They arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
When Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man out of the city who had demons for a long time met him. He wore no clothes, and didn’t live in a house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me!” For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bonds apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered into him.
They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss. Now there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter into those. Then he allowed them. The demons came out of the man, and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned. When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who saw it told them how he who had been possessed by demons was healed. All the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. Then he entered into the boat and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you.” He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv27, 29, 39 Christ showeth, by casting out a Legion of devils…
Christ showeth, by casting out a Legion of devils by his word only, that his heavenly virtue was appointed to deliver men from the slavery of the devil: but foolish men will not for the most part redeem this so excellent grace freely offered unto them, with the least loss of their pelting pelf.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 26 And they arrived at the country of the…
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
Ver. 26. See Mat 8:28; Mar 5:2.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v26 We have had this whole story Mat 8:28-34, and…
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.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v26 This piece of history gives us a very sad…
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.
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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.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv26–39 And when he went forth to land,.... The Persic…
And when he went forth to land,.... The Persic and Ethiopic versions read,
when they went forth to land; when Christ and his disciples came out of the ship, and went ashore:
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there met him out of the city a certain man; or rather, there met him a certain man of the city; that is, one that belonged to, and was an inhabitant of Gadera, or some city thereabout; who had been born and brought up, and had lived there; for certain it is, that he did not now come out of the city, but out of the tombs, as in Mat 8:28 and to which agrees the account of him that follows here; in the Vulgate Latin version, these words, "out of the city" are omitted; which the interpreter not understanding, might leave out, as carrying in it a seeming contradiction to the accounts of him:
which had devils long time. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Persic, and Arabic versions, read in the singular number, which had a devil: and which agrees with Luk 8:29 for though more are after mentioned, yet the many might be under one head, and chief of them; but in all the copies, it is read in the plural number, "devils"; and to this agrees the name of legion, for there were many devils in him, and they had a possession of him a long time which aggravates the miserable condition of this man, and illustrates the power of Christ in freeing him from them:
and wore no clothes; but went naked, and when any were put upon him, would tear them in pieces:
neither abode in any house, but in the tombs; See Gill on Mar 5:3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv26, 29, 31, 32, 37 Matt. viii, 28; Mark v, 1.
Matt. viii, 28; Mark v, 1.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 31, 33, 34 Verse 26. The country of the Gedarenes] Or, according…
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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v26 Luk 8:26-39. See the contents of these verses explained…
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, το βαθος. 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 αβυσσος, 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.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv26, 28, 30, 32, 33 Here St. Matthew relates the history of the two…
Here St. Matthew relates the history of the two demoniacs, whilst St. Mark and St. Luke speak only of one; but the man mentioned in these two evangelists, was a man of some consideration and consequence, for whose cure the country was deeply interested. (St. Augustine, de concord. evang.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v26 b. The Demoniac At Gadara (Luk_8:26-39)
b. The Demoniac At Gadara (Luk_8:26-39)
(Parallels: Mat_8:28-34; Mar_5:1-20)
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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 Γαδαρηνῶν 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., Γερασηνῶν, and still less again to read with L., Δ. [Cod. Sin.] and a few others, Γεργεσηνῶν. The very distinction between these two latter readings shows how much hesitation there has been, and how soon the old and true reading Γαδαρηνῶν 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 Γεργεσηνῶν, 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 Γαδαρηνῶν 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 Joshua’s 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 κατ̓ ὕψιν, 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 λίθος προσκόμματος. 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, παρήγγειλεν.—“Not in the sense of the pluperfect, but like ἕλεγεν, 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, ἔξελθε, κ.τ.λ. 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, dœmones, abyssum porrigitur. Idque agnovere dœmones.” 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 ὑπάγετε; 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 Saviour’s disciples, who here also accompanied Him. The healed one moreover now sits παρὰ τοὺς πόδας τοῦ Ἱησοῦ, 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 Peræa 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. Ὅσα.—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 Saviour’s own word hold good, Luk_7:23, and this Macarism can only be fulfilled in him who with Paul continues mindful of the φρονεῖν εἰς τὸ σωφρονεῖν.
2. The miracle here narrated conflicts in no way with the well-known summing up of the biography of the Saviour, διῆλθεν εὐεργετῶν, 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 Kerner’s 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 sinner’s 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 δυσνόητον we may adduce les Démoniaques, 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. 39–52, 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. Παρεκάλει might have as its subject either ἀνήρ or the neuter δαιμόνια. The fact that παρεκάλεσαν in the next verse is used, where δαιμόνια is the subject, may incline us to prefer the singular subject here.—C. C. S.]
[6]Luk_8:38.—Rec.: ὁ Ἰησοῦς. [Om., B., D., L., Cod. Sin.—C. C. S.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v26 § 51.—TWO DEMONIACS OF GADARA HEALED, Luk_8:26-40.
§ 51.—TWO DEMONIACS OF GADARA HEALED, Luk_8:26-40.
The events 22-42 take place after the day of the seven parables, § 49.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39 26-39. The Gergesene Demoniac.
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.
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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 (א, 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 (א, 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 (א, 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.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 (26-39) And they arrived at the country of the…
(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. Luke’s description of the region, which the other two Gospels name without describing, is characteristic of a foreigner writing for foreigners.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38 Vers. 26-39. The evil spirit in the Gergesene demoniac…
Vers. 26-39. The evil spirit in the Gergesene demoniac is dismissed into the herd of swine.
And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes. There is a perplexing difference in the reading of the older manuscripts here, but it is simply a question of the precise name of the locality where the great miracle was worked. In the three narratives of Matthew, Mark, and Luke the older manuscripts vary between "Gergesenes," "Gerasenes," and" Gadarenes." Gatiara was a city of some importance, about three hours" journey distant from the southern end of the Lake of Gennesaret. Its ruins are well known, and are distinguished by the remains of two amphitheatres. Gerasa was also a place of mark, and was situate about fifty miles from the lake. These cities might in the days of our Lord have either given its name to a great district stretching to the borders of the lake. Gergesa was a small and very obscure town nearly opposite Capernaum. There are some ruins now on this spot still known by the very slight corruption of Kerzha. There is scarcely any doubt that the scene of the miracle on the poor demoniac, and of the subsequent possession of the swine, must be looked for on this spot. But it was an obscure, little-known spot, and in very early days the preachers who told the story of the great miracle may have often spoken of the country as the district of the well-known Gerasa or Gadara, rather than of the unknown village of Gergesa. Hence probably the variations in the name in the older manuscripts here.
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Vers. 26-39. The demoniac whose name was Legion.
Two miserable creatures are mentioned in Matthew. No sooner has Jesus come forth on the land than they rush towards him. Human, yet without the mental attributes of humanity, shunned by all, left in the lonely place, to rend the air with fearful cries, to clash themselves against stones, wretched beyond all names of wretchedness. One of the two is singled out by St. Luke, and described (vers. 27, 29). Observe the effect of Jesus" presence. Instantly some long-silent chord was touched, some new sense of the awful misery into which the man had been plunged was awakened, some conflict between a mind made suddenly active, and the nameless power of darkness was originated. The maniac falls down, and with a loud voice cries, as if some other one were crying through him, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I beseech thee, torment me not." Marvellous confession! which, however, had been preceded by a word of authority (ver. 29), and which is followed by a kind of confused perception. "What is thy name?" What name had he? What personality? The only word which seemed to describe the situation was the Roman name for a host, "My name is Legion; for we are many." Poor Legion! there is in thee a groaning which cannot be uttered; and that groaning, unawares to thyself, has the form of the old prayer, "Unite my heart to fear thy Name!" Lo! he who knows the mind of the Spirit has heard thee, and he has given a new song to thy mouth. Henceforth thou shalt say, "I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy Name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell" Thus far, all, though wonderful, is beautiful and Christ-like. But now comes the strange portion of the narrative. Jesus is described as giving the demons which had laid waste the son of Abraham leave to possess the herd of swine feeding on the mountain-side; the consequence being that the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and were choked. Against this destruction many objections have been brought; it is a stone of stumbling and offence even to believers. Even to faith it seems at variance with the mercifulness of the Lord, and the transference of the evil power from the man to the herd of swine bristles with things hard to be understood. Explanations offered, some of them ingenious, all unsatisfactory, are not here to be dwelt on. It is assumed that we take the evangelist to be a trustworthy guide as to events which are out of the plane of ordinary life. Somewhere, somehow, the work done is reconcilable with the true nature of things, with the mercy and the truth which are around all God"s paths. Observe two points by way of practical improvement.
I TO THE DEMONIAC HIMSELF THERE WAS GIVEN A TESTIMONY NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN OF THE SIN AND MISERY FROM WHICH THE STRONGER THAN THE STRONG ONE HAD DELIVERED HIM. The effect on character, the influence which some action or course of conduct would have in the establishment of trust in himself or in the education of the disciple, was always before the mind of Christ. Now, what an evidence in a form which one whose shattered intellect was not yet fully restored could understand was given of the awful waste of spiritual life, the awful force of an untrained, unsanctified nature, by the sight of that precipitate rush down the steep place into the sea! Recollect, too, that, according to the correspondences of Scripture, these swine represent the more bestial and corrupt propensities of our nature. Pascal, in one of his most cynical sayings, speaks of man as "half-beast, half-devil" There is something of the beast in men; and what happened that day is the token of what does happen when the lower animal is acted on by spirits of malignity or darkness when, from some cause operating from without, that which is animal is acted on by that which is devilish. Is not that same violent rushing down steep places of poor animalized beings, their true life checked and destroyed, witnessed every day? Do we not constantly see infatuations similar to that portrayed in the herd of swine? In England more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons die every year directly in consequence of indulgence in strong drink. If, as has been asked, there was such a destruction of cattle or swine in the country, what attention would be called to it! what a host of remedies and measures with a view to its prevention would be propounded! But the matter passes with little notice. Undoubtedly, the event at Gergesa is a sign of what mere carnal appetite, when fed by some exciting cause, brings about; and, being so, it is a standing witness for the blessings of his salvation, whose gospel is a new order as well as a new life, who controls what is lawless by the law of liberty, and at whose feet the man from whom devils are departed sits clothed and in his right mind.
II TO ALL OF US THERE IS A SAD SIGNIFICANCE IN THE CONDUCT OF THE GADARENES. The two facts before them were the swine lost, and the man gained. Which of the two was the greater? The swine lost. That spoke to them of a fearful power in the Man who had landed on their shore. Perhaps their consciences were uneasy. If they were Jews, and some of them must have been, they knew that, for the purpose of gain, they had broken Moses" Law. Why should he continue in their midst whose glance burnt like an oven? Anyhow, instead of remembering what attracted and spoke of healing in the cure of the man, they remember only what had caused them loss in the destruction of the swine. "Away!" they cry, "thou holy and terrible One! We don"t wish to be disturbed in our way. Trouble us no longer l" Fearful prayer! But do not more than the Gadarenes pray it? Are there not many whose secret heart protests, "Let us alone, Lord God! Let us make money as best we can; eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves. Away with the spiritual with Church, with God! Give us our swine, and let heaven go!" Fearful prayer, and fearful answer! "God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers, and flings the thing we have asked for in our face a ganutlet with a gift in it." "He entered into a boat, and returned." There is only one of another spirit in the multitude. He who a few minutes before had cried, "What have I to do with thee?" now beseeches, like Ruth of old, "Entreat me not to leave thee: where thou goest I will go, and where thou dwellest I will dwell." Nay, he must remain Christ"s missionary and witness to his unbelieving countrymen. Not toluxuriate in him, but to live and work for him, is the call to the redeemed. "And he went his way, publishing throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv27, 35, 38 A certain man who had devils long time
Luk_8:27-40
A certain man who had devils long time
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The demoniac in the tombs as he resembles the unconverted sinner
Observe the parallel that exists between this poor demoniac and the unconverted sinner.
I. PREVIOUS TO CONVERSION.
1. Possessed by an unclean spirit.
2. Living among the dead.
3. Disordered in intellect.
4. His own tormentor.
5. In a state of utter destitution and wretchedness.
6. Beyond the power of human assistance or restraint.
II. AT CONVERSION.
1. The means employed: the Word of Christ.
2. The influence exerted: the almighty power of Christ.
3. The effect produced:
(1) The unclean spirit expelled.
(2) The naked one clothed.
(3) The wanderer sitting at the feet of Jesus.
(4) The maniac in his right mind.
III. AFTER CONVERSION.
1. Desiring to remain with Jesus. How natural--wishing to forsake all, in order to be near the Great Physician.
2. Christs command, whatever it may be, is immediately obeyed. (J. J.Rew, M. A.)
Plain words with the careless
1. A man may know a great deal about true religion, and yet be a total stranger to it. There are no sounder theoretical believers than devils, and yet their conduct is not affected by what they believe, and consequently they still remain at enmity to the Most High God.
2. There are a great many bad prayers prayed in the world. The man said, I beseech Thee, torment me not. A sinners prayer for his own misery is often a grim and awful thing to look upon, from its horrible earnestness.
I. A VERY MISCHIEVOUS MISAPPREHENSION. It is currently thought among mankind, that to receive the gospel of Christ would be to cease to be happy, to give up all joyfulness and cheerfulness, and to doom ones self to a life of melancholy.
1. Now, I will admit that if men will go on in their sins, the gospel will, if it gets at their consciences, make them miserable. It will act as salt to raw wounds, or as a whip to rebellious backs.
2. Again, I must make another admission, namely, that a great many people, at the time when they become serious for the first, and give themselves to Christ, are rendered, for a time, very miserable. The terrors of the Lord are upon them, and they are feeling the burden of sin--it is no wonder that a cloud hangs over their brows.
3. But, now that I have admitted this, I want to ask those who say that Jesus Christ would make them miserable, a question or two. I have admitted a great deal--now, be fair and open with me in return. You are afraid of being made miserable. Are you so mightily happy, then, at the present moment? Excuse me if I say that I rather question whether those Elysian fields of yours are so very delightful. A man cannot sin without bringing upon himself some sorrow even in this life.
4. There is another question I would like to ask you, and that is: If you reply that you are happy now, I should be glad to know whether the present, happiness which you enjoy, or say you enjoy, will last you very long? The leaves are now falling very rapidly from the trees, and they remind us that we, too, must die. Will your mirth and your jollity support you in the dying hour?
5. But now, we will go farther in dealing with this mischievous misapprehension. You have a notion that if Jesus Christ should come into your heart, you would have to give up your pleasures. Now, what pleasures? The pleasures of the hearth and family fireside? The pleasures of seeing your children growing up around you to call you blessed? The pleasures of doing good? The pleasures of discharging your duties as in the sight of God? The pleasures of a quiet conscience? None of these pleasures will Christ take away from you. Still you say, If I were a Christian it would make me melancholy! Make you melancholy to believe that you are on the way to heaven, and that when the trials of this poor life are over, you shall be with Jesus for ever? I cannot imagine it. Let not Satans lie deceive you.
6. One thing I will also say, and then have done with this point. You believe that religion is a happy thing, though you pretend you do not. You must confess, and you do confess, that you desire to die like a Christian.
II. A QUERULOUS QUESTION. What have I to do with Thee? This is a question which we have heard many times. Poor people often ask it. I heard a workman say, Well, I have nothing to do with religion; I know it is all very well for my master, for parsons, and fine ladies, and aristocrats, and old womb, but it is of no use to me; I have to work hard, and I have a family to bring up, and it has nothing to do with me. Now, give me your hand, my good fellow, and, believe me, you are quite mistaken. Why, there is nobody in the world whom it has more to do with than it has with you, for the poor have the gospel preached to them. But very often the wealthy say, What have we to do with Thee? Lavender kid gloves and the gospel are not always well agreed: the upper circles are none the nearer heaven because of their imaginary elevation. There are also certain learned gentlemen who are instructed in metaphysics and philosophy who patronizingly inform us that the restraint of religion is a very proper thing to keep the working classes in some kind of order, but really they themselves are several degrees above it. Thus they say, as plainly as they can, What have I to do with Thee? Oh, my brethren, educated, refined, wealthy, as you may be, the gospel of Jesus has everything to do with you. The giant minds of Milton and of Newton found ample room in the gospel; they delighted to bathe, like leviathan, in the ocean of Divine truth. There are two or three matters in which all of you have to do with Christ, whether you will or not.
1. It is because of His intercession that you are alive tonight.
2. It is entirely owing to Him that you are now in a place where the gospel can be proclaimed to you.
3. At the last great day, if you have nothing to do with Him as a Saviour, you will have to appear before Him as a Judge. We must have to do with Christ. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A Chinese demoniac
A short time ago our Christian servant had a great trial; but it resulted, as trials have done to some of the rest of us, in the strengthening of his faith in God. His brother became insane, was very outrageous, and getting worse every day. Our servant always said he was sure his case was similar to that of the man who lived among the tombs in Gadara. At length his mother grew quite tired of him, and, thinking his case hopeless, sent him to the Yamen to be killed. He was to be beheaded in two days. We joined in asking God to heal him. Next morning he was much better, and in a few days he was quite well. The underlings then refused to let him out, except they received a good deal of silver. We thought this unfair, as he had had no food from them, and we declined to assist. Again we unitedly brought him before God asking Him to bring him out. Next morning we sent his brother to ask the mandarin to let him out, which he did. He stayed four days with us, heard the gospel, and went home quite happy to his wife and family, 120 li from the city. (J. Smith.)
The Gadarene demoniac
On landing, after a night of storm, our Lord was met by one who was scarcely human. The contrast between the rugged shore and the calm sea was not so striking as that between the wild demoniac and the calm and peaceful Son of God. This was a meeting of the representatives of two different kingdoms, the kingdom of darkness and that of light--of hate and of love; of misery and of peace. The Gadarene knew who Jesus was, yet, full of terror, he cried, What have I to do with Thee? and implored Him to depart. But the Lord had to do with him, and would not therefore depart, but commanded the demons to depart, and they did so; and then the wild man came to his right mind, and sat clothed at the feet of his Deliverer, meek and calm as a wearied child.
1. We have in this mans history a most instructive evidence of the capacity of an immortal being to sink into the depths of sin and misery. What was essentially wrong in this man? It was his wrong mind. He was delivered from that by being brought to his right mind.
2. Look at the meeting of the demoniac with the Saviour. It was verily a crisis in the sad life of this miserable man. The inner conflict in this mans spirit on meeting Jesus represents the struggle in many a heart, during a similar crisis in its history.
3. Observe the effects of this great act of love on the hitherto miserable demoniac. What outward force failed to accomplish, inward principle effected. His outward physical condition was the effect and sign of his inward reformation. Such will be the results, more or less, in every case where a soul is truly brought to the knowledge and love of God in Jesus Christ. Terror will give place to love.
4. Notice, further, that when Jesus cast out the demon, the Gadarene prayed that he might be allowed to follow Him. This prayer offered up by a true disciple was the only one, connected with the incident, which Jesus did not answer in the way requested. The demons prayed that they might be permitted to enter the herd of swine, and their prayer was granted. The Gadarenes prayed that Jesus would depart out of their coasts, and their prayer was also granted. Some prayers may be answered in judgment, and some refused in mercy.
5. But why did this man ask to be allowed to follow Jesus?
(1) It may have been personal love; or
(2) it may have arisen from a trembling fear lest the dreadful demons of the olden time should return with the departure of Jesus; or
(3) his prayer may have been offered from shame for his countrymen, who had asked the Lord of life and of peace to leave their coasts. But the worse the people were, the more they needed a missionary. And what a missionary this man would be! (Norman Macleod, D. D.)
Destructive power
On one occasion Christs power operated in a direction that was merely destructive. A legion of devils besought Him to let them enter a herd of swine (a terrible illustration of the intolerableness of life in hell), and on obtaining permission the whole herd, to the number of 2000, ran into the sea, and was destroyed. Much has been said against the people who besought Christ to leave their coasts on finding their swine destroyed; they have been charged with sordidness, selfishness, and low ideas of the value of human amelioration. Though we may steal a cheap reputation for magnanimity at the expense of these unfortunate people, yet they were right after all in desiring such a man as they took Christ to be to depart from their midst. Their request was the expression of a great principle in the human constitution, implanted there by the Creator. Men cannot be benefited by mere power, but they are necessarily reduced to a meaner manhood by the presence of a power that is destructive. The history of despotism proves this. People never beg thunder and lightning to continue amongst them, but they often wish that summer would never go away. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Insanity is much nearer the kingdom of God than worldly-mindedness
Men with shattered reason felt the spell, while the wise and strong-minded too often used their intellect, under the bias of passion or prejudice, to resist the force of truth. In this way we may account for the recognition of Jesus by the Gadarene demoniac. (A. B. Bruce, D. D.)
A Saviour and not a tormentor
We may be sure of this, that just as the Saviour did not land on the coast of the Gadarenes to torment them, but to save them from the demons and sins that were their real tormentors; so He did not come into the world to torment us, but to save us from evil passions and desires, than which there are no worse tormentors. This, however, is what some people do not believe. They think that the religion of Christ is a tormenting religion, and that it torments in two ways:
(1) By putting restraint upon our conduct; and
(2) by taking up all our time. As to the first--in comparison with slavery to self the service of Christ is perfect freedom. As to the second--it takes no more time to do everything to the glory of God, than to do everything to Gods dishonour. (E. J. Hardy.)
Hell on earth
1. We may learn from this account that evil spirits are real persons. There is a notion got abroad that it is only a figure of speech to talk of evil spirits, that all the Bible means by them is certain bad habits, or bad qualities or diseases. When I hear such language--and it is very common--I cannot help thinking how pleased the devil must be to hear people talk in such a way. How can people help him better than by saying that there is no devil?
2. We have no right to believe--we have every right not to believe--that these evil spirits can make us sin in the smallest matter against our own wills. (Charles Kingsley.)
Legion
If we yield to temptations whenever they come in our way, we shall find ourselves less and less able to resist them, for we shall learn to hate the evil spirits less and less. We shall give place to the devil, as the Scripture tells us we shall; for instance, by indulging in habitual passionate tempers, or rooted spite and malice. And so a man may become more and more the slave of his own nature, of his own lusts and passions, and therefore of the devils who are continually pampering and maddening those lusts and passions, till a man may end in complete possession. Few men in England, of course, would be fools enough to indulge the gross and fierce part of their nature till they became mere savages, like the demoniac whom Christ cured; so it is to respectable vices that the devil mostly tempts us--to covetousness, to party spirit, to a hard heart, and a narrow mind; to cruelty, that shall clothe itself under the name of law; to filthiness, which excuses itself by saying, It is a mans nature, he cannot help it; to idleness, which excuses itself on the score of wealth; to meanness and unfairness in trade, and in political and religious disputes--these are the devils which haunt us Englishmen--sleek, prim, respectable fiends enough, and truly, their name is Legion. (Charles Kingsley.)
Spirits in possession of a man
I. THE CONDITION OF THE DEMONIC.
1. The extent to which he was possessed.
2. The effects of the possession.
II. THE DEMONIAC CURED AND CLOTHED.
1. He is brought to his right mind.
2. He appears in his right place.
3. He displays a right demeanour. (A. A. Ramsey.)
A genuine case;
The area which an unclean spirit is permitted, in taking possession of a man, is probably, in the present day, more limited than it was during our Lords personal ministry on earth. But the effects are not less disastrous, if less extraordinary, than they were then. Let me supply an example from within the range of my own observation. He was a choice young man, son of a wealthy citizen in the metropolis. Favoured by birth, distinguished by amiability of disposition and superior natural talents, clever in business, skilled in the sciences, he was the acknowledged centre of a wide and admiring circle of relatives and friends. One day an evil spirit, which for weeks previously had been hovering about his path, whispering in his ear, and injecting thoughts of envy, evil, and unbelief into his mind, took possession of him. It was while, at an evening party, he sat before the piano, discoursing exquisite music to an eager, enthusiastic group of friends. Suddenly there came upon him what he afterwards described to me as an irresistible impulse. It instantly detached him from the most agreeable associations. He glided out of the glittering room, rushed from beneath his fathers roof into the dark street, and almost before his absence from home was noticed, he was among the tombs, gnashing his teeth in a frenzy of lustful passion, rending those beautiful garments of virtue which cannot easily be repaired, and wounding himself with weapons which inflict a deeper scar in the conscience than stones do in the flesh. There, in the sepulchral regions of vice, in the charnel-house of the morally dead, he dwelt night and day for years. Neither could any man tame him. Again and again the task was tried and failed. Faithful reproofs, cogent reasonings, urgent entreaties, tender persuasions oft-repeated, were utterly fruitless in regard to his reformation. Fetters most strong and sacred were used to bind him. Fetters forged in the white heat of a mothers burning devotion. Fetters skilfully woven out of the deep treasures of a pious sisters heart. But they proved as ineffectual as did the seven green withes on the limbs of Samson. It was in an hour of direful wretchedness, when, in a paroxysm of mingled rage and remorse, he was rushing to the riverside, defiant of all that is holy and true, and seeking self-forgetfulness in the suicides grave, that Jesus met him, arrested his steps, cast out the demon that so long had led him captive, and constrained him to turn his face homeward, penitently and tearfully saying, I will arise and go to my father. (A. A. Ramsey.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v26 26–39. A certain man who had devils. For notes…
26–39. A certain man who had devils. For notes on the cure of the Gadarene demoniac, see Matt. 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–21.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v26 Luk_8:26. Country of the Gadarenes.—Rather, “of the Gerasenes” (R.V.).…
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 Gersa—now 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 district—“country of the Gadarenes.”
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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 man’s 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” (Speaker’s 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 Peter’s 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 man’s voice.—He was, in the exact sense of the word, distracted—drawn 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 Christ’s 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. God’s supremacy and loftiness, and Christ’s 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 Christ’s 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 man’s 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 them—for the prayer on the man’s 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 Christ’s 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 Christ’s 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 in—oh, how gladly! but if any man shut the door in His face, He can but tarry without and knock.
IV. The restored man’s 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 moods—even 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 demoniac’s 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 courage—distinction of ranks and unity of purpose.
The Christian’s 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 God—girdle, 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.”—God’s 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 tested—by 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.
God’s Power and God’s 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 one’s 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. This—in his mouth—touches men’s 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 God—had 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.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv26, 36 Mat 8:28-34; Mat 9:1; Mar 5:1-21; and Mar 5:26-40.…
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.
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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 Samson’s 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 God’s 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 Savior’s 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 man’s hand, and every man’s 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!
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On v26 J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LVI. Jesus Heals…
J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LVI. Jesus Heals Two Demoniacs].
LVI. JESUS HEALS TWO GERGESENE DEMONIACS. (Gergesa, now called Khersa.) aMATT. VIII. 28-34; IX. 1; bMARK V. 1-21; cLUKE VIII. 26-40.
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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]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v37 Unconscious of their own need, the Gadarenes beseech the…
besought
Unconscious of their own need, the Gadarenes beseech the Lord to depart -- His power terrifies and condemns them; whilst he whose need has been met beseeches Him that he may follow Him.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv26, 30, 34 In the Country of the Gadarenes.
In the Country of the Gadarenes.
The demoniac:
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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.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus and his disciples come ashore at Gerasa where Jesus removes many demons from a man.
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region of the Gerasenes
Gerasenes were people from the city called Gerasa. (See: How to Translate Names)
across the lake from Galilee
"on the other side of the lake from Galilee"
a certain man from the city
"a man from the city of Gerasa"
a certain man from the city who had demons
The man had demons; it was not the city that had demons. AT: "a certain man from the city, and this man had demons"
who had demons
"who was controlled by demons" or "whom demons controlled"
For a long time he had worn no clothes ... but among the tombs
This is background information about the man who had demons. (See: Background Information)
he had worn no clothes
"he had not worn clothes"
tombs
These are places where people put dead bodies, possibly caves or small buildings that the man could use for shelter.
translationWords
Galilee
demon-possessed
grave
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 37, 39 8:26-39 This exorcism story demonstrated Jesus’ authority over spiritual…
8:26-39 This exorcism story demonstrated Jesus’ authority over spiritual forces. It also contrasted the faith and devotion of the freed man with the fear and rejection of the townspeople.
8:26 the region of the Gerasenes: Gerasa was a city of the Decapolis, thirty miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus deliberately went to a predominantly Gentile region and ministered there.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.