn all shame; for a long time he had worn no clothes. He would also not remain in a house, but preferred to live in the tombs which were hewn into the rock on the lake shore. He had almost been stripped of the attributes of a human being, and rather resembled a wild beast in appearance and habits. No sooner, however, did he see Jesus than he screamed aloud and threw himself down at His feet and begged with a loud voice that Jesus should not torment him. That was the demon, one of their number speaking. The devil knows who Jesus of Nazareth is, was aware of it during the entire lifetime of Jesus, and tried everything in his power to frustrate the work of the Lord. If Christ had been a mere man, the devil could easily have conquered him. But He was the Son of the most high God, and therefore Himself true God from eternity. He had the power, if He so chose, to let the last terrible judgment upon the devils begin at any time, to chain them in the abyss of darkness and keep them there. The devil and his angels have been condemned by God, they are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the Great Day, Jud 1:6. The very fact that they are excluded from the bliss of heaven is for them a species of hell torture. In the meantime, however, and especially during these last days of the world, the devil is loosed for a little season, Rev 20:3. Until the Day of Judgment Satan and his demons still have permission to move here on earth and to torment God’s creatures. But their chains are upon them. And on the Day of Judgment they will enter their eternal prison and feel the tortures of the fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels, Mat 25:41. For Jesus was about to command (conative imperfect) that the unclean spirit should come out of the man, hence the cry of fear. The disease was not permanently and continually of a violent nature, but rather took hold of this victim with intermittent spells of acute mania, followed by intervals of comparative quiet and sensibility. But when the devils seized him in their powerful grip, all efforts at keeping him under guard were fruitless. People had tried to keep him bound and in subjection by means of fetters and chains on hands and feet, but these were like strips of gossamer in the hands of the demoniac. At such times the poor victim was driven into the deserts, and no one could hold him.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Luk 8:26-27. And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, Though we have given, in the notes on St. Matthew, an explanation of the principal circumstances of this remarkable miracle; yet, as it contains so full and satisfactory an account of real possession, and demoniacal agency, I cannot refuse my reader the extracts following from Dr. Ward’s Dissertation on the subject, as they not only concur with, but strongly confirm the opinions which I have advanced in the notes onSt. Matthew. Observe we then, that the case of the man among the tombs is told with some remarkable circumstances: he is here described as wholly unconversable; so fierce, that no one durst come near him. He had lived a long time in this condition, and therefore was neither capable, nor had any opportunity, of knowing any thing concerning Christ or his character. Besides, it is plain that he could not be apprized of his coming at that time, forthe ship sailed over from the other side in the night; and so soon as Christ came ashore, and the man saw him at a distance, he ran to him and worshipped him; Luk 8:28. Are these the actions of a mere madman, fierce and outrageous? What could give this sudden turn to his mind, while Christ was yet at a distance from him? And when he came up to Christ, and Christ spoke to him, how could he know and confess him to be the Son of God most high, whom he had never before heard of? What he says further is indeed agreeable to the ravings of a madman, if it came from himself: but that it could not, seems very plain from its inconsistency with his true confession of Christ, to whom he was wholly a stranger; though considering all that he says as coming from an evil spirit, the whole is in character; nor do the inhabitants of the neighbouring town seem to know more of Christ than this man, if we are to judge by their conduct. All the circumstances therefore being duly considered, it will appear very evident that the case of this man could not be merely the effect of madness, but that it was a real possession. In the present case, the circumstances mentioned are such as cannot be otherwise accounted for, than by a real possession. St. Luke observes, that Christ first spoke to them, or one of them, (Luk 8:29 and see Mat 8:28.) and commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him. If this was spoken to the man, and not to the devil,by the unclean spirit must be meant the disease: and as Christ never spoke in vain, the man must immediately have found some change in himself for the better, and therefore could not have asked him after this, whether he came to torment him. But that this discourse was between Christ and the evil spirit appears still more evident from a preceding instance of the like kind, which happened while Christ was yet less known, and is recorded by St. Mark, Mar 1:21, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Luk 8:26-39 . See on Mat 8:28-34 ; Mar 5:1-20 . Luke follows Mark freely.
.] they arrived . See Wetstein.
Luk 8:27 . ] does not belong to , but to , alongside of which it stands. To connect the clause with would not be contradictory to , but would require the presupposition, not presented in the text, that the demoniac had just rushed out of the city.
Luk 8:28 . ] as at Mar 5:7 .
Luk 8:29 . ] not in the sense of the pluperfect, but like , Mar 5:8 .
Nothing is to be put in a parenthesis.
. . .] To account for the command of Jesus the description of his frightful condition is given: for during a long time it had fared with him as follows. Comp. Rom 16:25 ; Act 8:11 ; Joh 2:20 ; Herodian, Luk 1:6 . Luk 1:24 : ; Plut. Thes . vi.: . See generally, Bernhardy, p. 81; Fritzsche, ad Rom . I. p. xl. In opposition to usage, Erasmus and Grotius render the words: often . So also Valckenaer.
] may mean: it had hurried him along with it (Act 6:12 ; Act 19:29 ; Act 27:15 , and very frequently in the classical writers), but also: it had (absolutely and entirely, ) seized him (Ar. Lys . 437; 4Ma 5:3 ). It is usually taken in the latter sense. But the former is the more certain of the two according to the usage of Luke, corresponds better with its use elsewhere, and likewise agrees perfectly with the connection. For . . . then relates what was accustomed to be done with the sufferer in order to prevent this tearing and dragging by the demon; observe the imperfect , he was ( accustomed to be ) chained, etc.
Luk 8:31 . ] as Mar 5:10 , from the standpoint of the consciousness of the several demons possessing the man.
] abyss , i.e. Hades (Rom 10:7 ). The context teaches that in particular Gehenna is meant (comp. Rev 9:1 f., Luk 11:7 , Luk 20:3 ). The demons know and dread their place of punishment . Mark is different and more original ; in opposition to Baur, Markusevang . p. 42.
Luk 8:33 . ] of choking by drowning, Dem. 833, pen.; Raphel, Polyb . p. 199; Wakefield, Silv. Crit . II. p. 75. Even Hug ( Gutacht . II. p. 17 f.) attempts to justify the destruction of the swine in a way which can only remind us of the maxim, “ qui excusat, accusat .” .Luk 8:35 . ] the people from the city and from the farms.
. ] as a scholar with his teacher. The whole of this description, indeed, and the subsequent prohibition, Luk 8:39 , is intended, according to Baur, Evang . p. 430 f., to set forth the demoniac as a representative of the converted heathen world .
Luk 8:36 . ] the disciples and others who had seen it together. The places these in contrast even with the people who came thither and found the cure accomplished, and to whom the eye-witnesses also of the proceeding narrated it.
Luk 8:38 . ] See on this Ionic form, which, however, was also frequent among Attic writers, Lobeck, ad Phryn . p. 220; Schaefer, ad Greg. Cor . p. 431; Krger, ad Xen. Anab . viii. 4. 8. The reading (B L) is a correction, and (A P, Lachmann) is a transcriber’s mistake for this correction. Luk 8:39 . ] Gadara , Luk 8:27 . Mark, certainly with greater accuracy, has .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
b. The Demoniac At Gadara (Luk 8:26-39)
(Parallels: Mat 8:28-34; Mar 5:1-20)
26And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes,4 which is over against Galilee. 27And when he went forth [had gone out] to land, there met him out of the city a certain man [a certain man of the city met him], which had devils [was possessed by demons] long time, and ware [wore] no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.28When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. 29(For he had [om., had] commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes [for a long time] it had caught [seized upon] him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of 30[by] the devil [demon] into the wilderness [desert places].) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because [for] many devils [demons] 31were entered into him. And they [or, he5] besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [abyss]. 32And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. 33Then went the devils [demons] out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place [the cliff] into the lake, and were choked [drowned]. 34When they that fed them [the keepers] sawwhat was done [had happened], they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then they went out to see what was done [had happened]; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils [demons] were departed, sitting at 36the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils [by the demons] was healed. 37Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: andhe went up [om., up] into the ship, and returned back again. 38Now the man, out of whom the devils [demons] were departed, besought him that he might be with him; but Jesus [he, V. O.6] sent him away, saying, 39Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Luk 8:26. The Gadarenes.That in Mat 8:28, the reading deserves the preference appears hardly to admit of a doubt. See Lange ad loc. But in Luke also we find no sufficient ground to read with Lachmann and Tischendorf on the authority particularly of B., D., , and still less again to read with L., . [Cod. Sin.] and a few others, . The very distinction between these two latter readings shows how much hesitation there has been, and how soon the old and true reading was supplanted. We cannot possibly understand Gerasa, one of the ten cities of the Decapolis, the present Djerasch, since it lay more than ten [German, fifty English] miles distant from the sea, and as respects Gergesa, we find, it is true, mention made of Gergesites, Deu 7:1; Jos 24:11 [E. V., Girgashites]; but I do not from that alone venture to affirm the existence of a city of this name at the time of Jesus. The authority of Origen is not a sufficient support for the reading , since he chose this only on geographical and not on critical grounds, and besides, he assures us that even at his time, in some manuscripts, the reading was found, which he only rejects because this city was too far distant from the shore. In respect to this last objection, there is nothing in the way of the conjecture that Jesus had proceeded a certain distance inland when He saw the demoniac, and that, according to the very accurate calculation of Ebrard, ad loc. S. 381, the city was at least a league distant from the sea. We for our part are of the opinion that the region of the shore of the sea is likely in the mouth of the people to have still retained the name of the land of the Gergesenes after the Gergesites of Joshuas day, and that a copyist, for more exact definition of the original expression, land of the Gadarenes, first wrote on the margin the words, of the Gergesenes, which afterwards in many manuscripts supplanted the original reading. In this way the comparatively wide diffusion of the incorrect reading is perhaps best explained.
Luk 8:27. A certain man of the city.So also Mark. According to Matt. there were two. This plural in Matt. which several times recurs when the other Synoptics have a singular, belongs to the peculiarities of his gospel, for whose explanation a general law must be sought for. There is no want of conjecture in favor of there having been two (Strauss, De Wette, Lange), and it is no doubt possible that Luke and Mark mention only one, namely, the most malignant; but on the other hand we cannot regard it as probable that the original two should thus have been reduced to a unity, and we find moreover in the whole account no one proof that the Saviour here had really two demoniacs to deal with. Nor may we forget that the whole account of Mark and Luke as to this event is much more precise and complete than that of Matthew. We therefore give to them, here also, the preference, and have only to inquire now, from whence the second demoniac has come into the narrative of Matthew. The conjecture (Ebrard, Olshausen) that he joins in mind the demoniac in the synagogue at Capernaum with this one (Mar 1:23) is wholly without proof. More happy appears to us the opinion (Da Costa) that the raging demoniac precisely at the moment when the Lord arrived was involved in strife with one of the passers by (Comp. Mat 8:28 b), so that Matt. relates , without diplomatic exactness. Or should we assume (Neander, Hase, De Wette) that the plurality of the here-mentioned demons led to the inexact mention of a plurality of demoniacs? Perhaps if we assume that Matthew originally wrote in Hebrew, this difference might possibly be laid to the account of the Greek translator. But if none of these conjectures is acceptable there is nothing left then but to acknowledge here one of the minute differences, for whose explanation we are wanting in the requisite data, and which can give offence only from the point of view of a one-sided and mechanical theory of inspiration. More ancient attempts at explanation, see in Kuinoel ad loc. In no case is it admissible with Von Ammon to explain the variation in this subordinate point by assuming that none of the apostles were personally present, inasmuch as they, when the Saviour disembarked, probably remained on the ship in order to fish; and at the same time also, not improbably to sell some fish in Gadara while the Master preached or performed miracles!!
Luk 8:27. In the tombs.There are still found in the neighborhood of the ancient Gadara (the present Omkeis) many caves and chalk ranges which served as places of burial, and from other accounts also we know that the inhabitants carried on an active traffic in cattle and especially in swine. No wonder, for they consisted of a mixture of Jews, Greeks, and Syrians, of whom the former stood in very low esteem with their countrymen in Judea and Galilee, because they had assimilated themselves more than the latter to other nations. Only seldom did the Saviour visit these regions, in which He found but few lost sheep of the house of Israel. The first time that we meet Him here, He performed a miracle which more perhaps than any other has been to many expositors a . What the ass of Balaam is in the Old Testament that are the swine of Gadara in the New Testament, foolishness and a stumbling-block to the wisdom of this world.
Possessed by demons.See remarks on Luk 4:33.
Luk 8:28. Jesus, Thou Son of God.Perhaps the demoniac was a Jew not wholly unacquainted with the Messianic hope; but certainly it is in the spirit of the Evangelists if we believe that the knowledge of the Lord which the demons usually exhibited had been attained in a supernatural way.
Luk 8:29. For He commanded, .Not in the sense of the pluperfect, but like , Mar 5:8. Meyer. According to Luke the Saviour had therefore commanded the spirit to come out before the latter had begged for forbearance, but we do not therefore need to assume that He had uttered this command to the unfortunate man from some distance, even before the latter had come to Him. Perhaps the words of the demoniac in the extreme tension of his mental condition had only been ejaculated interruptedly. First the question: What have I to do with thee Jesus thou Son of God? Afterwards the answer of the Saviour, who never accepted public acknowledgment from demoniacs, , … Mar 5:8. Afterwards the abrupt entreaty: I beseech thee torment me not, and then the inquiry after the name.
For for a long time.A more particular explanation of Luke, which throws into more relief on the one hand the misery of his condition, on the other the miraculousness of the deliverance; comp. Mar 5:2-4.Seized upon.So that he hurried him along unresistingly with himself.He was kept bound with chains and fetters.Whenever his relatives or keepers had succeeded in bringing him back home for a while, out of the wilderness.
Luk 8:30. What is thy name?The answer to the question whether the Saviour here speaks to the demoniac himself, or to the demon tormenting him, depends entirely on the conception which we form of such unfortunates. In the first case it is an attempt to bring the demoniac in a psychological way to reflection and to help him to distinguish his own conceptions from those of the unclean spirit. In the other case it is an inquiry of the King of the personal world of spirits, which He addresses to the author of so much misery, and we must say with Stier: We interpreters will here modestly remain without when the Son of God speaks with one from hell, only with the just conviction that the two have well understood one another.Legion.The demoniac is in feeling entirely identified with the evil powers that control and torment him. Respecting the name Legio, see Lange on Mat 26:53.
For many demons.Less accurately this reason stated for the name given, is in Mark put in the mouth of the demons themselves.
Luk 8:31. And he besought Him.The demon, that is; who in this instance was still working with unlimited power upon the unhappy man, and at the same time uttered himself in the name of the whole Legion. Why the demons desire to go into the swine is a question which we, so far as we are concerned, can answer only with a confession of the entire incompetence of our intelligence on this mysterious ground. Only one folly would be yet greater than that of a presumptuous decision: the folly, namely, of those who are as little acquainted with the nature of demons as of swine, and yet at once utter, ex cathedra, the word absurd; impossible. Much better: Potestas Christi etiam super animalia, dmones, abyssum porrigitur. Idque agnovere dmones. Bengel.
Into the abyss.That is, into hell; comp. Rev 9:11; Rev 20:3. The evil spirits also have their wishes and understand their interest as well as man. As they therefore in this ever-intensifying conflict between themselves and the Messiah, become aware that they must in some way yield before Him, they entreat at least to be handled in the mildest way and to be permitted to go into a tolerably near herd of swine (and only too fully does their man concur in this wish, because otherwise he fears that he must die): against this wish Christ has nothing to object. But so powerful is yet, from fear before the Messiah (?), the momentum of the evil spirits in going out, that they enter into a corresponding number of swine and drive these again into wild flight; nay more, precipitate them down the cliff into the water, and so against their will must, nevertheless, go out of the dying man (rather the sick man) into hell, while the man, liberated from them, comes to his long sighed-for repose. Von Ewald. The terror and the precipitation of the herd into the sea, we should, however, rather explain, with Lange and many others, as resulting from the last terrible paroxysm which, as usual, preceded the healing. The number of the swine (Mar 5:13) may moreover be stated in a round number, either according to the reckoning of the spectators or according to the statement of the embittered possessors.
Luk 8:33. And entered into the swine.It is of course understood that we here have not to understand individual indwelling, but dynamic influence, of the demoniacal powers upon the defenceless herd. But if philosophy declares that such an influence is entirely impossible, we demand the proof for the right of deciding in so lofty a tone upon a matter which lies entirely outside of the limits of experience, and are, therefore, on the contrary, fully in our right when we, after the credibility of Luke is once established, conclude ab esse ad posse. If the psychologist accounts it impossible that irrational beings should experience the influence of spiritual forces, we will wait till he gives us a little more assurance with regard to the souls of beasts than we have hitherto possessed. And if the critic wishes to know for what end the demoniacal power caused the swine to rush so quickly into the lake, we will acknowledge our ignorance, but simply desire that one should not declare incomprehensible and ridiculous to be synonymous. It is indeed possible that the swine were precipitated against the will of the demons into the lake, because the organism of these animals proved too weak to resist their overmastering influence. In this case it plainly appears from the result that the entreaty had been an unintelligent one; but then, does not mental confusion belong to the nature of evil? Enough; one thing stands fast, that it was by no means wholly unexpected or against the intention of Jesus that the swine were controlled by demoniacal influence (against Paulus, Hase, Von Ammon). The Saviour must have known what He conceded with the word of might ; moreover He afterwards does not excuse Himself for an instant to the owners of the herd by saying that He had not been able to foresee their loss. He simply goes His way and listens to the entreaty of the demons, unconcerned whether the herd shall be able to endure this terror or not. With His special concurrence does it take place, that the possession of the rational man passes over upon the irrational herd. We believe, if we may compare the supernatural with a mysterious natural fact, that here something similar took place to what even now often takes place by magnetic forces, when some bodily evil is transferred from one object to another, even from man to animals. Undoubtedly Jesus found such a miraculous diversion of the malady necessary for the restoration of the sick man, and the possibility that demoniacal conditions may pass over upon others, even upon beasts, appears not to admit of denial. Comp. Kieser, System des Tellurismus, ii. p. 72.
Finally, as respects the question how far a permission of the Saviour is to be justified which occasioned so considerable a loss, see Lange on Mat 8:31. Some answers to this question have certainly turned out rather unlucky, e.g., that of Hug, that the flesh might have been still fished up and salted and used. Without entirely excluding the thought that here there is a just retribution for the defilement of the Jewish population (Olshausen), the answer suffices us that Jesus word: not come to destroy, but to save, applies indeed to men, but not to beasts. At any price He will pluck this soul from the powers of darkness. He exerts His miraculous might, not with the immediate purpose of destroying the herd; but if the loss of these is the inevitable consequence of His beneficent activity, this loss can be made good, while the opportunity to save this man is not likely ever to return. He who afterwards gave Himself up for a pure sacrifice does not here account the life of unclean beasts at a higher rate than it deserves. The imputation that He in this way infringed upon the property-rights of strangers, made by Woolston and others, was not once brought forward by the Gadarenes themselves, and the attempt to vindicate their rights more strongly than they themselves in this case thought necessary, may be dismissed with a ne quid nimis. Finally it must not be overlooked that the healing was a benefit not only for the demoniac, but also for the whole region. Comp. Mat 8:28 b.
Luk 8:35. Clothed.The Evangelist says not from whence or by whom. Perhaps we may here understand the intervention of the Saviours disciples, who here also accompanied Him. The healed one moreover now sits , as a disciple at the feet of his Master.
Luk 8:36. They also which saw it.Matthew also speaks, 5:33, of keepers, who had been witnesses of the miracle.
Luk 8:37. To depart from them.A longer stay of the Saviour could have had little attraction for men who, above all, calculated the material loss, and were seized with superstitious and half heathen fear. The abode of the dangerous demoniac in the midst of them is less burdensome to them than the longer sojourn of such a worker of miracles. A sad contrast to the entreaty of the Samaritans, Joh 4:40. But the Saviour here and there alike yields to the desire expressed.
Luk 8:38. Now the man.Comp. Mar 5:18-20. The prayer with which the recovered demoniac follows the departing Saviour may serve as an unequivocal proof of the completeness of his healing, as well as of the warmth of his thankfulness. The Saviour does not grant the request, partly perhaps for the reason that for the perfectness and duration of his recovery somewhat more of rest was required. But that He here encourages the one whom He had delivered to a proclamation of the benefit bestowed upon him, while on those who were healed elsewhere silence is imposed, is a proof the more that He had not the intention to return into the land of the Gadarenes; there must, therefore, at least one living and speaking memorial of His miraculous power abide there. Moreover, in Pera the diffusion of such accounts was less critical than in Galilee, which was so inclined to insurrection. In the directing of the man back to his home, it is at the same time implied that the Saviour remembers his perhaps distressed or anxious relatives, for whom now his untroubled domestic life is to be the theatre of his gratitude and obedience. Yet not only to his own friends, but throughout the whole of Decapolis, does the man proclaim what had been done, so that the astonishment which he at all events awakens, without doubt became a beneficent preparation for the later preaching of the gospel in these dark regions.
Luk 8:39. How great things. .In a remarkable manner are the great works of God and Jesus at the conclusion of the narrative co-ordinated. Without doubt it is the intention of the Evangelist here to indicate that it was God Himself who in and through the miraculous power of the Messiah displayed in extraordinary wise His workings.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. There is no revelation of Christ as the King of the world of spirits which contains so much that is obscure as that which took place at Gadara. In relation to such miracles also does the Saviours own word hold good, Luk 7:23, and this Macarism can only be fulfilled in him who with Paul continues mindful of the .
2. The miracle here narrated conflicts in no way with the well-known summing up of the biography of the Saviour, , Act 10:38. It is no miracle of punishment, any more than the drying up of the fig-tree was one, and that for the reason that swine and fig-tree are irrational creatures, to which therefore as a class the conception of punishment is only very loosely applicable. Moreover, the Saviour acts here as representative of the Father on earth, who daily destroys the lesser that the higher may be nourished and preserved, and has never yet forbidden His lightnings to purify the atmosphere for fear they might perchance strike the trunks of some trees. Had the herd of swine been driven by a tempest into the sea, who would accuse God of the wickedness of having infringed upon the property-rights of legal possessors? How many a murrain has taken off far more than 2,000 victims!
3. That the diseased life of the soul falls into the duality of a so-to-speak subjective and an objective, of a dominant and a suppressed, Ego, can be a matter of surprise only to him who does not know or does not clearly keep in mind that the Ego even in itself and in a healthy condition is this duplicity of a subject-object. Strauss, in a review of Justin Kerners Essay on Demoniacs of Modern Times.
4. The healing of the demoniac of Gadara is a striking symbol on the one hand of the conflict which the kingdom of God continually carries on against the realm of darkness; on the other hand of the triumph which it finally, although after heavy sacrifices, attains; at the same time a proof how much in earnest the Saviour was in His own declaration, Mat 16:26.
5. In the command with which the Saviour parts from the recovered man, there lies an honor put upon devout domestic life, which is the less to be overlooked, inasmuch as it is a striking revelation of Christianity as the principle of the purest Humanity.
6. Peter, too, had once begged that the Lord would depart from Him, Luk 5:8, and yet the Lord had turned into his house more than ever before; but the prayer of the Gadarenes He accepts in fearful earnestness, because He penetrates their unbelief, their sin. This mournful result of the miracle at Gadara, moreover, is a striking proof how even the most astounding miracles cannot constrain to faith when the requisite disposition of heart and conscience is lacking.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
To the storm on the sea succeeds the contest with the world of spirits.When Israel amalgamates with the heathen, the demons find a roomy dwelling prepared for themselves.The deep wretchedness of the man who is ruled by demoniacal powers.Domestic life most direfully desolated by the might of darkness.The Lord of Heaven known to the dwellers of hell.The Evil One feels that his Vanquisher draws nigh.Evil also is fruitful and multiplies.Even where the Lord leaves the might of darkness free, its own destruction is the wretched end of this freedom.Beasts, men, and demons alike subject to the Son of Man.The worth of the soul: 1. No harm so great as when harm occurs to the soul; 2. no price too dear, if only the soul is redeemed; 3. no thankfulness so heartfelt as when the soul feels itself delivered.The miracle at Gadara a revelation of the glory of the Saviour: 1. As the Son of the living God; 2. as the King of the world of spirits; 3. as the Deliverer of the wretched; 4. as the Holy One, who does not suffer Himself to be entreated in vain to depart.Whoever is saved by the Lord must, as a disciple, sit at His feet.The great things which Jesus did by this miracle: 1. In the world; 2. in the house; 3. in the land of the Gadarenes.The enmity of the flesh is to be changed by no benefit, however great it be.The redeemed of the Lord wishes nothing more ardently than to abide with Him.Domestic life the worthy theatre of active gratitude.Through the redeemed of Christ must the Father be glorified.Even when Jesus departs He leaves yet witnesses of His grace behind.The might of darkness runs ever into its own destruction.Presumptuous transgression of the law is ever sooner or later visited.
Starke:Christ neglects no land in the world with His grace.The angels rejoice over a sinners conversion, but the devil is sorely disgusted when a soul is freed from his tyranny.J. Hall:Those are no true Christians who deny the Godhead of Christ, since the devil nevertheless acknowledges it, 1Jn 4:15.God sets the devil also his bounds and says finally: It is enough, Job 38:11.Osiander:There must an astonishing number of the angels have fallen away from God.Satan has not even power over irrational creatures except as it is permitted him of God.Brentius:God often lets outward possessions escape from us that we may receive spiritual good.Nova Bibl. Tub.:That is the way of the godless world; they love swine more than Christ.Brentius:Christendom is full of Gergesenes.Quesnel:It is a fearful judgment of God upon sinners when He hears their prayer to their hurt, as He does the demons prayer.Teachers and preachers must at their expulsion be resigned and content.New converts are wont to fall into all manner of self-devised ways, therefore they need faithful admonition and direction.Obedience is better than sacrifice.Canstein:To glorify the grace of conversion helps much to the edifying of our neighbor.
On the whole, the treatment of this narrative offers to the preacher peculiar difficulties not less great than that of the Temptation in the Wilderness. It is therefore, unless one is obliged to it by ecclesiastical ordinances, not to be commended to any one at least, who in reference to the Biblical demonology occupies a sceptical or negative position. But even if one in this respect takes the Lord at His word, we have here especially to take heed of being wiser than the Scripture and, in an ill-applied apologetical zeal, of vindicating the conduct of the Saviour in such a way as involuntarily to remind those who think differently of the maxim, Qui excusat, accusat. Perhaps it is best to leave the metaphysical question wholly or mainly untouched, and to give especial prominence to the practical side of the deliverance of the soul from the powers of darkness, as to its greatness, its worth, and the like. As an example of an admirable sermon upon this we may adduce les Dmoniaques, in the sermons par Adolph Monod. 2 Recueil, Montauban, Paris, 1857. So also, Fr. Arndt, who in his Sermons upon the Life of Jesus, 3 p. 3952, found in this narrative occasion to preach with wholly practical aim respecting: 1. The character; 2. the causes; 3. the healing of the malady of the demoniac.
Footnotes:
[4]Luk 8:26.Respecting the different readings: Gadarenes, Gergesenes, Gerasenes, &c., see below in Critical and Exegetical remarks.
[5]Luk 8:31.Van Oosterzee Las he besought him, &c. might have as its subject either or the neuter . The fact that in the next verse is used, where is the subject, may incline us to prefer the singular subject here.C. C. S.]
[6]Luk 8:38.Rec.: . [Om., B., D., L., Cod. Sin.C. C. S.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
(26) And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. (27) And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs: (28) When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee torment me not. (29) (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) (30) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? and he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. (31) And they besought him, that he would not command them to go out into the deep. (32) And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them: and he suffered them. (33) Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. (34) When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city, and in the country. (35) Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. (36) They also which saw it, told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. (37) Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about, besought him to depart from them: for they were taken with great fear. And he went up into the ship, and returned back again. (38) Now the man out of whom the devils were departed, besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, (39) Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city, how great things Jesus had done unto him.
I have so largely dwelt upon the circumstances of this history, in the parallel account given of it by Mark, that I think it needless to enlarge upon the subject in this place. I beg to refer the Reader to Mar 5:1-20 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
Ver. 26. See Mat 8:28 ; Mar 5:2 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
26 39. ] HEALING OF A DMONIAC IN THE LAND OF THE GERASENES. Mat 8:28-34 .Mar 5:1-20Mar 5:1-20 , in both of which places see notes.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
26. ] . . ., a more precise description than Matt., or . . Mark.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 8:26-39 . The demoniac of Gerasa (Mat 8:28-34 , Mar 5:1-20 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Luk 8:26 . , “they sailed down from the deep sea to the land, put in,” Grimm; appulerunt ad regionem , Raphel, who gives numerous examples of the use of this verb (here only in N. T.) in Greek authors. . , the Gerasenes, inhabitants of the town of Gerasa (Kersa, Thomson, Land and Book ), near the eastern shore of the lake, a little south of the mouth of Wadi Semach ( Rob Roy on the Jordan , chap. xxiii.). , etc.: this clause answers to Mk.’s . . By the relative clause Lk. avoids the double (J. Weiss in Meyer). . ., opposite Galilee, a vague indication; an editorial note for the benefit of readers little acquainted with the country.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 8:26-31
26Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. 28Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” 29For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. 30And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
Luk 8:26 “country of the Gerasenes” This area goes by several names in the Gospels:
1. Gadarenes (Mat 8:28; MSS A, W)
2. Gerasenes (Mar 5:1, MSS P775, B, D)
3. Gergesenes (Luk 8:26; Luk 8:37; MSS , L)
It is sometimes called Gadara. There is a town by this same name several miles away from the sea, but we have learned from archeological evidence that this town owned land near the sea.
Luk 8:27 “a man” Mat 8:28 has two men, but this is characteristic of the Gospel of Matthew, which often has “two,” while the other Synoptics have one. Another example would be the blind man/men of Jericho (cf. Mat 20:29; Mar 10:46; Luk 18:35). Some have supposed that two were mentioned because this number was required to be witnesses in court (cf. Num 35:30; Deu 17:6; Mat 18:16). There is a good article in Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 371-377.
“who was possessed with demons” See Special Topic: The Demonic at Luk 4:33 and the note at Luk 4:35.
“in the tombs” He had been ostracized by the community and this was the only place where he could find shelter. During this period of time small manmade or natural caves were used as burial places. Whether this location was connected with his demon possession is uncertain. There are many specific questions about demons and angels which cannot be answered because there is not enough biblical information. Our world is permeated by a personal force of evil with his servants, the demonic, who are out to thwart the will of God and to destroy mankind, God’s ultimate creation and the focus of His love and attention.
Luk 8:28
NASB”What business do we have with each other”
NKJV”What have I to do with You”
NRSV”What have you to do with me”
TEV, NJB”What do you want with me”
This is literally “what to me and to you.” In A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, Bratcher and Nida note that “In classical Greek the phrase would mean ‘what have we in common?’ Here, however, it corresponds to the Hebrew ‘Why do you meddle with me” (p. 49). This idiom is illustrated in Jdg 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; 2Sa 19:22; 1Ki 17:18; 2Ch 35:21.
“Jesus, Son of the Most High God” These demons knew who Jesus was (cf. Jas 2:19; Mar 1:23), but Jesus refused their testimonies because He knew that the religious leaders who could not deny His power would later accuse Him of using Satan’s power (cf. Luk 11:14-26). See notes at Luk 1:32; Luk 1:76.
“do not torment me” It is interesting that in this conversation sometimes the plural is used of the demons and sometimes the singular (head demon).
This is grammatically an aorist active subjunctive of prohibition functioning as an Aorist active imperative, which implies “never start an action” (cf. Barbara and Timothy Friberg’s Analytical Greek New Testament, p. 120). The demonic knew that judgment was coming and that Jesus had power and authority over them (cf. Mar 1:23-24; Mat 25:41; Rev 12:9; Rev 20:10). The parallels in Mat 8:29 and Mar 5:7 also imply eschatological judgment. These demons apparently did not know about the two comings of the Messiah. This context shows that even “spirits” can suffer!
Luk 8:29 This describes the man’s previous life (cf. Mar 5:3-5; Mat 8:28).
“into the desert” These non-inhabited regions were often associated in the OT with the demonic (cf. Luk 4:1-2).
Luk 8:30 “Legion” In the Roman Army 6,000 troops made up a Legion (though in reality they often had less than this ideal number). This may have been a metaphor of the degree of their control over the man. However, because of Luk 8:32, which describes the demons causing the death of many hogs, it may be literal.
Luk 8:31 “the abyss” This seems to refer to Hades in Rom 10:7. It is also mentioned in Rev 9:1; Rev 11:7; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:1; Rev 20:3. Let me quote my note from Rev 9:1 (see www.freebiblecommentary.org ):
” “the key of the bottomless pit was given to him” A “key” is mentioned in Rev 1:18 and Rev 20:1. It symbolizes authority. God exercises authority over the demonic hordes of judgment. The abyss is a Greek term that meant “depth” negated by an alpha privative. It is used in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT) in Gen 1:2; Gen 7:11.
It seems to be synonymous with the term “tartarus” (cf. 2Pe 2:4 and I Enoch 21:7), a place where evil angels are held in prison (cf. Luk 8:31; Jud 1:6; Rev 11:7; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:1-3; and I Enoch 10:4; 86:1; 88:1; Jubilees 5:6-11). Paul used this term in Rom 10:7 for the place of the dead (cf. Isa 24:21-22). Later the rabbis said it was the name of the unrighteous part of Sheol/Hades.”
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
they arrived = they sailed
down, or,
dropped down. Occurs only here in the N.T.
at = unto. Greek. eis. App-104.
Gadarenes. See note on Mat 8:28. The peoplewere Gadarenes, but the city was not Gadara. See App-169.
over against = opposite. Greek. antiperan. Occurs only here in N.T.; opposite Lower Galilee (not whence they had sailed). See App-169.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
26-39.] HEALING OF A DMONIAC IN THE LAND OF THE GERASENES. Mat 8:28-34. Mar 5:1-20, in both of which places see notes.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 8:26-27. And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
To what a frightful state of wretchedness this poor creature was reduced by Satanic power! Yet he is only a picture of the state of mind into which many are brought through sin. They seem as if they could not live with their fellowmen; they have grown so mad through sin, so utterly beyond restraint, that they can scarcely be endured in ordinary society. Yet, as Christ healed this man, so he is equal to the cure of the worst case of spiritual and moral disease that may be brought before him.
Luk 8:28. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
See the devil can make men pray against themselves; and this is what they do in common profane swearing when they imprecate all manner of curses upon their eyes and limbs. Ah, me! To what mischief and folly and misery can Satan drive his willing dupes!
Luk 8:29. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bonds, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
Such cases have we often seen, young men who have been rescued from a course of vice, and who have been for a season helped towards virtue; but they have broken loose again. There was no holding them in; they had not learned self-restraint, and no one else could restrain them
Luk 8:30-31. And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
So, you see, dear friends, that devils can pray: They besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep; that is, to their place of torment in hell. They would sooner go to the bottom of the sea than go to their own dreadful home; and, if we are half as wise as devils are, we shall dread beyond all things to be driven there. May God grant that no soul among us may ever lift up his eyes in torment, and find himself in that awful deep!
Luk 8:32-33. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
Our proverb says, They run hard whom the devil drives; and when once he begins to drive men or swine, there is no end to their running till they are choked in the deep. Woe unto that man, then, who yields himself up to the tyrant master! Oh, seek the grace that will enable you to fling him off, never to come under his dread sway again! Better still, pray the blessed Prince of Peace to cast out the black prince of hell, and himself to rule over your spirit, soul, and body.
Luk 8:34. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
Sometimes, Christ wrought cures which were scarcely mentioned; but here, and I only remember a second miracle at all like to it, that of the withering of the barren fig-tree, he wrought a miracle of judgment, and it caused a great stir and much talk. I have heard of bells at sea that only ring out in the roughest storms. Here is one that was heard when softer tones would not have been heeded: They fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
Luk 8:35. Then they went out to see what was done and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
There was some clothing work done that day. I know not who provided the garments; but here was some real practical Christianity exhibited, not only by the Master in healing the demoniac, but by the friends who found clothing for this poor man. You do well, my sisters, who set yourselves to help to clothe the poor. God grant that all of them may not only be clothed, but also be led to sit at the feet of Jesus!
Luk 8:36-37. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them;
Surely, this legion of demons must have had the same effect on them as on the poor man when Christ first came to him. These foolish people took up the same cry as the poor demoniac: The whole multitude besought him to depart from them? Christ sometimes hears this kind of prayer. There is many a man who has entreated that his conscience might not be troubled any more, and it never has been troubled again. But what an awful prayer for any people to pray! The whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them.
Luk 8:37-39. For they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
Sometimes, it is better to be spreading the good news of the gospel than to be sitting at Jesus feet. It is best when we can do both; but, sometimes, the practical duty of serving our fellowmen must take the first place. Happy are they who give themselves to this work, telling to others what God has done for them!
Luk 8:40-46. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: for he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
Here are we tonight, dear friends, a great crowd; and what multitudes of professed worshippers of God there are in many places! They seem to throng the Saviour; but of all, how few do really touch him so as to derive healing virtue from him! This humble, simple touch of faith is something above and beyond all the pressure of professed zeal and ardor. This touch Christ recognizes at once, but all the pressing and the squeezing of the crowd goes for nothing.
Luk 8:47. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
Here is a second confessor. First, there was a man healed; now, here is a woman healed. Both sexes may now hear from them what Christ can do. If they will not believe, oh, then, their unbelief is sad indeed!
Luk 8:48-49. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. While he yet spoke, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogues house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.
As if such a suppliant really did trouble him! Still, if you have been praying long, and your case appears to be hopeless, despair will whisper, Trouble not the Master. But Christ is never troubled by our prayer; it is our want of prayer that troubles him. Even after the worst has come to the worst, we shall never trouble him if we continue our prayers. But if, on any account, we cease from them, then indeed is his heart grieved.
Luk 8:50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
If she is actually dead, she shall be raised to life again.
Luk 8:51. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.
For Christ does not make a parade of his miracles. He loves to do his work quietly; and they that make a great noise must mind that they do not get put out when Christ is about to work a cure.
Luk 8:52-55. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
Young saints want feeding as soon as they are converted. The conversion may be by miracle, but they will need to be fed by ordinary means. Be ready, dear people of God, with your milk for those who are but newly born: He commanded to give her meat.
Luk 8:56. And her parents were astonished. but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.
For Jesus did not wish, at least at that time, to have the story of his miracles blazed abroad. Of him the prophet had long before written: He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Luk 8:26-39
19. THE GERASENE DEMONIAC HEALED
Luk 8:26-39
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes,-Parallel accounts are found in Mat 8:28-34 and Mar 5:1-21. Of the three accounts of this miracle Matthew speaks of two demoniacs, while Mark and Luke speak of only one. This slight discrepancy is of no importance since Mark and Luke give attention to the one which was the most fierce. The old maxim: “He who tells of two includes the one, and he who tells of the one does not deny the two” holds good as an explanation in this case. There are two difficulties presented here. One is with respect to the exact name of the place, and the other is with respect to its location. The name is “Gadarenes,” “Gerasenes,” “Gergesenes.” Matthew uses “Gadarenes,” while Mark uses “Gerasenes” as does Luke. Its location is on the east side of the Sea of Galilee; however the exact location cannot be determined. Students of Bible geography are not agreed as to its exact location. Many think that it was not far from “Gadara.” It was a political district extending to the southeast shore of the Sea of Galilee with Gadara as its capital.
27 And when he was come forth upon the land,-It seems that Jesus and his disciples had sailed down the coast and came “forth upon the land.” Luke, like Mark, fixes attention upon one of the demoniacs and says that “there met him a certain man out of the city.” The man belonged to, or had lived in one of the towns which was called “Gergesa” until this affliction of demons came upon him; after his affliction he dwelt in the caves also used as burial places for the dead. Luke is very minute in describing the man, and says, “for a long time he had worn no clothes, and abode not in any house, but in the tombs.”
28 And when he saw Jesus,-When the demoniac saw Jesus “he cried out, and fell down before him.” There seems to have been a dual or double will in this poor man; he had consciousness of his own, and there seems to have been a consciousness of the demons manifesting themselves in his speech and in his acts. When the two wills came into collision, the man fell down before Jesus; he recognized the superior authority and power and divinity of Jesus. He said: “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God?” He then added a request in the words “torment me not.” The demons knew Jesus; they knew who he was and the power that he possessed. They made confession of their knowledge and feared his mighty power.
29 For he was commanding the unclean spirit-The man possessed with the evil spirit is described as having an “unclean spirit,” or possessing a demon. While in this verse Luke speaks of the “evil spirit” in the singular; in the next verse he speaks of demons in the plural. This possession gave the man extraordinary strength at times, and caused him to break the “chains and fetters” and bands with which the guard had attempted to keep him bound. After breaking the bands he would rush away from the guards into the wilderness or “into the deserts.” Matthew describes the man as being so dangerous “that no man could pass by that way.” (Mat 8:28.) Mark describes him as being so that “no man had strength to tame him.” (Mar 5:4.)
30 And Jesus asked him, What is thy name?-We do not know why Jesus asked his name it may have been asked to bring the man himself to a consciousness of his state; the answer of the demon was “Legion”; for many demons were entered into him. “Legion” means many; it was a military term used by the Romans; a full Roman legion had 6,000 men. This may not have been a full legion, for Mar 5:13 notes that the number of hogs was “about two thousand.” The demon answered rather than the man; it is best to consider the general meaning of “legion” to mean “many.” Some think that there was one chief demon which was superior and a number of inferior ones under him. This shows the overwhelming power over the entire nature of the man.
31 And they entreated him-The demons earnestly besought him; they feared the power of Jesus; they recognized him as being the Son of God, and hence they knew that he was opposed to them. Their entreaty was that “he would not command them to depart into the abyss.” There is no evidence that the demons meant by “the abyss” the deep sea or “abyss” of the Sea of Galilee they meant the place or prison of evil spirits. The same Greek word occurs in Rom 10:7, and in Rev 20:3. They did not wish to be sent into the abyss of torment or special punishment. They were willing to go any place to get out of the fearful presence of the Son of God.
32, 33 Now there was there a herd of many swine-The demons made the further request that they be permitted to enter the swine; Jesus granted their request. The herd of about two thousand were “feeding on the mountain.” Jesus did not forbid or restrain them from going into the swine; the Greek word for “suffered” or “gave leave” means primarily “to turn over,” hence to suffer, allow, or permit. We do not know why Jesus did not restrain the demons from entering the swine, which led to the drowning of the herd. When granted the permission, the “demons came out from the man, and entered into the swine.” When they entered the swine, they caused the herd to rush “down the steep into the lake,” and they were “drowned.” They were feeding on the mountainside and rushed down into the sea and were strangled which resulted in their death. This miracle and that of the withered fig tree which Jesus cursed (Luk 11:12-14; Luk 11:20) are the only ones which resulted in any destruction of property.
34, 35 And when they that fed them-The feeders of the swine were astonished and frightened; nothing had occurred in all of their experience like this; the frenzied destruction of the whole herd in the sea was enough to frighten those who kept them; so they fled and reported in the city what had taken place. Their report reached far into the country and all who heard it were astonished. They came out to verify the report, and when they did so they “found the man, from whom the demons were gone out” acting in a normal way. He was no longer a demoniac. Matthew records (Mat 8:34) that “all the city came out to meet Jesus”; they were anxious to see one who had such authority. The man who had been afflicted was “sitting, clothed and in his right mind, at the feet of Jesus.” He was clothed like others , his mind was sound and sane; he was sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning of the great Teacher.
36, 37 And they that saw it told them-Those who had been eyewitnesses, and others who may have gathered through curiosity, reported how the man who had been afflicted with the demons was “made whole.” The keepers of the swine who had fled and told the owners may have returned with others and related what had taken place. “And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes round about asked him to depart from them.” The effect of this miracle brought together a great multitude of people from the surrounding country. When they saw and heard what was done they made a unanimous request or entreaty that Jesus “depart from them.” They were afraid of him; they were not only filled with a superstitious awe at such exhibition of power, but with fear that similar results might attend other miracles. Other owners of swine may have thought their traffic in danger. (Act 19:24-31.) It may be that the loss of the swine concerned the people more than did the curing of this unfortunate man.
38, 39 But the man from whom the demons were gone- There is a wide contrast between the request of the people of the community and that of the man who had been made whole. This man “prayed him that he might be with him.” Jesus was entering the boat (Mar 5:18) when this man came to him and asked to accompany him. There may have been several reasons for the man making this request; he had a warm desire of gratitude and love for what Jesus had done for him; the mean and selfish request and treatment of the Gerasenes strengthened his feelings for Jesus. It may be that this man feared a repossession by the demons after Jesus departed. (Mat 12:43-45.) The demons prayed, and their prayers were granted to their own discomforture (verses 10, 12); the Gerasenes prayed, and their prayer also was granted by Jesus leaving them to their own destruction; the man made whole prayed and his petition is not granted for it was not best and he had a work to do.
Return to thy house,-Jesus instructed the man to return to his house and declare all that “God hath done for thee.” The man returned and published “throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him.” This man had a great message to tell and he could tell it with power. The young ruler was required to sell his possessions and follow Jesus (Mat 19:21); this young man did not obey. The leper was charged to say nothing to any man, but to go show himself to the priest (Mar 1:44); but he went out and published abroad what was done for him. The disciple was not allowed to go home and bury his father. (Mat 8:21.) But this man was sent home to his friends to publish abroad what had been done for him. The whole country had stoutly urged Jesus to leave their country so that he could not spread the news of his kingdom there;but the healed man was sent to the same people to tell the story of his miraculous cure. He obeyed; he published in the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him. Mar 5:20 says that he spread the news in Decapolis, the region of the ten cities.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Great Things for One in Great Need
Luk 8:26-39
The victim. In referring to but one demoniac the evangelist would probably concentrate attention on the more prominent of the two mentioned by Matthew. There must have been some collusion between the elements of the storm and the demons in this man. Everything seemed to oppose the Lords assertion of His right to be obeyed. If demons could possess a man with such power, what might not Christ do if we yielded ourselves absolutely to Him! There must have been some secret yielding on this mans part, or his heart had never become a garrison of demons. He mistook Christs identity, confusing it with that of the demons. Naked; vile; mighty to destroy! What a terrible combination!
His masters. The evil one dreads to be unclothed and would prefer to be in a pig than in the abyss-that word means without bottom. Once begin to fall, where will it end? The Jews had no right to keep swine, whatever price the Romans were prepared to pay, Lev 11:7. Christ left Gadara, but left a preacher there. We are not taken out of the world, but sent to witness to it and against it.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Christ Triumphs Over Demons — Luk 8:26-40
And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when He went forth to land, there met Him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God most high? I beseech Thee, torment me not. (For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him; and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought Him that He would suffer them to enter into them. And He suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought Him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and He went up into the ship, and returned back again. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought Him that he might be with Him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him: for they were all waiting for Him- Luk 8:26-40.
This is one of the many passages which bring our blessed Lord before us as absolute Victor over satanic power. Many people today refuse to accept the Bible teaching as to the personality of Satan and his hosts. Many think of the devil as simply the personification of evil, but the Word of God shows us clearly that he who is now the devil was at one time a pure spirit, a holy angel, attendant on the throne of God, but who fell through pride. Jesus says of him: He abode not in the truth. It is evident that many other angels were involved in his rebellion and are now in league with him in his opposition to God and Christ. There is only one devil, but there are many demons. When, therefore, the plural form devils is used in the New Testament records, it should always be understood as referring to demons, for it is a translation of the Greek word which means just that, rather than devils.
In our Lords earthly ministry He frequently met with people who were under demoniacal possession. We might not be able to understand fully what was involved in this terrible power over men and women, but we know that our Lord was always victorious over it.
Here we learn that when Jesus had arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee, a man met Him whose dwelling was in the tombs, who was possessed with, not one, but many demons. Gadara itself was a rather forbidding country, outside the land of Canaan proper, and inhabited by a mixed population. Many of the people were renegade Jews who engaged in customs that were repellent to the more orthodox, some even raising and selling swine. It is evident that the power of Satan was more manifest among these people than in the Land itself. Note the dreadful condition of this possessed creature. Luke tells us he had devils (or demons) long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. He is a picture of fallen man under absolute satanic control. Again and again his friends had tried to restrain him from the power that had imprisoned and bound him, but by superhuman power he snapped his shackles asunder and fled from the ordinary dwelling-places of men and found a refuge for himself among the dead in the tombs.
It is a terrible thing when Satan gets such control of a man that he is no longer amenable to respectability, or even decent restraint; when evil habits so dominate and control that one is outside the pale of ordinary law-abiding circumstances. Yet how many are thus subject to sin and Satan.
We do not know in what way the demons fully gained control of this poor man, but it is evident that sometime or other in his early life, he had opened the door to them; perhaps, by persistence in sins that the law of God condemned, and as a result he was a slave to these evil spirits and had lost the power to control himself.
His friends could do nothing with him. If his parents were living, their hearts must have been broken as they saw him in this hopeless condition. But the day at last came when he was brought into contact with our blessed Lord Himself, and then everything was changed. Jesus was the only One who could help him, and He was there for that very purpose. It is evident that the demons within him recognized the Lord at once, for we are told that when this man saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God most high? I beseech Thee, torment me not. The demon was speaking through human lips. This unholy, fallen spirit knew exactly who Jesus was; he recognized in Jesus, the Son of God who shall yet sit on the throne of judgment, and already he feared the hour had come when he was to be cast into the lake of fire. The demons all believed that Jesus was the Christ, it was only unrepentant men who questioned this; Satan himself knew that Jesus was the Son of God, the only Saviour. The only persons in the universe who dare to deny that Jesus is the Son of God are Christless men and women who are yet the objects of His favor. But while demons acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, they are not entitled to find in Him a Saviour for themselves. The demon in this man recognized Christ as the Judge, and pleaded for an extension of time ere his doom would be consummated. Jesus did not really answer his question, but put another question to this vile spirit: What is thy name? He demanded. And the answer came, Legion; because we are told, many demons were entered into him. A Roman legion was ordinarily made up of six thousand men. Perhaps we need not take the legion here literally, but at any rate it indicates that a vast number of demons had entered into this man. He himself was unable to reply personally because he was so completely under their control.
It would seem that these demons, who are disembodied spirits, yearn to come into possession of the bodies of men in order that they may stir them up into unlofty and dreadful passion, which will cause them to insult the God who created them. When the Lord Jesus commanded the legion to leave the body of the man, they begged to be able to take possession of the bodies of a herd of swine which was feeding nearby. The Lord gave consent. Expelled from the man they entered into the swine: and (note the amazing result) the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. How amazing is sinful mans ability for evil! Two thousand hogs could not hold the demons that had possessed one man.
Instead of this remarkable evidence of the Lords power over Satans kingdom making an impression for good upon the hearts of those who beheld what was done, we are told that they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. They related to their fellow-countrymen the story of the loss of the swine, as well as the deliverance of the demoniac. So troubled were these people by the financial setback involved that after they had come out to see what was done, we are told they came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. What then? Did they fall at His feet confessing their own sins and seeking deliverance through Him? Not at all! It was the very opposite. They besought Jesus to leave their country. Sorrowfully, we may be sure, He acceded to their request. Luke says, Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought Him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and He went up into the ship, and returned back again. Jesus never remains with people who do not want Him. Men are permitted to choose in such circumstances whether they will receive Him or not. But though He left these Gadarenes at that particular time, we can be thankful to the Lord that the day did come when He returned to the same country and found a wonderful welcome. It was brought about in this way: The delivered man was so happy over the great change that had come to him that he pleaded with the Lord Jesus that he might be with Him. This man would have joined the company of the apostles and gone with the Saviour from place to place. Evidently his heart was so filled with love and gratitude because of his miraculous deliverance that he wanted to remain as near his Redeemer as he could; but Jesus had something else in mind for him. Instead of taking him away with Him, He said to the man, Return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done unto thee. He who had been a raving maniac a short while before was now so reasonable that the people listened to him with amazement. He became an evangelist, and went throughout all that region telling the throngs of what Jesus had done for him; from village to village his story was carried. And so, we learn that later on when Jesus went back to that district, known as Decapolis, the multitudes thronged to meet Him and their entire attitude was changed. They did not want Him before; they were too occupied with the loss of their swine and with other evil things which kept them from opening their hearts to Him, but now they were glad to see Him. They brought out their sick in great numbers, and in loving-kindness He healed them all.
Such was the result of the faithful testimony of one man set free from Satans power by Christ the Lord.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Chapter 48
Grace For The Gadarene
For every chosen, redeemed sinner there is an appointed time when he shall be called by Gods almighty grace. That time is called The Time of Life and The Time of Love. Though born children of wrath, even as others, Gods elect were from eternity the objects of immutable mercy, love and grace. Though we ran hell-bent to destruction, the Lord God, from old eternity said, Hitherto shalt thou go and no further. Though Satan roared against us, though the legions of hell sought to destroy us, though our hearts were in league with hell itself, at Gods appointed time of love, the Lord Jesus Christ came to us, and, by the power of his omnipotent grace, saved us. For the poor maniac of Gadara, when the time of love came, the Lord Jesus came to him with the mighty operations of his saving grace.
It is a story that is told by Matthew, Mark and Luke. All three of these gospel writers were inspired of God the Holy Spirit to record this event in considerable detail. Mark gives us the most detailed account of what transpired that day in the land of the Gadarenes; but all three hold this story before us as a remarkable display both of our Lords great grace to needy sinners and of his sovereign dominion even over the demons of hell. As the Lord Jesus Christ vanquished hell in the heart and life of this poor demoniac in Gadara two thousand years ago, so he vanquishes hell itself in the hearts of chosen redeemed sinners by the saving operations of his grace.
The Saviour Of Sinners
And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee (Luk 8:26). The Lord Jesus had just come from the other side of the Sea of Galilee to the shores of Gadara. When he set sail for Gadara, he knew that he was sailing directly into a storm. Yet, he set sail willingly. He was on an errand of mercy. He was going to Gadara to save one chosen sinner, for whom the time of love had come. The Lord Jesus came through the storm, across the sea, with willing heart to save the chosen sinner, when the fulness of time had come. When he had delivered the object of his grace, he returned to the other side of the sea, whence he came.
This is exactly what our Redeemer did for all his people. He left his lofty throne in heaven, came across the sea of time and mortality, suffered the horrible storm of Gods wrath as our Substitute to save us, and, when he had done that mighty work by which his chosen must be saved (when he had satisfied the law and justice of God and put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself), he went back to the other side again (Mat 1:21; Luk 19:10; 1Ti 1:15; Rom 5:8; 1Jn 3:5; Heb 10:10-14).
He came to save the least likely of the Gadarenes, a wild man, a maniac, one who was entirely possessed of the devil. In fact, a legion of demons resided in his poor soul. However, as we shall see, this man would be the instrument of mercy by whom God would bring his grace and salvation to many others in days to come (1Co 1:26-29).
The Son of God came to Gadara to dispossess Satan of one of his captives, to bind the strong man, take his house, and spoil him of his goods; and he did not leave until he had done what he came to do. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Saviour of sinners.
A Miserable Wretch
And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him (Luk 8:27-30).
Matthew in his account tells us that there were two mad, demon possessed Gadarenes who met the Master on the shores of Gadara. Some point to that fact and say, There, you see, the Bible is full of contradictions. I fail to see their brilliance. If there were two, there had to be one; and Luke was inspired of God to write about one, giving far more detail than Matthew did in his description of the two. Apparently, the man described by Luke was the more notoriously wicked of the two. Look at what the Holy Spirit tells us about this sinner. What a sad, sad picture it is.
This poor Gadarene was a miserable wretch. Though the picture falls far short of the thing portrayed by it, the distressing circumstances of the poor demoniac vividly portray the terrible consequences of the fall of our father Adam, and the utter ruin of our race in the fall. Every descendent of Adam is by nature under the full sway and influence of an unclean spirit. We are all by nature ruled by our own depraved, corrupt hearts and wills, and are taken captive by Satan at his will (Rom 3:10-19; 1Jn 3:8; 2Ti 2:26). Robert Hawker rightly observed, Were it not for restraining grace, of which the sinner is wholly unconscious, what tremendous evils, in ten thousand times ten thousand instances, would take place! We are, because of the fall and Satans conquest of our nature, in bondage to sin with all its dreadful consequences. The flesh with its lusts, the world with its deceits, and Satan with his devices rule the fallen sons of Adam with absolute sway.
In addition to all this, we are justly condemned by the law and justice of God threatening us with everlasting torment, and by the accusations of our own consciences. This is the state and condition of every fallen son and daughter of Adam, which causes all to live all their life time in the fear of death (Heb 2:14-15).
An Unclean Spirit
Like this poor Gadarene, we all have an unclean spirit by nature. Yes, this man was possessed of the devil; but the devil could never have possessed him had he not been unclean by nature. Even so, the wicked, who opposing God oppose themselves, are this day taken captive by Satan at his will (2Ti 2:26). Isaiah declares that we are all as an unclean thing. Our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Out of our hearts come forth every abominable evil that exists in this world. Oh, if only we knew the evil of our hearts, the shocking horror of that wickedness that resides in us would prevent us from ever again saying, with regard of any vile act of a man, How could a man do such a thing?
Living Among The Dead
This poor, mad, depraved soul lived among the dead. Mark tells us that he was dwelling among the tombs. Dead sinners, dead in trespasses and sins, live among dead sinners, like themselves. Is that the case with you? You who live without Christ live among the dead, for you are dead. This man was not dead physically, but he was dead spiritually. Therefore, he was most comfortable among the dead. That is where I was when the Lord found me; and that is where you are by nature (Eph 2:1-4).
Could Not Be Bound
This poor, wild man could not be bound with the fetters and chains that bind other men. The fetters of society, social acceptance, peer approval, social advantage, family pressure, reputation, and concern for the opinions of others, those things that bind most men and make them behave with an outward form of decency, simply have no effect on some. The law of God has no influence upon most. They refuse to acknowledge its power, and cannot be bound by it. Night and day they run to destruction in a life of mad behaviour that will inevitably bring them to hell, except the grace of God intervene.
I say it to my shame, but that was my condition. Like the maniac of Gadara, social fetters could not bind me; and the fetters and chains of religion were no more effectual. I knew something of the terror of Gods law. The wrath of God, the terrors of judgment, hell, and endless death tormented my soul, sometimes for months on end. Those terrors would sometimes appear effectual; but those fetters were also easily cast off. The fear of hell never changes a sinners heart.
Could Not Be Tamed
No man could tame this madman. When society sees that chains and fetters cannot bind a man and make him better, it tries by refinement, education, reward, and gentle persuasion to tame him into moral respectability. The Lord Jesus does not bind or tame. He renews, regenerates, and breaks! And when he gets done, the broken sinner rejoices to be broken.
This poor maniac, like me, like some who read these lines, was hell bent to the destruction of his own soul. He was always, night and day, in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. Imagine the terror that this man wreaked upon others as they passed by this place, especially at night. Imagine yourself living near such a man. You would put iron bars around your windows and doors, and sleep with a gun under your bed every night. Whenever you saw him coming down the street, you would nod politely to keep from incurring his fury; but you would hurry away and try every way possible to protect your family from the influence of his madness.
But, can you imagine what misery such a person is in himself. His wickedness is his own doing; and it is inexcusable. But I also know the misery of his soul. I have been there among the tombs, moaning, groaning, crying, and cutting myself, always playing with death, yet always terrified of dying, despising loneliness and isolation, yet always doing that which of necessity brought me into greater loneliness and isolation.
Are you like this poor wretch? Were you once like him? If you are now in Christ, saved by his omnipotent mercy and infinite grace, you know that you were once unconscious of such mercy and grace. If you are yet without Christ, you are in the bondage of sin, Satan, and death, though you are completely unconscious of your lost and ruined condition.
A Worshipping Devil
When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not (Luk 8:28). Here is the confession of a demon spirit. I do not know much about demons and demonology, and I do not want to know much. But I do know this: Demons are real! You will be wise to stay as far away from the occult, spiritism, witchcraft and Satanism as you can.
Here the devil pretends to be a worshipper of Christ. He does not hesitate to assume the character of an angel of light, when it serves his purpose. I have seen him at work often. He makes people religious and think they have become worshippers of God, though there is no worship in their hearts. What a cunning, crafty adversary Satan is! Many serve the devil best when they pretend to be worshippers of Christ! Worship from the teeth outward is not worship, but blasphemy! Many there are on the road to hell who have nothing but the faith of devils. They know that the Lord God is the most high God, and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but there is no commitment of heart to him as God. John Owen once wrote
Of all the poison which at this day is diffused in the minds of men, corrupting them from the mystery of the gospel, there is no part that is more pernicious than this one perverse imagination, that to believe in Christ is nothing at all but to believe the doctrine of the gospel.
Run To Christ
Yet, Matthew, Mark and Luke show us in this Gadarene a picture of a poor, lost sinner coming to Christ. I cannot pass this without pointing out the fact that our great Saviour sovereignly and graciously used the very devils who would destroy the Gadarene to bring him to him for mercy!
Look at this man. He was afar off! That is our place by nature. He was afar off from Christ, and the Lord Jesus was afar off from him. In character he was afar off. This man and the God-man had nothing in common. In knowledge he was afar off. The demoniac knew who Christ was, but did not know him. In possessions he was afar off. This man had nothing to offer Christ, no good feelings, no repentance, no good thoughts, no holy desires. He cried, What have I to do with thee? The poor demoniac was utterly helpless and hopeless.
If you are yet without Christ, no words can paint the picture of your desperate need. You are so far off from God that you cannot and will not, of your own accord and by your own ability, return to him.
But notice this, though he was afar off, the Lord Jesus came to him, and he saw him coming! How he knew, I do not know; but this poor sinner knew some things about the One coming to him. I suspect he knew, because whenever Christ comes to a sinner in saving mercy, he makes himself known as the God of mercy and the Saviour through whom mercy comes. He saw that the Lord our God is God Almighty, the most high God. He saw that the man Christ Jesus is God the Son. He saw that this great Saviour has total, sovereign power over all things, even the devils who possessed him. And he saw that if he would, he could deliver him from the devils and from himself.
He ran and worshipped him. The poor soul was in a terrible mess. He was torn by powerful influences. Here is the Son of God who has come to save him. Yet, there is within him a legion of devils bent on destroying him. He loves the evil that is destroying him; yet, he has grown to hate it, because it is destroying him. He did the only thing he could do. In utter despair he ran to the only One who could help him, prostrated himself before his sovereign majesty, and worshipped him. C. H. Spurgeon said
A needle will move towards a magnet when once a magnet has moved near to it. Our heart manifests a sweet willingness towards salvation and holiness when the great and glorious good will of the Lord operates upon it. It is ours to run to Jesus as if all the runnings were ours; but the secret truth is that our Lord runs towards us, and this is the very heart of the business.
Do you need the mercy and grace of God? Run to Christ! With nothing but sin within you, with time fleeing from you, with eternity pressing upon you, with hell gaping beneath you, with heaven above you, O sinner, run, run to Christ! If you would have forgiveness, peace, pardon, and eternal life, run to Christ! This I know, if you do, you will find God your Father running to you in saving mercy, love and grace! When sinners need mercy, they run to get it and God runs to give it!
What a blessed picture we are given of this in Luk 15:20. When the poor prodigal came to himself, as he was coming to his father, with overwhelming shame, we are told that, when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. What a picture that is! The only time in the Bible we have any indication of the eternal God ever being in a hurry, it is here, hurrying to welcome his darling, chosen prodigal home! In a sermon preached almost 400 years ago Tobias Crisp made the following comments on Luk 15:20. The quote is lengthy, but too precious and needful to be omitted or edited.
His father sees him first. He spies him afar off. He stands ready to welcome a sinner, so soon as his heart looks but towards him. He that will draw nigh to them that are afar off will certainly draw nigh to them that draw near to him (Jer 31:18). Nay, the father had compassion on him. His bowels yearn towards him, whilst he is afar off. Nay, he runs to meet him. He prevents a sinner with speed; mercy comes not on a foot-pace, but runs; it comes upon wings, as David speaks, he rides on the cherubs, he did fly; yea, he did fly on the wings of the wind (Psa 18:9-10) The sons pace is slow.
He arose and came. The fathers is swift. He ran. Though the son had most need to run, bowels moving with mercy out-pace bowels pinched with want. God makes more haste to shew mercy, than we to receive. Whilst misery walks, mercy flies; nay, he falls on his sons neck, hugging and embracing him.
Oh! The depth of grace! Who would not have loathed such a person to touch or come near him, whilst he smells of the swine he kept? Could a man come near him without stopping his nose? Would it not make a man almost rid his stomach, to smell his nastiness? Yet, behold, the Father of sinners falls upon the neck of such filthy wretches! Mercy and grace are not squeamish. The prodigal comes like a rogue. Yet the father clips him like a bride. He falls a kissing of him, even those lips that had lately been lapping in the hog trough and had kissed baggage harlots. A man would have thought he should rather have kicked him than kissed him. Yet this token of reconciliation and grace he gives him, with this seal he confirms his compassion. Nay, he calls for the best robe, and kills the fatted calf for him. The sons ambition was to be but as a hired servant, and lo, he is feasted in the best robes. God will do far better for a sinner than he can imagine, above all he is able either to ask or think.
How then do poverty, nakedness, emptiness pinch thee, because of thy riot? Canst thou see enough in thy fathers house, and therefore begin to pant in heart after him? Wouldest thou then have admittance? The Father of mercy is ready to deal thus with thee. Therefore object not unworthiness; for who more unworthy than such a son?
I say, again, run to Christ for mercy; and you will find the God of heaven running to you with mercy, infinite, overwhelming, saving mercy. Oh! That every poor sinner God the Father has given to his Son, whose redemption Christ has purchased with his own precious blood, may be led by God the Holy Spirit to flee to Christ, as this Gadarene demoniac was for deliverance.
And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Mat 8:28-34, Gergesenes, Mar 5:1-20
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6
Gadarenes (also called Gergesenes) was situated near the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and that is where Jesus went ashore.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
THE well-known narrative which we have now read, is carefully recorded by all of the first three Gospel-writers. It is a striking instance of our Lord’s complete dominion over the prince of this world. We see the great enemy of our souls for once completely vanquished,-the “strong man” foiled by One stronger than he, and the lion spoiled of his prey.
Let us mark, first, in this passage, the miserable condition of those over whom the devil reigns. The picture brought before us is a frightful one. We are told that when our Lord arrived in the country of the Gadarenes, there met Him “a certain man which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.” We are also told that although he had been “bound with chains and in fetters, he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.” In short, the case seems to have been one of the most aggravated forms of demoniacal possession. The unhappy sufferer was under the complete dominion of Satan, both in body and soul. So long as he continued in this state, he must have been a burden and a trouble to all around him. His mental faculties were under the direction of a “legion” of devils. His bodily strength was only employed for his own injury and shame. A more pitiable state for mortal man to be in, it is difficult to conceive.
Cases of bodily possession by Satan, like this, are, to say the least, very rarely met with in modern times. Yet we must not, on this account, forget that the devil is continually exercising a fearful power over many hearts and souls. He still urges many, in whose hearts he reigns, into self-dishonoring and self-destroying habits of life. He still rules many with a rod of iron,-goads them on from vice to vice, and from profligacy to profligacy,-drives them far from decent society, and the influence of respectable friends,-plunges them into the lowest depths of wickedness,-makes them little better than self-murderers,-and renders them as useless to their families, the Church, and the world, as if they were dead, and not alive. Where is the faithful minister who could not put his finger on many such cases? What truer account can be given of many a young man, and many a young woman, than that they seem possessed of devils? It is vain to shut our eyes to facts. Demoniacal possession of men’s bodies may be comparatively rare. But many, unhappily, are the cases in which the devil appears completely to possess men’s souls.
These things are fearful to think upon. Fearful is it to see to what a wreck of body and mind Satan often brings young persons! Fearful is it to observe how he often drives them out of the reach of all good influence, and buries them in a wilderness of bad companions and loathsome sins! Fearful, above all, is it to reflect that yet a little while Satan’s slaves will be lost forever, and in hell! There often remains only one thing that can be done for them. They can be named before Christ in prayer. He that came to the country of the Gadarenes, and healed the miserable demoniac there, still lives in heaven, and pities sinners. The worst slave of Satan in England is not beyond a remedy. Jesus may yet take compassion on him, and set him free.
Let us mark, secondly, in these verses, the absolute power which the Lord Jesus Christ possesses over Satan. We are told that he “commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man,” whose miserable condition we have just heard described. At once the unhappy sufferer was healed. The “many devils” by whom he had been possessed were compelled to leave him. Nor is this all. Cast forth from their abode in the man’s heart, we see these malignant spirits beseeching our Lord that He would “not torment” them, or “command them to go out into the deep,” and so confessing His supremacy over them. Mighty as they were, they plainly felt themselves in the presence of One mightier than themselves. Full of malice as they were, they could not even hurt the “swine” of the Gadarenes until our Lord granted them permission.
Our Lord Jesus Christ’s dominion over the devil should be a cheering thought to all true Christians. Without it, indeed, we might well despair of salvation. To feel that we have ever near us an invisible spiritual enemy, laboring night and day to compass our destruction, would be enough to crush out every hope, if we did not know a Friend and Protector. Blessed be God! The Gospel reveals such an One. The Lord Jesus is stronger than that “strong man armed,” who is ever warring against our souls. The Lord Jesus is able to deliver us from the devil. He proved his power over him frequently when upon earth. He triumphed over him gloriously on the cross. He will never let him pluck any of His sheep out of His hand. He will one day bruise him under our feet, and bind him in the prison of hell. (Rom 16:20; Rev 20:1-2.) Happy are they who hear Christ’s voice and follow Him! Satan may vex them, but he cannot really hurt them! He may bruise their heel, but he cannot destroy their souls. They shall be “more than conquerors” through Him who loved them. (Rom 8:37.)
Let us mark, finally, the wonderful change which Christ can work in Satan’s slaves. We are told that the Gadarenes “found the man out of whom the devil was departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind.” That sight must indeed have been strange and astonishing! The man’s past history and condition, no doubt, were well known. He had probably been a nuisance and a terror to all the neighborhood. Yet here, in one moment, a complete change had come over him. Old things had passed away, and all things had become new. The power by which such a cure was wrought must indeed have been almighty. When Christ is the physician nothing is impossible.
One thing, however, must never be forgotten. Striking and miraculous as this cure was, it is not really more wonderful than every case of decided conversion to God. Marvelous as the change was which appeared in this demoniac’s condition when healed, it is not one whit more marvelous than the change which passes over every one who is born again, and turned from the power of Satan to God. Never is a man in his right mind till he is converted, or in his right place till he sits by faith at the feet of Jesus, or rightly clothed till he has put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Have we ever considered what real conversion to God is? It is nothing else than the miraculous release of a captive, the miraculous restoration of a man to his right mind, the miraculous deliverance of a soul from the devil.
What are we ourselves? This, after all, is the grand question which concerns us. Are we bondsmen of Satan or servants of God? Has Christ made us free, or does the devil yet reign in our hearts? Do we sit at the feet of Jesus daily? Are we in our right minds? May the Lord help us to answer these questions aright!
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Notes-
v27.-[A certain man, which had devils long time.] There is much in this case, like all the cases of demoniacal possession in Scripture, which is deeply mysterious. It must needs be so from the fact that such possession appears to have been far more common, and much more distinctly marked in its symptoms, when our Lord was upon earth, than it ever has been since.
Let it suffice us to believe implicitly, that diabolical possession of the entire man, both body, mind, and soul. was an undeniable fact during the time of our Lord’s earthly ministry, and that all attempts to explain away the cases described in the Gospels, by calling them epilepsy, lunacy, and the like, are utterly unsatisfactory. For the rest, what we cannot thoroughly understand, we must be content to believe.
That there is such a thing as Satanic possession now, though comparatively a rare thing, is an opinion held by many able physicians, who have given special attention to this subject. Disease of the mind, or madness, is at all times a deeply mysterious subject. It is highly probable that Satan has far more to do with it than we think.
[In the tombs.] Trench quotes a remarkable circumstance, mentioned by the traveller Warburton, in “The Crescent and the Cross,” which throws some light on this expression. “On descending from the height of Lebanon, I found myself in a cemetery, where sculptured turbans showed us, that the neighbouring village was Moslem, The silence of the night was now broken by fierce yells and howlings, which I discovered proceeded from a naked maniac, who was fighting with some wild dogs for a bone. The moment he perceived us, he left his canine companions, and bounding along with rapid strides, seized my horse’s bridle and almost forced him backwards over the cliff.”
The determined propensity to wear no clothes and go naked, which is a striking symptom of some kinds of mania, is another curious illustration of the case described in this verse.
v28.-[What have I to do with thee?] The Greek expression so rendered, let it be noted, is the same which our Lord uses when He addresses His mother at the marriage of Cana in Galilee. (Joh 2:4.)
The words here used are the words of the devil by whom the man was possessed, rather than the man himself. This fact shows us how entirely all the faculties and powers of the unhappy demoniac were occupied and employed by the evil spirit which possessed him.
[Jesus, thou Son of God, torment me not.] These words are a striking incidental proof that there will be a judgment, and a hell. The devils believe this, if men do not.
v29.-[Brake the bands.] Prodigious muscular strength has often been remarked as accompanying some cases of mania.
v30.-[Legion.] This is a well-known name by which a division of the Roman army was designated. A Roman Legion is supposed to have contained 5 or 6000 men. The word here is evidently used indefinitely to express a great number.
v31.-[Into the deep.] The “deep” here means the abyss or pit of hell. It is the same Greek word which is five times translated “bottomless pit,” in the book of Revelation. For instance, Rev 20:1, Rev 20:3.
v32.-[An herd of many swine feeding.] Let it be noted that to keep swine was a breach of the Mosaic law, swine being unclean animals. (Lev 11:7.) If, therefore, the Gadarenes were Jews, and there seems strong reason for supposing they were, they were committing an habitual sin.
[He suffered them.] It has often been asked, why our Lord suffered the devils to go into the swine, and permitted the consequent destruction of animal life which ensued. It might suffice to say in reply to this question, that Scripture shows us that animal life was continually taken away by God’s own command, when some great spiritual truth was to be taught to man, as in the case of the sacrifices of the law. But in addition to this, it is fair to suppose that our Lord permitted the destruction of the swine, as a mark of God’s displeasure against the Gadarenes for keeping them.
After all, the question is ultimately bound up with the deepest of all things:-viz. the origin and permission of evil in creation. To explain this is impossible. Enough for us to see that it exists, and to use the great remedy which God has provided against it. So doing, “what we know not now, we shall know hereafter.”
v33.-[The herd ran violently down, &c.] The extraordinary malice, hatred of God’s creation, and love of mischief, which are attributes of Satan, appear strikingly in this fact. Satan must be doing harm. If he cannot harm man he will harm swine. Well would it be for the world, if Christians were as unwearied and zealous in doing good, as devils are in doing evil.
v34.-[In the country.] This expression would be rendered more literally “in the fields.”
Before leaving this miracle it may be well to say something about the apparent discrepancy between the account given of it by Matthew, and those given by Mark and Luke. Matthew speaks of two demoniacs. Mark and Luke speak of only one.
The explanations of the discrepancy are various. According to Augustine, Theophylact, and Grotius, the one mentioned by Mark and Luke was a more illustrious and well known person than the other. According to Chrysostom, Euthymius, and Maldonatus, he was the fiercest of the two. According to Lightfoot, one of the demoniacs was a Jew and the other a heathen, and the healing of the heathen one is the case which Mark and Luke dwell on.
I venture to suggest that the reason why Mark and Luke only mention one, is the fact that only one of the two asked to be allowed to remain with our Lord, after he was healed, and only one ultimately became a witness to the Lord in the country of the Gadarenes. The case of the other man presented no peculiar circumstances of interest, and therefore Mark and Luke pass it over.
It is hardly necessary to remark that there is no contradiction between the two accounts. Though Mark and Luke only describe the cure of one demoniac, it would be absurd to say that they denied that two were cured. They only describe the case which was most remarkable.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Luk 8:26-39. THE HEALING OF THE FIERCE DEMONIAC. See on Mat 8:28-34; Mar 5:1-20. The latter account is the fullest, and Lukes agrees more closely with itGergesenes. SoTischendorf reads, but the authority for Gerasenes (which is correct in Mark) is almost equally great. See on Mat 8:28.Which is over against Galilee. Peculiar to Luke.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
This piece of history gives us a very sad relation of a person that was possessed of a legion of devils; we read of few, if any, in the Old Testament, that were thus possessed, but of many in the New. Our Saviour came into the world to destroy the works of the devil; therefore he suffered Satan to enter some human bodies, to show his divine power in casting him out.
Observe here, 1. That the evil angels by their fall lost their purity, but not their power; for with God’s permission they have power not only to enter men’s bodies, and to possess them, but also to distemper their minds, and to drive them to frenzy and madness; such was the deplorable case here.
Note, 2. That the reason why the evil angels do not oftener exert their power in doing mischief to the bodies and lives of men, is from the restraining power of God: the devil cannot do all the mischief he would, and he shall not do all he can.
Observe, 3. The place where these evil spirits delighted to make their abode: amongst the tombs or graves, places desolate, forlorn, and solitary, which are apt to breed horror of mind, and to give advantage to temptation.
From whence I gather, that it is very dangerous and unsafe for persons, especially in whom melancholy prevails, to give themselves too much to solitariness, to frequent desolate places, and to affect being much alone; for it gives advantage to Satan to set upon them with powerful temptations. It is much better to frequent human society especially to delight in the communion of the saints, by means whereof we may be more and more strengthened against Satan’s temptations.
Observe 4. How the devils own Christ to be the Son of God, and pay unwilling worship and homage to him, yielding subjection to him as his slaves and vassels, not a free and voluntary service: They cried out, and fell down before him, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Where, by calling him Jesus, they owned him to be a Saviour, but none of their Saviour: What have we to do with thee, Jesus?
Oh! What an uncomfortable expression is this, to own Christ to be a Saviour, and at the same time to know and declare that he is none of our Saviour? “What is God, if he be not my God?” What comfort in a Saviour, if he be not my Saviour?
Observe, 5. What a multitude of evil spirits do enter into one man. Oh, the extreme malice and enmity of the devil against mankind, in that so many evil spirits should at once afflict and torment a single person, even a legion, many thousands of them!
Note likewise, the unity and agreement which is amongst these evil spirits in doing mischief; though there was a multitude of them in this one person, yet they have all but one name. We see the very devils have a sort of unity amongst themselves, and in their malicious and mischievous designs against mankind they are as one. Oh how happy were it, if good men were as united in their designs and endeavors for the glory of God, and the good of one another, as devils conspire and contrive against them!
Observe, 6. The request which the devils make to Christ: We beseech thee, torment us not.
From whence we may gather,
1. That there are torments appointed to the spiritual nature of evil angels.
2. That the evil angels, or devils are not so full of torment as they shall be, although they are as full of sin and discontent as they can be; there will be a time when their torments shall be increased; therefore they pray, Torment us not before the time; that is, do not increase our torments before the appointed time of their increase.
Observe, 7. The devil’s request for permission and leave to go into the herd of swine.
Where note,
1. The devil’s malice: he will hurt the poor beasts, rather than not hurt at all.
2. His powerful restraint: he cannot hurt a poor pig without a permission: Suffer us to enter. Satan’s malice indeed is infinite, but his power is bounded: it is a power under a power; if he could not hurt the swine, much less can he afflict the children of men without leave.
Observe 8. How Satan’s request is yielded to by our Saviour: he suffered them to go into the swine, not to gratify their desire in doing mischief; but, first, hereby Christ showed his power over the devils, that they could not act without his permission and leave; next, to show how great the malice and power of the devil is, if not restrained; and lastly, that the miracle of casting out so many devils might appear to be the greater.
Learn hence, that sometimes Almighty God, for wise ends and just causes, does suffer the devil to enjoy his desire, in doing mischief unto the creatures: Jesus said unto them, Go.
Observe, 9. What a bad effect this miracle had upon the minds of the Gadarenes; instead of believing and owning Christ’s divine power, the loss of their swine enrages them, and makes them desire Christ’s departure from them.
Learn, that carnal hearts prefer their swine before their Saviour, and would rather lose Christ’s presence than their worldy profit: They besought him to depart from them. Sad is the condition of those from whom Christ departs; more sad the condition of such who say unto Christ “depart”; but most sad the condition of them who beseech and entreat Christ to depart from them: thus did the Gadarenes here, and we do not read that ever Christ returned more to them.
Observe, 10. How desirous the possessed man was to continue with Christ after he was come to himself: He prayed that he might be with him. This he might desire, partly to testify his thankfulness to Christ, partly out of fear of being re-possessed again by Satan, or perhaps to have the opportunity of hearing Christ’s doctrine, and seeing his miracles: for such as have once tasted that the Lord is gracious, and experienced the pleasure and profit of Christ’s company, are very desirous of the continuance of it and exceeding loth to part with it.
However, our Saviour at this time did not think fit to suffer him, knowing that more glory would redound to God by publishing this miracle to his friends. Christ expects, after eminent deliverances wrought for us, that we should be the publishers of his praises, and declare to all, far and near, the great and wonderful things which he has done for us.
Observe lastly, how Christ ascribes that power to God, by which he had wrought this miracle of healing: Shew how great things God has done for thee.
From whence the Socinians infer, that had he been God most high, and the author of that power by which he wrought this miracle, he would have ascribed it to himself. Answer, Christ does this, as not seeking his own glory, but the glory of him that sent him; that is, as executing his prophetic office in his Father’s name, and casting out devils by that Spirit which he had received from his Father.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Luk 8:26-39. See the contents of these verses explained at large, on Mat 8:28-34; and Mar 5:1-17. I beseech thee, torment me not Let me continue where I am, and do not, before my time, cast me into the place of torments. For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man Being moved with pity at the sight of such a miserable spectacle; for oftentimes it had caught him Therefore our compassionate Lord had made the more haste to cast it out. That he would not command them to go into the deep This expression, the deep, in English, is invariably, the sea. In this sense it occurs often in Scripture. We find it in this gospel, Luk 5:4, where the Greek word, so rendered, is, . That the sea is not meant here, is evident; for to the sea the demons went of themselves, when permitted, at their own request, to enter into the swine. The word , here used, evidently signifies the place where the wicked spirits are punished, as it does likewise Rev 20:3, where it is translated, the bottomless pit. Indeed, it properly denotes a place without a bottom, or so deep that it cannot be fathomed. The Greeks describe their Tartarus in this manner: and the Jews, when they wrote in Greek, did not scruple to adopt their expressions, because they were universally understood. There was a herd of many swine feeding Within their view, though at a distance. They besought him to suffer them to enter into them Not that they could have any more ease in the swine than out of them: for had that been the case, they would not so soon have dislodged themselves, destroying the herd.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10. The Healing of the Demoniac: Luk 8:26-39.
This portion brings before us a storm no less difficult to still, and a yet more striking victory. Luke and Mark mention only one demoniac; Matthew speaks of two. The hypothesis of a common written source here encounters a difficulty which is very hard for it to surmount. But criticism has expedients to meet all cases: according to Holtzmann, Matthew, who had omitted the healing of the demoniac at Capernaum, here repairs this omission, by grouping the possessed who had been neglected along with this new case (p. 255). This is a sample of what is called at the present day critical sagacity. As if the evangelists had no faith themselves in what they wrote with a view to win the faith of others! Why should it be deemed impossible for the two maniacs to have lived together, and for the healing of only one of the two to have presented the striking features mentioned in the following narrative? However it was, we have here a proof of the independence of Matthew’s narratives on the one hand, and of those of Mark and Luke on the other.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
LVI.
JESUS HEALS TWO GERGESENE DEMONIACS.
(Gergesa, now called Khersa.)
aMATT. VIII. 28-34; IX. 1; bMARK V. 1-21; cLUKE VIII. 26-40.
b1 And they came to the other side of the sea [They left in the “even,” an elastic expression. If they left in the middle of the afternoon and were driven forward by the storm, they would have reached the far shore several hours before dark], c26 And they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is over against Galilee. a28 And when he was come into the country of the Gadarenes. c27 And when he was come forth bout of the boat, cupon the land [Midway between the north and south ends of the lake, and directly east across the lake from Magdala, was the little city of Gergesa. In front and somewhat to the south of this city Jesus landed. Some sixteen miles away and to the southeast, and seven miles back from the lake, was the well-known city of Gadara. Further on to the southeast, on the borders of Arabia, and at least fifty miles from Gergesa, was the city of Gerasa. The name Gerasenes is, therefore, probably an error of the transcribers for Gergesenes, as Origen suggested. The region is properly called “country of the Gadarenes,” for Gadara was an important city, and the stamp of a ship on its coins suggests that its territory extended to the Lake of Galilee], bstraightway there met him out of the tombs ca certain man out of the city [Gergesa], bwith an unclean spirit, cwho had demons; b3 who had his dwelling in the tombs: cand abode not in any house, but in the tombs. [The sides of the mountain near the ruins of Gergesa are studded with natural and artificial caves which were used as tombs.] band no man could any more bind him, no, not with a chain; 4 because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been rent asunder by him, and the [344] fetters broken in pieces: and no man had strength to tame him. 5 And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. [The natural spirit of the man seeking to throw off the dominion of the demons would cry out in agony, and the demons themselves, in their own misery, would use him as a vehicle to express their own grief. It would be hard to imagine a more horrible state] cand for a long time he had worn no clothes, b6 and when he saw Jesus from afar, che cried out, bhe ran cand fell down before him, band worshipped him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he saith, {csaid,} What have I to do with thee [on this phrase, see Rom 10:7, Rev 9:1, Rev 9:2, Rev 9:11, Rev 11:7, Rev 17:8, Rev 20:1, Rev 20:3. How these demons escaped from the abyss is one of the unsolved mysteries of the spirit world; but we have a parallel in the releasing of Satan– Rev 20:1-3.] a28b And there met him two possessed with demons, coming forth out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man could pass by that way. [Matthew tells of two, while Mark and Luke describe only one. They tell of the principal one–the one who was the fiercer. In order to tell of two, Matthew had to omit the name “legion,” which belonged to one; and conversely, Mark and Luke, to give the conversation with one, did not confuse us by telling of two.] 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? [The judgment-day, the time of punishment and torment– Mat 25:41, 2Pe 2:4, Jud 1:6.] b11 Now there was there aafar off from them bon the mountain side a great herd aof many swine feeding. 31 And the demons besought him, cand they entreated him that he would give them leave to enter into them. asaying, If thou cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine. bthat we may enter into them. 13 And he gave them leave. a32 And he said unto them, Go. And they bthe unclean spirits cthe demons came out of the man, and entered aand went into the swine: and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea, {cthe lake,} bin number about two thousand; and they were drowned in the sea. aand perished in the waters. [About a mile south of Khersa a spur of the mountain thrusts itself out toward the lake so that its foot is within forty feet of the water line. This is the only spot on that side of the lake where the mountains come near the water. The slope is so steep and the ledge at its foot so narrow that a herd rushing down could not check itself before tumbling into the water. [346] Skeptics have censured Jesus for permitting this loss of property. God may recognize our property rights as against each other, but he nowhere recognizes them in the realm of nature. What was done to the swine was done by the demons, and the owners had no more right to complain than they would have had if the herd had been carried off by murrain, by flood, or by any other natural cause. All animals have a right to die, either singly or in numbers. The demons evidently did not intend to destroy the swine. Their desire to have live bodies to dwell in shows that they did not. But the presence of the demons in their bodies made the hogs crazy, as it had the demoniac, and they ran the way their noses were pointed at the moment. For discussion of demoniacal possession, see Mar 7:31-37.] cand he went his way, publishing throughout the whole city [Gergesa] how great things Jesus had done for him. band began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him [for the cities which constituted Decapolis, see page 173]: and all men marvelled. 21 And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat unto the other side, a great multitude was gathered unto him: and he was by the sea. c40 And as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him; for they were all waiting for him. [They could see the sail of his boat as he started back.] a1 And he came into his own city. [Capernaum.] [348]
[FFG 344-348]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
THE DEMONIZED GADERENE
Mat 8:28-34; Mat 9:1; Mar 5:1-21; and Mar 5:26-40. We visited this country of the Gadarenes, which comes down to the northeast coast of this sea; Gergesa, their capital, situated on a beautiful, rich plain, enjoying a handsome view of this beautiful water, as well as the majestic mountains and fertile valleys of the surrounding countries. Matthew says they came to Gergesa, Mark and Luke say they came to the country of Gadara. This is in perfect harmony, as Gergesa was the city and Gadara the country. You must remember that when our Savior bade the temple adieu, the day before He was arrested, He said, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. Within forty years from the utterance the Roman armies signally verified it. Hence the desolation has been on that country ever since. However, Gadara was a Gentile country; but it was the subject of a terrible Divine retribution, as we will see in this narrative, for rejecting the ministry of Jesus. And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes, and a man with an unclean spirit, from the tombs, met Him immediately having come out of the ship, who had his habitation among the tombs; and no one was able to bind him with chains, because frequently he had been bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been slipped off by him and the fetters torn to pieces, and no one was able to subdue him. Matthew says there were two demoniacs, exceedingly fierce, so no one could pass that way. Mark and Luke speak of but one. Luke says that he wore no clothing. It is a notable fact that raging maniacs have an aversion to wearing clothing, and if possible will tear it off. Mark: And he was all the time, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains; was crying, and cutting himself with stones. Seeing Jesus a great way off, he ran and fell down before Him, and crying, with a great voice, said, What is there to me and to Thee, O Jesus, the Son of the Most High God? I adjure Thee, in the name of God, that you torment me not; for He said to him, Unclean spirit, come out from the man. Luke says: For a long time he had possessed him, and he was kept bound with fetters and chains; and smashing his fetters, he was driven by the demon into the wilderness. And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? and he said, Legion, because many demons had entered into him. And he continued to exhort Him that He may not command them to depart into the abyss; i.e., the bottomless pit.
God never created the devil, a sinner, nor a snake. The snake originated from the transformation of the Nahash, an intelligent biped, one of the intermediate links between man and the lower animals, and unfortunately used by Satan in the abduction of humanity. Satan is a fallen archangel:
How thou art fallen, O Lucifer, the morning star! (Isa 14:12.)
The term devil is the ordinary cognomen of Satan, demon being the regular epithet applied to those innumerable evil spirits, swarming up out of the bottomless pit and thronging the atmosphere, their highest aspiration being a habitation in some human spirit, as in the case of this Gadarene, into whom a whole legion i.e., ten thousand had crowded together. Nothing is so terrible to these demons as the gloomy dungeons of the bottomless pit. Consequently they importuned Jesus not to send them thither. Originally the intelligences inhabiting the innumerable worlds, constituting the celestial empire, were presumptively all on probation. In the fatal revolt of Lucifer, an immense host, perhaps one-third (Revelation 12), followed the apostate archangel. As this apostasy, in all probability, infected many celestial worlds, we find innumerable hosts of fallen demons roaming round this world, hunting a habitation in some human heart. (Ephesians 6) We have no right to conclude that this Gadarene is the only legionaire in all the earth. It is pertinent to remember how all the demons, with whom Jesus comes in contact, recognize Him. We have no record at what epoch in bygone eternity the angels were created; evidently long before Divinity spoke this world into existence. As Jesus is co-eternal with God Himself, identical with the uncreated Jehovah, the recognition of these demons is doubtless a vivid reminiscence of the bright celestial ages which glided away before the dark period of rebellion and ruin supervened. It is here specified that the legionaire tore his clothing from his person, smashing all the fetters and escaping from all the chains with which they could bind him. The muscular power of these Oriental red men is vastly superior to that of Europeans and Americans. In all probability, he was a natural giant, as were most of the aborigines in that country in the days of Joshua; for you must remember he was not a Hebrew, but a Gentile. It is generally believed that physical strength is located in the muscles. This is a mistake. The muscles are the mere instruments used by the nerves, which are the custodians of physical power. A crowbar is a most potent instrument in the hands of a stalwart man; but left alone, utterly impotent.
I thought the muscles were the custodians of physical strength till, in 1884, a stroke of partial paralysis demonstrated the utter impotency of the muscles without nervous stimuli. From a human standpoint, the exegesis of Samsons paradoxical strength was the induement of the Holy Ghost, who operated through his nerves, thus imparting miraculous physical dynamics. Now remember, this Gadarene had ten thousand demons, ready in a moment to electrify his nerves, thus imparting an incredible muscular power. I have seen epileptics whom it took a half-dozen strong men to manage. You have all witnessed the extraordinary feats of strength and activity performed by maniacs, lunatics, and epileptics. This man was doubtless a combination of them all, so many demons, ready at any moment to turn loose the very galvanic batteries of the pandemonium on their poor victim, thus making them instrumental in the most paradoxical feats of agility and power. Why did he dwell among the tombs? Satan is king of death and hell. He sways his leaden scepter over every graveyard, holding fast every human body in the dark sepulcher, as their souls in the regions of woe. Hence these demons found congeniality among the tombs.
Mar 5:11. And there was at the mountain a great herd of swine, feeding. And all the demons entreated him saying, Send us into the swine, that we may go into them. And Jesus immediately permitted them. And the unclean spirits, having come out, went into the swine, and the herd rushed down a steep place into the sea, and there were about two thousand, and they perished in the sea. These heathen Gentiles set great store on the hog, a notoriously unclean animal, which Gods people were forbidden to raise, heavy interdictions being laid on the eating of the same. When I visited that country last November, our dragoman showed us the mountain traditionally recognized as the pasture of the swine, and the cliff down which the whole herd stampeded into the sea; thus transmitting to us a most monitory lesson against demoniacal possession, which is so common in all ages, the present day being no exception to the rule. Here we see these hogs unhesitatingly choosing suicide rather than demoniacal possession. This verdict of the swine should put millions to the blush this day, who go over the earth, full of demons, and claiming a place among the bon tons of society. And those herding them fled, and proclaimed in the city and in the country; and they came out to see what is that which has been done. And they come to Jesus, and see the demonized man sitting down, clothed, and in his right mind, him who was called Legion; and they were afraid. And those seeing, explained to them how it occurred to the demonized man, and concerning the swine. And they began to entreat Him to depart from their coasts. Luk 8:36 : And those seeing, explained to them how the demonized man was saved; and the whole multitude of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes entreated Him to depart from them, because they were possessed with great fear. Here we have the united testimony of Matthew, Mark, and Luke to the unanimous and importunate verdict of all the Gadarenes, requesting Jesus to leave their country. That this awful and hopeless demoniac had been wonderfully saved, all admitted. But there was another phase to the matter they had lost their swine. Now a pertinent question looks them all in the face. Will they have Jesus or bacon? If they keep Jesus, they can have all of the sick healed, all the devils cast out, all the people saved, soul and body, and turn their country into a little heaven, so they can live on angels food instead of hog and hominy. The popular verdict comes quickly, and without a dissenting voice: they all decide to let Jesus go, and save their bacon to eat and sell for the money.
DOOM OF GADARA
And embarking into the ship, He returned; i.e., went back to Capernaum, the center of His evangelistic work in the North, thus throwing a dark shadow over all of that country of the Gadarenes, which has wrapped it in gloom and withered it with desolation these eighteen hundred years. When I visited that country, with its beautiful, fertile plains, bordering on the sea; majestic, rich mountains, with innumerable valleys and coves all, at the time of our Saviors visit, flourishing as the gardens of the Lord, cultivated by a thriving and enterprising people, whose temporal needs a gracious Providence had most abundantly supplied. So they needed nothing but the Savior, whom, in loving, Fatherly affection, He so kindly sent them. O what a grand introductory He made among them in saving the worst man they had! How all hell rallied to hold their grip tight on Gadara! Jesus comes to all people, even uninvited, thus pitying their blindness and ignorance, and giving all a chance for salvation. But when He turns the light on them, if, instead of rejoicing in it, they prefer darkness, and, like these besotted Gadarenes, even have the impudence to ask Him to leave, He always goes, leaving them to their choice, with the devil and hell, world without end. Jesus saves none against their will; neither does He stay where He is not wanted. When I stood upon the old walls of Gergesa, the capital of Gadara, to which Jesus went, and looked around upon the ruins of the city, without an inhabitant except the wandering Arabs, then on the spot, grazing their herds and flocks, and saw their country, which has lain desolate eighteen hundred years, I saw in panorama, as I look out over the sea, Jesus embarking on the ship, which sails away, appearing smaller and smaller, till she passes out of sight, thus leaving poor Gadara doomed and ruined. How signally has this been verified in the dismal fate of that country! The Gadarenes have literally faded from the face of the earth, not one to be found; their capital desolate, their cities and villages depopulated and destroyed; their country in the hands of the nomadic Bedonins, the wild sons of Ishmael, in reference to whom God said, His hand shall be against every mans hand, and every mans hand against him. They are born robbers. If you would visit the land of Gadara this day, you would need an armed escort to save you from robbery and murder. What a warning to the people who request Jesus to depart from them!
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
2. The deliverance of a demoniac in Gadara 8:26-39 (cf. Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20)
The raging of this demoniac was even worse than the raging of the waters of Galilee (cf. Psa 65:7). Demonic power was evident in the Hellenistic world of Luke’s original readers. The fact that this incident happened in predominantly Gentile territory suggests that Luke may have seen in it a preview of the church’s ministry to Gentiles (cf. Act 26:18). In his account of this incident Luke stressed the saving of the man (Luk 8:36), the fear of the spectators (Luk 8:37), and the abyss as the final destiny of the demons (Luk 8:31). As Jesus had calmed the sea, He now calmed this demon-afflicted man.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Mark and Luke called this area the country of the Gerasenes, but Matthew called it the country of the Gadarenes. Gergesa (also referred to as Gersa, Kersa, and Kursi) was a small village about midway on the eastern shore of the lake. Gadara, one of the Decapolis cities, was a larger town six miles southeast of the lake’s southern end. [Note: Jack Finegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament, p. 62.] This incident apparently happened somewhere near both towns on the southeast coast of the lake. A third town with a similar name, Geresa, was probably the same as Jarash, farther to the south and east. [Note: Bailey, p. 119.] As Luke described the situation, the demoniac met Jesus and His disciples as they arrived at the shore. He was one of two demoniacs, but Luke and Mark only mentioned one of them (cf. Mat 8:28-34).
Doctor Luke mentioned several symptoms of this man’s demon possession. These included disregard for his personal dignity (nakedness), social isolation, retreat to an unclean shelter, recognition of Jesus’ identity, control of speech, shouting, and great strength (Luk 8:27; Luk 8:29). This man was under the control of spiritual powers totally opposed to Jesus and God’s will.
The demons in the man acknowledged that Jesus was God (cf. Luk 1:32; Gen 14:18-22; Num 24:16; Isa 14:14; Dan 3:26; Dan 4:2). They were not worshipping Jesus as God but were appealing to Him as their judge for mercy. They wanted to escape premature torture in the abyss (Luk 8:31; cf. Mat 8:29; Rev 20:1-3; Rev 20:10).