26Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— 29for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. 32Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
Translation: And they sailed into the region of the Gerasenes, which is over against Galilee. But when he came out upon the land, he met a certain man out of the city having demons (for) much time. He did not put on a garment, and was not living in a house but in the tombs.
But seeing Jesus, he cried out (and) fell down before him (and with) a loud voice, he said, "What to me and to you, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me." For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out from the human being. For many times, it had caught him, and he was kept bound in bonds and fetters, and breaking the bands, he was driven by a demon into the wilderness.
But Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered into him. And they were begging him so that he might not command them to go into the abyss.
But there was there a herd of many swine feeding in the hill and they were begging him that he might allow them to enter into them, and he allowed them. And the demons came out from the human being (and) they went into the swine, and the herd ran down a steep place and into the lake and were suffocated.
But seeing what had come to pass, the ones feeding (the swine) fled and told in the city and in the country, and they went out to see what had come to pass. They came to Jesus, and they found the man from whom demons had gone out sitting, clothed and in right mind, at the feet of Jesus. And they were afraid.
And the ones seeing it told them how the one possessed by demons had been saved. And all the multitude of the region round about the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them for they were held fast to a great fear. And he entered into a boat (and) turned back.
But the man from whom the demons had gone out prayed of him to be with him, but Jesus released him, saying, "Return into your house and tell how much God has done for you." And he went through all the city proclaiming how much Jesus had done for him.
Background and situation: This is the Lukan version of Mark 5: 1-20, though Luke has re-worked the story in some important ways. He has placed it as one of three stories that demonstrate Jesus' power, first over the forces of nature (8:22-25), second over the demonic world (8:26-39), and third over death (8:40-56).
The region of the Gerasenes was a mostly gentile region. Its mention is remarkable because, in Luke, this is Jesus' only foray into gentile territory. The region is described as "over-against" (antipera) Galilee.
Power over demonic forces: When Jesus steps onto gentile territory, he is met immediately by a demon-possessed man (aner). This man is described at considerable length. He is first identified as a "man of the city." This kind of phrase is reminiscent of the "woman of the city" in Luke 7:36 - 8:3. Each of them has this much in common: they were both on the margins of society, the woman because of her "impurity," this demon-possessed man by his complete separation from others.
The man had neither clothes nor house--he is not only completely exposed, but lives with the dead. His people tried to shackle him, to bring him under control, but could not do so. The man was completely out-of-control, living in completely uncharted territory. Cut off in every way from positive human contact, he is utterly on the fringe, if not beyond it entirely.
The man sees Jesus, and seems forced into a posture of submission while at the same time howling in protest--"...he cried out (and) fell down before him (and with) a loud voice..." The demons are being brought to heel.
The man says loudly, "What to me and to you, Jesus, son of the Most High God?" The expression--ti emoi kai soi; literally, "what to you and me?"--means something like "leave me alone!". It turns out to have been a feeble protest. Jesus had already commanded the demons to leave the man.
The man had originally been introduced as a "man of the city," but is now called a "human being." ("For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out from the human being.") For Jesus, a person may be at the very extreme of marginalization, but they are still a human being.
Immediately after their howl of protest, the demons start to negotiate. "I beg you, do not torment me," say the demons. In response, Jesus asks for a name. In middle-eastern culture of that time, and earlier, knowing someone's name supposedly meant have a certain power over that person. That is not the case here. Jesus has already demonstrated that he has power over the demons and the situation.
Jesus' asking for a name elicits a curious response: "Legion." The word legeon is taken from the Latin legio where it referred to a Roman Legion. The Roman Legions of the time constituted about 5600 men. With this response, the demons indicate that a massive concentration of demonic power had seized the man. This point is expanded: "because many demons had entered into him." (Furthermore, if someone wanted to associate that demonic power with Roman political oppression, such an association would not be unreasonable.)
The demons are trying to avoid being sent into the "abyss." Abussos means "bottomless, immeasurable depth, the deep." It was a place for the "imprisonment and punishment of demons," says Tannehill (p. 146), who also notes that the word was used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word meaning "the flood or watery deep." The demons recognize that Jesus has power to send them there.
But there was there a herd of many swine feeding in the hill and they were begging him that he might allow them to enter into them, and he allowed them. And the demons came out from the human being (and) they went into the swine, and the herd ran down a steep place and into the lake and were suffocated.
The demons, still begging, think they might be better off in pigs than in the abyss. Fine, says Jesus, whereupon the pigs hurl themselves into a lake and "were suffocated." You might be able to pick your poison, but it's still poison. Ironically, the demons had driven the man to the "tombs," but now they are dead and the man is alive. The man is called (again) a "human being."
The ones taking care of the pigs were suddenly without a job. They went into the city--presumably, the now-healed man's "city"--and told what happened--"what had come to pass"; the phrase is used twice. It appears to indicate that they told the totality of the story, not only the exorcism itself, but also the sending of the demons into the swine, then into the lake.
The people of the city go out to see for themselves. They go to Jesus and find the man "from whom demons had gone out sitting, clothed and in right mind, at the feet of Jesus." Sitting at Jesus' feet is a posture of respect and reception. (Mary of Bethany will sit at Jesus' feet in 10:35.)
The man had first been identified as naked, living in the tombs, out of control, without a home. By the end of the story, each of these conditions has been overturned. He is now clothed and in his right mind--no longer out of control, but now being taught by Jesus. Soon he will be back in his home. The man's social and spiritual isolation is reversed. The man had been "saved" (8:36).
Fear breaks out. We have been given plenty of markers that this is gentile territory. It is "over-against" Galilee. There are pigs and tombs, both "unclean" in Judaism of the time, as well as "unclean spirits" themselves.
This first and only foray into gentile territory has resulted in both a demonstration of Jesus' remarkable power over the demonic and a markedly cool reception by the locals. They were "afraid." (This is mentioned twice--first "afraid" then "held fast to a great fear.") They ask Jesus to "depart," which he does.
But the man from whom the demons had gone out prayed of him to be with him, but Jesus released him, saying, "Return into your house and tell how much God has done for you." And he went through all the city proclaiming how much Jesus had done for him.
We are not told why Jesus did not let the man be "with him." Instead, Jesus tells the now-healed man, who was once homeless, to go his home. He is to "tell how much God has done for you," which he then does, "proclaiming how much Jesus had done for him."
The two phrases are nearly identical, with the exception that "Jesus" is substituted for "God" in its second rendering. For Luke, the actions of Jesus are a manifestation of God. Also, where Jesus had told the man to "tell" what God had done for him, the man goes out to "proclaim" what Jesus had done.
"Proclaim" is the stronger word, and had an important meaning in the early church. "Proclaim" is what you did with the "good news." Thus, though the man may not accompany Jesus, he is given an important gospel-proclaiming mission in his own context, that of his gentile city, his relationship to which has been healed and restored.
Image: Christ Exorcising the Gerasene demoniac, medieval book illustration
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