Demons and Pigs

Luke 8:26-39

²⁶Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” ²⁹For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) ³⁰Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. ³¹And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. ³²Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. ³⁴When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ³⁶And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. ³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 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.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Now Jesus enters into Gentile territory. Imagine the impressions of the disciples as they follow Him into what was always strictly avoided by the good Jewish community – the Gentiles. Jesus is met by a man who is possessed by demons – plural. His life is so desperate that he lives naked among the dead, hiding in unused tombs. His demonic strength is so great that he cannot be bound by ropes or chains. He is unclean and frankly, scary.

The demons immediately recognize Jesus, calling Him by name and designation as the Son of God. They also know that He has full authority to do with them whatever He chooses. In His great mercy, He demands they leave the man and then begins a negotiation of sorts as they ask not to be sent into hell – yet. Jesus is merciful even with these demons and sends them into the pigs instead of the Abyss (which will be their final destination anyway.)

Salvation and healing through the word of Jesus create faith in this demoniac; he is made a disciple. But what is extraordinary about this new disciple is that he was once possessed by unclean spirits, and that he was an unclean Gentile from outside Israel. No chain or human guard was as strong as Satan’s grasp. The demon forced him into “deserted places”, which were considered the haunts of evil spirits, and into the tombs, probably caves or clefts used as burial places. This man therefore is the epitome of Gentiles doomed to death, caught in the futility of their pagan worship, which really is the worship of demons. The man’s rescue by Jesus foreshadows the Gentile mission in Acts. God will raise up from stones children to Abraham—by faith. Jesus goes to the most unclean of the unclean and cleanses. God can overcome any obstacle to create a hearer and doer of the Word. Look at the change that takes place in the demoniac through his conversion! Formerly he was driven into the abodes of demons, but now he is found sitting at Jesus’ feet. No longer chained, he is in his right mind. “The demons’ prisoner had been freed from their oppression”.

Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (pp. 365–366). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.

Jesus final instruction to the man now freed from the demons is to “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” While I have not been possessed by demons, I still have much to declare about how much God has done for me. As we roll through Passion Week we cannot escape the fact that Jesus went to the cross to save me from myself and from external forces such as the demonic. Daily He walks before me, leading the way through a dark and troubled world. And His blood was shed upon that cross so that I might live forever. Yes, I have much to declare.