Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 8:30
And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
30. What is thy name? ] The question was no doubt asked in mercy. Gently to ask a person’s name is often an effectual way to calm the agitations and fix the wavering thoughts of these sufferers.
And he said, Legion ] A legion consisted of 6000 soldiers, and this man (who was probably a Jew) would have become familiar with the name since the Roman conquest of Palestine. The ancient Megiddo was now called Legio, still Ledjun. The answer shewed how wildly perturbed was the man’s spirit, and how complete was the duality of his consciousness. He could not distinguish between himself and the multitudes of demons by whom he believed himself to be possessed. His individuality was lost in demoniac hallucinations.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And Jesus asked him, saying, what is thy name?…. This question was put, not out of ignorance in Christ, but for the sake of those that were with him; and partly, that the miserable condition of this man might be the more known; and partly, that his own power might be the more manifest in the dispossession:
and he said, legion, because many devils were entered into him;
[See comments on Mr 5:9].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Legion (). See on Mr 5:9.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Many devils were, etc. Compare Mr 5:9.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And Jesus asked him, saying,” (eperotesen de auton ho lesous) “Then Jesus questioned him,” giving the demon an opportunity to express himself in His presence, for the benefit of the hearers.
2) “What is thy name?” (ti soi onoma estin) “What is your name?” Not that Jesus did not know, but for the benefit of those who saw and heard and later testified of these things, 1Jn 1:1-3; Mar 5:9.
3) “And he said, Legion:” (ho de eipen legion) “Then he replied, legion” Mar 5:9. That many demons seized upon one person is alluded to Luk 8:2; Mat 12:45. The term “legion”, referred to six thousand soldiers in a Roman army; Evidently these spirits or demons represented the fallen angels under Satan, Jud 1:6.
4) “Because many devils were entered into him.” (hoti eiselthen daimonia polla eis auton) “Because many demons were having entered into him,” Mar 5:9; Even as Mary Magdalene was once the habitat of seven demons or unclean spirits, Luk 8:2; Mar 16:9. Legion refers to an indefinite number, but suggests organized effort.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(30) Legion.Here again St. Mark and St. Luke agree.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”, for many demons were entered into him.’
Having made His first attempt at casting out ‘the evil spirit’ (‘was commanding’ confirms a continual process which suggests that He was dealing with more than one) Jesus was now made aware that He was confronting something much more powerful than just one evil spirit. So He asked its name. Basically He was asking, ‘Who are you?’ The evil spirit had no alternative but to answer for it recognised Jesus’ authority. The reply was, ‘Legion.’ Possessing the man was an army of evil spirits. The reply was part evasion. They felt that unity was strength and that they must stick together in their defiance. It was probably also an attempt at intimidation. ‘We are an army’. They were fighting for their survival, and knew it.
We note that it is at this stage that the verbs become plural. Jesus had at first supposed that He was dealing with one evil spirit. Now He finds that He is against an army. This brings out the realities of the situation which would not have arisen had this been only lunacy.
By now Jesus had recognised that He was dealing with the unusual situation of a plurality of evil spirits and His request had therefore been in order to discover exactly with whom or what He was dealing. He had directed His question to the man but it was essentially to the evil spirits.
It is not likely that Jesus was using a technique for obtaining power over them. He already had that power. For the question ‘what is your name?’ compare Gen 32:27-29; Jdg 13:17-18. It can hardly be true that God needed Jacob’s name in order to get power over him and certain that Jacob did not ask God’s name for that reason. And Manoah’s request was in order to honour his visitor. The asking of the name in the latter two cases was in order to find out who or what they were dealing with. The whole point about Jesus was that He did not need to use the usual exorcising techniques, but He did need to know what He was dealing with.
In reply they said, ‘Legion.’ Knowing, in the face of His authority, that they were forced to speak they replied evasively and probably with the aim of intimidating Jesus into leaving them alone. They wanted Him to know that they were powerful and would not be giving in without a fight. They were aware that His exertions of power were exhausting to His human frame (Luk 6:19; Mar 5:30), and they wanted Him to realise that this particular exorcism would require much power. He would do better to leave them alone. After all this was Gentile territory. Let Him get back to the Jews. Godly men who have engaged in exorcism have testified to the fact that it was very exhausting, (and they had never had to face anything like this). But the spirits were underestimating Jesus.
‘Legion.’ Was the man giving Legion as a name because he was in a state of confusion, aware of the forces possessing him? Or was he simply indicating the multiplicity of names of the evil spirits, hinting that they could not give them all for they were so many, and at the same time indicating how long it would take to deal with them? It may well have been an attempt to persuade Jesus to withdraw. We must recognise that the evil spirits were not omniscient, and probably thought that they could somehow forestall Jesus. Possibly they could see He was exhausted (He had been labouring hard and His sleep in the boat had been broken). They had no doubt been perturbed to find Him here at all so unexpectedly. The word ‘legion’ was the name given to a Roman regiment of between four thousand and six thousand men. Strictly it indicated six thousand, but it was unusual for a legion to have its full complement. Thus the indication here is of possession by ‘thousands’ of evil spirits. Note that ‘legion’ is a Latin word. It would not have been introduced unless it had actually been said, although having been said it may have been introduced so as to quietly indicate that God would in His own time deal with the legions of Rome. It was a way by which Jesus’ deliverance of His people from the power of Rome could be indicated without being treasonable.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus Raises the Dead, Revealing His Power and Authority Over Death (8:30-56).
Having been rejected by His own family, and having revealed His power and authority by quelling the storm and raging sea, and by dealing with a legion of evil spirits, Jesus was now about to enter a new realm, the realm of death itself. Nature, the spirit world and death are to be seen as under His control. Only man resists Him. In what follows Jesus goes to the aid of a young twelve year old girl who has died, and raises her from the dead.
But there is a subsidiary story. This reveals a woman who was continually ceremonially ‘unclean’ because of a flow of blood from within her which she had had for twelve years. She too was dying, and she had been dying for twelve years. And she found no hope anywhere until the day when she came to Jesus and found that He could make the unclean clean.
We could head this section Two Desperate People At The End of Twelve Years. Both were connected with the number twelve, the number of Israel. The daughter had lived from conception for twelve years and was now dying. The woman had had a blood flow for twelve years and she was cut off from the Temple and the people by uncleanness. Both were in their own way representative of the people of God, dead in sin and unclean before God.
But in order to confirm the lesson lying behind this we need to go to a passage in Ezekiel 16. There Jerusalem was likened to a baby, cast out at birth covered in the blood flow of its mother, whom God had commanded ‘in her blood’ to live (Luk 8:6). He then betrothed her to Himself, but she remained naked (it is not a natural picture). And when she came to an age for love (i.e. about twelve years of age) He wiped the blood from her (Luk 8:9). So either the idea is that for twelve years she had been covered in vaginal blood, or that she was once again covered in blood because of her menstruation, seen as connecting back to her first condition. And now she was His to be restored by His mercy to full glory. It would seem that this is the lesson behind both the child whom God will make to live, and the woman with a flow of blood for twelve years which will be made clean. The two together reveal that Jesus (the Bridegroom – Luk 2:19) has come to make clean and give life to His people so as to betroth them to Himself.
We may analyse the passage as follows:
a Jesus returned, the crowds welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him (Luk 8:40).
b A man named Jairus came, and he was a ruler of the synagogue, and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought Him to come to his house , for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went the crowds thronged him (Luk 8:41-42).
c And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed of any, came behind Him, and touched the border of His robe, and immediately the issue of her blood stanched (Luk 8:43-44).
d Jesus said, “Who is it who touched me?” And when all denied, Peter said, and those who were with him, “Master, the crowd press you and crush you” (Luk 8:45).
e But Jesus said, “Some one did touch me, for I perceived that power had gone forth from me” (Luk 8:46).
f And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before Him declared in the presence of all the people for what reason she touched Him, and how she was healed immediately (Luk 8:47).
g And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole, go in peace” (Luk 8:48).
f While He yet spoke, there comes one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher” (Luk 8:49).
e But Jesus hearing it, answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she shall be made whole” (Luk 8:50).
d ‘And when He came to the house, He did not allow any man to enter in with Him, except Peter, and John, and James, and the father of the maiden and her mother (Luk 8:51).
c And all were weeping, and bewailing her. But He said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead, but sleeps.” And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead’ (Luk 8:52-53).
b But He, taking her by the hand, called, saying, “Maiden, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately, and He commanded that something be given her to eat’ (Luk 8:54-55).
a And her parents were amazed, but He charged them to tell no man what had been done (Luk 8:56).
Note that in ‘a’ we have two attitudes towards Jesus, the crowds welcoming, and in the parallel the parents amazed. In ‘b’ Jairus pleads with Jesus because his daughter is dying, and in the parallel Jesus raises her to life. In ‘c’ the woman comes to Jesus in a hopeless condition, and in the parallel the crowds think that the case of the daughter is hopeless. In ‘d’ Peter and the others are witnesses to the fact that Jesus has not been touched, and in the parallel Peter and others are to be witnesses to what will happen to the child. In ‘e’ Jesus declares that someone has been made whole, and in the parallel that the girl will also be made whole. In ‘f’ the woman comes to Jesus and declares how she has been made whole, while in the parallel the servants come and declare that it is too late, ‘the daughter’ is dead and cannot be made whole. In ‘g’ Jesus declares that the ‘Daughter’ has been made whole because of her faith, the implication being that therefore the other daughter too will be made whole.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The healing:
v. 30. And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion; because many devils were entered into him.
v. 31. And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep.
v. 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
v. 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. Since the man appeared to have a rational interval, Jesus asked him his name. The poor man being the victim, not only of one or of a few devils, answered accordingly that his name was Legion, thousands of demons having taken possession of him. But the devils were growing restive, knowing that their time for torturing this man was over. And so they pleaded with Christ not to commit them to the abyss, to the pit of hell. But there was a herd of many swine feeding on the side of the mountain, within easy distance of the place where Jesus had landed, and the devils eagerly begged Christ to permit them to enter into the dumb brutes. And when Jesus had given permission, the devils took possession of the swine. And the brutes, taken with a sudden spasm of fright, bolted down the precipice overhanging the lake, leaped down into the waves below, and were drowned, suffocation taking place in the water. Note: The devil is a murderer from the beginning. If he cannot destroy the souls of men, he tries to harm their bodies, and when this is denied him, he takes out his spite on the dumb animals. His one desire is to ruin the works of God. But he can do this only with God’s permission. It is indeed a secret of God why He gives this permission. But it may be said, in general, that even such visitations, by which the devil works harm against us, are fatherly visitations of God, by means of which He wants to chastise us and call us to repentance.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Luk 8:30. What is thy name, &c.? Our Saviour probably asked the name of the evil spirit, to shew the extreme misery of the demoniac who was possessed by him. There is no need of concluding from the answer, that the number of these evil spirits was exactly the same with that of a Roman legion, which at this period consisted of six thousand and upwards. It was a phrase often made use of to express a great number; and it is observable that the evangelist’s words lead us to this very sense: My name is legion, for or because we are many. It is perfectly evident from St. Luke’s mode of expressionmany devils were entered into him, that he considered this, not as a mere lunacy, but as a real possession. Probably a band of evil spirits united in the vexation of this poor wretched man; but, in what manner, or order, itis impossible for us to say, who know so little of the state of invisible beings.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
Ver. 30. And he said, Legion ] We must be ready and well-appointed to resist; for the devil sets upon us not without military discipline and singular skill. Cataphractus incedit Satan, saith Luther. The devil marcheth well armed and in good array.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
30. ] Lightfoot (on Mar 5:9 ) quotes instances of the use of , for a great number, in the Rabbinical writings. The fact of many dmons having entered into this wretched man, sets before us terribly the utter break-up of his personal and rational being. The words will not bear any figurative rendering, but must be taken literally (see Luk 8:2 of this chap., and ch. Luk 11:24 ff.); viz. that in the same sense in which other poor creatures were possessed by one evil spirit (see note on [71] Matt.), this man, and Mary Magdalene, were possessed by many .
[71] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25 , the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified , thus, ‘ Mk.,’ or ‘ Mt. Mk.,’ &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 8:30 . , etc.: Lk. gives this explanation of the name Legion ; in Mk. the demoniac gives it.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
many, &c. See note on Mar 5:9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
30.] Lightfoot (on Mar 5:9) quotes instances of the use of , for a great number, in the Rabbinical writings. The fact of many dmons having entered into this wretched man, sets before us terribly the utter break-up of his personal and rational being. The words will not bear any figurative rendering, but must be taken literally (see Luk 8:2 of this chap., and ch. Luk 11:24 ff.); viz. that in the same sense in which other poor creatures were possessed by one evil spirit (see note on [71] Matt.), this man, and Mary Magdalene, were possessed by many.
[71] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25, the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified, thus, Mk., or Mt. Mk., &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Legion: Mat 26:53, Mar 5:9
many: Luk 8:2, Mat 8:29, Mar 16:9
Reciprocal: Mat 8:31 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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Legion means an indefinite but great number of beings. But one of the devils was spokesman for the others Is why the pronoun is in singular number sometimes.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Vers. 30-33. The Cure.
To this prayer, in which the victim became involuntarily the advocate of his tormentor, Jesus replies by putting a question: He asks the afflicted man his name. For what purpose? There is nothing so suitable as a calm and simple question to bring a madman to himself. Above all, there is no more natural way of awakening in a man who is beside himself the consciousness of his own personality, than to make him tell his own name. A man’s name becomes the expression of his character, and a summary of the history of his life. Now, the first condition of any cure of this afflicted man was a return to the distinct feeling of his own personality.
There was at this time a word which, more than any other, called up the idea of the resistless might of the conqueror under whom Israel was then suffering oppression. This was the word Legion. The sound of this word called up the thought of those victorious armies before which the whole world bowed down. So it is by this term that this afflicted man describes the power which oppresses him, and with which he still confounds himself. The expression, many demons, is explained by the multiplicity and diversity of the symptoms (Luk 8:29).
To this answer the demoniac adds, in the name of his tyrant, a fresh request. The demon understands that he must release his prey; but he does not want to enter forthwith into a condition in which contact with terrestrial realities would be no longer possible to him.
In Mark there is here found the strange expression: not to send them out of the country, which may mean, to the desert, where unclean but not captive spirits were thought to dwell, or into the abyss, whence they went forth to find a temporary abode upon the earth. The sequel shows that the second meaning must be preferred. Jesus makes no answer to this request. His silence is ordinarily regarded as signifying consent. But the silence of Jesus simply means that He insists on the command which He has just given. When He wishes to reply in the affirmative,as, for instance, at the end of Luk 8:32,he does so distinctly. This explanation is confirmed by Matthew, If thou cast us out… Their request to enter into the swine only refers, therefore, to the way by which they were suffered to go into the abyss. What is the explanation of this request, and of the permission which Jesus accorded to it? As to these evil spirits, we can understand that it might be pleasant to them, before losing all power of action, to find one more opportunity of doing an injury. Jesus, on his part, has in view a twofold result. The Jewish exorcists, in order to assure their patients that they were cured, were accustomed to set a pitcher of water or some other object in the apartment where the expulsion took place, which the demon took care to upset in going out. What they were accustomed to do as charlatans, Jesus sees it good to do as a physician. The identification of the sick man with his demon had been a long-existing fact of consciousness (Luk 8:27; Luk 8:29). A decisive sign of the reality of the departure of the evil power was needed to give the possessed perfect assurance of his deliverance. Besides this reason, there was probably another. The theocratic feeling of Jesus had been wounded by the sight of these immense herds of animals which the law declared unclean. Such an occupation as this showed how completely the line of demarcation between Judaism and paganism was obliterated in this country. Jesus desired, by a sensible judgment, to reclaim the people, and prevent their being still more unjudaized.
The influence exerted by the demons on the herd was in no sense a possession. None but a moral being can be morally possessed. But we know that several species of animals are accessible to collective influences,that swine, in particular, readily yield to panics of terror. The idea that it was the demoniac himself who frightened them, by throwing himself into the herd, is incompatible with the text.
Mark, whose narrative is always distinguished by the exactness of its details, says that the number of the swine was about two thousand. An item of his own invention, says De Wette; an appendix of later tradition, according to Bleek: here we see the necessary consequence of the critical system, according to which Mark is supposed to have made use of the text of the other two, or of a document common to them all.
The number 2000 cannot serve to prove the individual possession of the swine by the demons (legion, Luk 8:30), for a legion comprised 4000 men.
The question has been asked, Had Jesus the right to dispose in this way of other people’s property? One might as well ask whether Peter had the right to dispose of the lives of Ananias and Sapphira! It is one of those cases in which the power, by its very nature, guarantees the right.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Jesus was probably asking the name of the demon who indwelt the man for His disciples’ benefit. "Legion" was not a proper name but the name of a Roman military unit that consisted of about 6,000 soldiers. The name "Legion" communicated that thousands of demons indwelt the man (cf. Luk 8:2; Mar 5:13). The "abyss" refers to the final confinement place of the devil and his angels (cf. Rom 10:7; Rev 9:1-3; Rev 11:7; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:1-3). The Jews thought of it as a watery deep below the earth (cf. 2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6). Only God can send demons to the abyss. This is another indication that the demons recognized Jesus as God. The disciples should have learned from them.