Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man
26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them,because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
Observations and Reflections
One interesting mention in Luke’s version of this story is that the demon possessed man “lived in the tombs”. There were a number of different types of tombs in the ancient near east. It’s most likely that the tombs in this story is a reference to some nearby caves that were used as tombs. Tombs in the caves were often used as hideouts in the ANE. Even Elijah stayed in a cave as he fled to Horeb to escape the wrath of Ahab (1 Kings 19).
Perhaps, even more interesting than the man hiding in the caves is the request made by the demons.
And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. (Luke 8:31)
What is the Abyss that they were so fearful of? Mark’s version of the story actually has the demons pleading not to be sent out of the country (χώρας) rather than into the abyss. The only other place this word is really known in the NT is in the book of Revelation and in Roman 10. In this instances it is referring to the bottomless pit which would be known by 1st century Hebrews as the place where souls go when they are bad. It’s the antithesis of heaven in most used which means it’s a version of hell or at least what people believe hell to be.
But what about Mark’s version of the story where the demons are afraid of being sent out of the country? Speculation is abundant on this issue but at first glance one might think of connecting the abyss with the wilderness (outer country) where the demons live. This is why the “scape-goat” is sent out into the desert on the day of atonement. It was believed that this is where the demons roamed. Thus, Luke was converting Mark’s Jewish concept into a more universal one.
This idea also be illustrated by the fact that the “country” and the “abyss” (when spoken in Hebrew rather than Greek) are incredibly similar and can be be confused with each other. The Hebrew word תהומא(“abyss”) and תחומא (district) are basically the same word to the eyes but have different vowels, which are not pictured. It is quite possible that the oral tradition of this story was varied by the story teller based on the confusion about the wording.
For a final thought on the abyss, it should be noted that the demons ran into the sea once cast into the swine. The sea or “the deep” is also synonymous with the abyss. In fact, when the creation account tells of the Spirit hovering over the face of the waters, the author writes that it hovered “on the face of the deep” (עַל-פְּנֵי תְהוֹם), in which the “deep” is the same word for the abyss. Thus, there is a mental and idiomatic link to all three items (abyss, deep waters, desert) in the ancient near east.
For the modern audience we should take note that the threat of Hell as an actual place appears to be quite real according to the New Testament and to Jesus and His disciples.