Luke

8:26-39

The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50

5. The words of Messiah, 8:1-56

iv] Dark powers stilled - a demoniac healed

Jesus has just confronted the powers of darkness in the stilling of the storm, and now he confronts them again. The region of the Gerasenes is Gentile territory and Jesus has probably gone there for a rest, but is confronted by a man being torn-apart by Satanic powers. The "Legion" quickly identifies the power of their adversary and look for an easy way out. Infecting a heard of swine for a time seems the best option, but the swine panic and the Legion end up confined in their ancestral home, the abyss. The local population gather, marvel at the man set free from possession, but are somewhat worried at the economic havoc that has ensued. They ask Jesus to move on.

The authoritative word of the messiah subdues the powers that are hostile to mankind.

i] Context: See 8:1-18. The Healing of the Gedarene Demoniac is the fourth episode of The dawning of the kingdom in the words of Messiah, 8:1-56, and furthers the theme of the authoritative word of the messiah. As Ellis puts it, "the new creation, like the old, comes into being by a word. Jesus speaks to the wind, the demons, the dead - and they obey!"

ii] Background: The region known as the Gerasenes. There is a geographical problem associated with the identification of Gerasa, given that it is too far away to be the village and environs identified in this story. Gerasa was 25Km from the lake (a Hellenistic city between lake Galilee and the Dead sea). Gadara, some 12Km from the lake, although found in most New Testament manuscripts, is probably a product of journalistic license. Both had considerable attached territory running up to the lake. Solutions abound, but none are convincing. Cranfield's suggestion that the locality is to be identified with a village carrying the modern name of Kersa / Koursi, is worthy of consideration. The problem may not be Luke's (Mark's?), but rests with the person who felt at liberty to correct the author's geography.

iii] Structure: The Healing of the Gedarene Demoniac:

iv] Interpretation:

v] Synoptics:

vi] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

The healing of the Gederene demoniac, v26-39: i] Setting, v26-27: Luke tells us that Jesus has entered Gentile territory, although there is confusion as to the exact location. The region referred to by Luke is probably associated with a village near the lake, possibly the village today called Kersa. Luke wants us to see Jesus' meeting with the demoniac as planned, rather than accidental. This is a continuation of Jesus' confrontation with dark powers, powerfully illustrated in the stilling of the storm. The demoniac is quite mad (those who live in the midst of a cemetery were regarded as deranged). He was once a village resident, now his neighbours are the dead.

katepleusan (kataplew) aor. "they sailed" - [and] they arrived = sailed [into the place = country]. The word serves to illustrate the transition from sea to shore. Mark's "came" doesn't do it for Luke, since this episode actually began with v22 where Jesus sets off from Galilee to confront the dark powers resident in the Gentile territory opposite. Jesus confronts these powers upon the lake and stills them, and now he arrives to confront them again. As they were defeated on the lake, so they will be defeated on the land, and confined once move to the deep.

twn Gerashnwn gen. "of the Gerasenes" - of the gerasenes. The genitive is adjectival, of identification; "the region known as the Gerasenes."

antipera + gen. "across the lake from" - [which is] opposite [galilee]. One of the 42 improper prepositions in the NT, here using the adverb antipera, "opposite", and followed by a genitive; here of "Galilee", possibly expressing separation, "opposite from Galilee."

exelqonti (exercomai) dat. part. sing. dat. "when Jesus stepped ashore" - [and a certain man from the city having demons met him] having gone out [upon the land]. The NIV, as with most translations, influenced by Mark's temporal genitive absolute, opts for an adverbial, temporal, classification. By the placement of autw/, Luke has shifted the focus from the action to Jesus. So, the subject is "a certain man ....", the main verb is uJphnthsen, "met", which is followed by the dative of direct object, "him" = Jesus, which is then modified by the attributive participle "having gone out"; "a certain man ...... met Jesus who had got out of the boat onto the land", Thompson.

ecwn (ecw) pres. part. "demon-possessed" - having [demons]. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "a certain man"; "a certain man who had demons" = "a man who was demon-possessed."

ek + gen. "from [the town]" - Expressing source / origin. Given the rest of the verse, the phrase means: "who formerly lived in the village nearby."

cronw/ ikanw/ dat. "for a long time" - [and] in = for a considerable time. The dative is adverbial, temporal.

en + dat. "in [a house]" - [did not wear clothing and did not abide] in [a house]. Local, expressing space / place. A feature of demoniacs is their abandoning of normal living to dwell naked in graveyards - the haunt of demons.

all (alla) "but" - but [in = among the tombs]. Adversative standing in a counterpoint construction; "not ....., but ...."

ii] The Legion have their say, v28-30: At this point the demons do the talking. Falling before Jesus indicates submission, but not reverence. The demons see no good coming out of their contact with Jesus ("what do you want with me?" = "what good can come to me from contact with you?"). They know well who Jesus is and ask him to restrain from judging them just yet, given that the final judgment is yet to come. The description of the demoniac's condition illustrates the power of this particular possession - no chain could bind him. The use of the military term "legion" (5,000 to 6,000 men), illustrates the power of the demons, but then again, it could be a bluff - "watch out, we are many!" Note the movement between the singular and plural - the singular demon-possessed man and the many demons.

idwn (oJraw) aor. part. "when he saw [Jesus]" - [but/and] having seen [jesus]. The participle is adverbial, temporal, as NIV.

anakraxaV (anakrazw) aor. part. "he cried out" - [and] having cried out. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "he fell down before". A strong word, so more like "he began to scream out and fell down before him."

prosepesen (prospiptw) aor. "fell at [his] feet" - he fell down before. Note how Mark uses the word for "worship", but Luke doesn't want to convey the idea that these dark powers reverence Jesus. Fitzmyer suggests "lunged at", but this would imply that the dark powers are, at least partly, in control of the situation. So, probably "fell at his feet in submission to him."

autw/ dat. pro. "his" - him. Dative of direct object after the proV prefix verb "to fall down before."

fwnh/ megalh/ dat. "[shouting] at the top of his voice" - [and] in / with a loud voice [he said]. The dative is adverbial, modal, expressing manner in which he cried out.

ti emoi kai soi "what do you want with me" - what to me and to you. Both pronouns, "me" and "you", serve as datives of reference / respect; "what with respect to us and with respect to you." A rather enigmatic statement, but probably expressing dread; "what do we have in common", Culy. "What good can come to me from contact with you?", Nolland. cf. 4:34.

tou uJyistou gen. adj. "of the most high" - [jesus son of god] of most high. The superlative adjective serves as a substantive, the genitive being adjectival, relational. Meaning much the same as "Son of God", and so most likely messianic. The dark powers are well aware of Jesus' messianic status, but a filial sense is possible. The title can be linked to the following sentence, or, as in the NIV, with "what do you want with me, ....."

sou gen. pro. "you" - [i beg] you. Genitive of direct object after the verb "to beg." Not as strong as Mark's "adjure", as if the dark powers have any power in Christ's presence.

mh ... basanish/V (basanizw) aor. subj. "don't torture" - do not torture [me]. Subjunctive of prohibition. The word is used of torture (lit. twisting) imposed by a court to extract a confession, inflict punishment... So, the dark powers may be calling on Jesus not to punish them before the judgment day, but they may also just be saying "don't inflict pain."

gar "for" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why the demoniac was reacting the way he did.

parhggeilen (paraggellw) aor. "Jesus had commanded" - he commanded, gave orders to. Read as a pluperfect. Jesus had already told the demons to leave the man and they are trying to talk him out of it. Some ancient texts have an imperfect, which would then imply that the spirits were addressing Jesus while he was commanding them to come out, or that iterative action is being expressed ("repeatedly commanded" - "indicating the difficulty of the case", Evans, this is unlikely), or as Fitzmyer argues, gives a tendential / ingressive sense "he was about to command ..." The splitting of hairs here is due to a concern that Jesus' command should produce immediate action rather than a debate.

tw/ akaqartw/ dat. adj. "impure" - [the] unclean [spirit]. The para prefix verb "to command" takes a dative of direct object, but here the direct object is the infinitival clause "to come out from the man", so tw/ akaqartw/ is a dative of indirect object.

exelqein (exercomai) inf. "to come out" - to come out. The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Jesus has commanded. As such it reports on the words Jesus uses, rather than quoting the actual words (as in Mark).

apo + gen. "of" - from [the man]. Expressing separation; "away from."

gar "for" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why Jesus is casting out the evil spirit. "The reason why Jesus commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man is because ....."

polloiV .. cronoiV dat. "many times" - on many occasions. The dative is adverbial, temporal. The man had bouts of demon possession, or bouts when the possession was evident.

sunhrpakei (sunarpazw) pluperf. "it had seized" - it had seized [him]. This time the verb is pluperfect to make the timing of the man's possessed condition prior to Jesus' arrival.

edesmeueto (desmeuw) imperf. "though he was chained [hand and foot]" - [and] having been bound [with chains and fetters]. Plummer suggests the imperfect is used to express what usually took place; "Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man because on many occasions it had seized him. (His usual state was bound hand and foot in order to restrain him kai but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert)." "On many an occasion it had seized the man with great violence, people then binding him with chains and fetters so as to make him safe", Cassirer.

fulassomenoV (fulassw) pres. pas. part. "and kept him under guard" - being kept, guarded. The participle is best treated as adverbial, probably final, expressing purpose; "in order to restrain him", so NJB.

kai "-" - and. Here contrastive; "but".

diarrhsswn (diarrhssw) part. "he had broken" - breaking apart [the bonds]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "he was being driven". The agent of both actions is the demon; "the demon broke his bonds and drove him into the wilderness." Illustrating the power of the possession and therefore, the greater power and authority of Jesus in dealing with it.

uJpo + gen. "by [the demon]" - [he was being driven] by [the demon into the wilderness]. Expressing agency.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional; back we go to the story.

soi dat. pro. "your" - [jesus questioned him. what is a name] to / for you? Dative of indirect object / interest advantage / possessive, see Wallace 149. This is the only record of Jesus having a conversation with demonic powers. Some commentators suggest that Jesus asks for the name of the evil powers so he can gain mastery over them, but only the demons believe in this tactic; Jesus is already the master. Still, why does Jesus ask for the name?

de "-" - but/and. Transitional; here indicating a change in subject.

legiwn (ov) "Legion" - [he said] legion. The evil powers have explained who they are, but they have not given their names. A Roman legion consisted of some 5,000 soldiers, but the term may refer to the brutality of the army; "we are brutally powerful." So, the demon doing the dummy trick doesn't give his name (was this so Jesus couldn't gain control over him?), but at the same time, issues a veiled threat "we are many."

oJti "because" - because. More reason than cause, introducing an explanation for the name "Legion".

daimonia polla "many demons" - many demons [entered into him]. Nominative subject of the verb "to enter into." There were many of them, just as Mary had many, seven to be precise.

iii] The Abyss is their end, v31-33: In Jewish cosmology, the "abyss" is the watery deep under the earth (a place of chaos, as opposed to the created order of the earth) in which the powers of darkness are confined until the day of judgment. The demons don't want to go back there, yet they can't help driving the pigs to that very place. To the Semitic mind, this would be very humorous - they got what they deserved. In giving them "permission" to enter the pigs, Luke reminds us that Jesus' mission is not to destroy the demonic powers at this time, but rather to deliver God's people from their control.

parekaloun (parakalew) pl. imperf. "they begged him repeatedly" - [and] they besought him, were begging [him]. The NIV "repeatedly" may be intended by the imperfect (ie, iterative), or the imperfect may just imply that their pleading fell of deaf ears; they didn't get what they wanted. Of course, the imperfect is often used for speech, since speech is by nature durative. Note that Luke finally moves the verbs into the plural "they" when referring to the demons.

iJna + subj. "-" - that. Introducing a dependent statement of indirect speech, entreating, expressing what they begged Jesus for, namely, that he not command them to return to the Abyss. This construction is usually formed by an infinitive.

autoiV dat. pro. "them" - [he might not command] them. Dative of direct object after the epi/ prefix verb, "to order, command."

apelqein (apercomai) aor. inf. "to go" - to go away, depart [into]. The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing the content of the command that the demons do not want to hear.

thn abusson (oV) "the Abyss" - the abyss. The sense is a very deep hole, bottomless pit, underworld, hell, the dwelling place of Satan and his minions. Luke obviously sees the abyss as a place of confinement for dark powers, and as noted by some commentators, probably understands the depths of the sea as this place. It is the dwelling place of the great leviathan, the personification of evil. Mark has the spirits asking that they be cast "out of the district."

iJkanwn adj. "large [herd]" - [but/and there was a herd of pigs] sufficient = many. "Quite a lot". "Many", rather than "large", or Mark's "great". The genitive "of many pigs" is adjectival, idiomatic / content; "a heard consisting of many pigs."

boskomenh (boskw) pres. pas. part. "feeding" - feeding. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "pigs", and with "on the hillside", forms a relative clause; "there was a large heard of pigs which was grazing on the hillside, and ...."

en + dat. "on" - on [the mountain, hill]. Local, expressing space / place. Although the definite article tw/ doesn't necessarily refer to a particular hill, a nearby hill / slope, from which the pigs fall into the lake, is obviously intended. Better than Marks "by the mountain."

parekalesan (parakalew) pl. aor. "the demons begged" - [and] they begged, besought [him]. The aorist may seek to imply that they sensed that their request would be granted / permitted / allowed. There is much debate over why Jesus would agree to a request from demonic forces. The answer probably lies in the humour of the story. It is quite comical that dark powers, normally confined to the ocean deep, should think that they had tricked Jesus into leaving them to their mischief (in "the country", Mk), but then they find themselves back in the deep.

iJna + subj. "to" - that [he might allow, permit]. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what they begged for.

autoiV dat. pro. "them" - them. Dative of direct object after the epi prefix verb "to allow, permit."

eiselqein (eisercomai) aor. inf. "go" - to enter [into those]. The infinitive may be classified as complementary after a cognitive verb, completing the sense of the verb "allow", but it can also be taken to introduce a dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what the demons want Jesus to allow, namely, to go into the pigs.

autoiV dat. pro. " them" - [and he permitted] them. Dative of direct object after the epi prefix verb "to allow, permit."

exelqonta (exercomai) part. "when [the demons] came out" - [but/and the demons] having come out. The participle may be treated as adverbial, introducing a temporal clause, "after coming out" or "when ...", as NIV; "Then the demons came out", ESV. Technically it is attendant on the verb "he gave permission", so "He gave them leave and the demons came out", Moffatt.

apo "of [the man]" - from [the man]. Expressing separation; "away from."

eiV + acc. "into" - [they entered into] into [the pigs]. Idiomatic repetition of the eiV prefix of the verb eishlqon, "to enter into", reinforcing the direction of the action and arrival at.

krhmonou (oV) gen. "the steep bank" - [and the herd rushed down] the precipice, bank, cliff, slope [into the lake]. Genitive after the spatial preposition kata, "down".

apepnigh (apopnigw) aor. pas. "was drowned" - and they were drowned, choked. Mark uses the imperfect, "proceeded to choke / drown." The demons didn't want to end up in the abyss, but they drove the pigs mad and so ended up there.

iv] The reaction of the herdsmen, v34-35: The herdsmen are obviously less than impressed. They gather a crowd of locals and on returning to the scene, they witness the peaceful hand of God's power and are afraid.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.

oiJ boskonteV (boskw) part. "those tending the pigs" - the ones feeding. The participle serves as a substantive, nominative subject of the verb "to flee."

idonteV (eidon oJraw) part. "when ... saw" - having seen. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal, "when they saw what had happened ...."

to gegonoV (ginomai) acc. perf. part. "what had happened" - the thing having become, happened. The participle serves as a substantive, accusative direct object of the verb "to see."

aphggeilan (apanggellw) aor. "reported this" - [they fled and] told, reported. The verb is without an object, so the object may be rendered as "this / it / what they had seen / ....." What they saw obviously scared them.

eiV + acc. "in" - into [the city, town, village and] into [the farms]. Spatial, expressing the direction of the action and arrival at. "To the residents of the nearby village and the surrounding farming community."

exhlqon (ercomai) pl. aor. "the people went out" - [but/and] they went out. The villagers and farming community, rather than the herdsmen.

idein (oJraw) aor. inf. "to see" - to see. The infinitive here introduces a final clause expressing purpose; "in order to see what had happened."

to gegonoV (ginomai) perf. part. "what hand happened" - the thing having happened. The participle serves as a substantive, accusative direct object of the infinitive "to see."

hlqon (ercomai) aor. "when they came" - [and] they came [toward jesus]. The NIV temporal translation is implied by the context, but not by the grammar; "when they reached Jesus", Moffatt.

kaqhmenon (kaqhmi) pres. part. "sitting" - [and they found the man from whom the demons departed] sitting [having been dressed and being of right mind]. This participle, along with the participles "having been dressed" and "being of sound mind", serves as the accusative complement of the object "man" standing in a double accusative construction; "They discovered the man ........ seated [at the feet of Jesus], clothed and sane", Moffatt.

tou Ihsou (oV) gen. "of Jesus" - [beside the feet] of jesus. The genitive is adjectival, possessive. The image here is of the man now functioning as a disciple.

efobhqhsan (fobew) aor. pas. "they were afraid" - [and] they were afraid. This is an initial first step toward either belief or unbelief. The scene is one of powerful calm; the pigs gone, the man sane, and so the townsfolk are afraid.

v] The whole Gentile region gets caught up in the consequences of the exorcism. Filled with fear, they ask Jesus to leave and take with him this manifestation of divine presence and power. "The Gentiles, like the Jews, are rejectors of Jesus' message", Ellis.

oi idonteV (eidon oJraw) part. "those who had seen it" - [but/and] the ones having seen. The participle serves as a substantive, nominative subject of the verb "to tell, announce, report": "the eyewitnesses (swine herders)".

autoiV dat. pro. "the people" - [reported] to them. Dative of indirect object. The pronoun is best rendered as the noun "people / spectators / villagers ..."

pwV "how" - how. Here introducing an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what the eyewitnesses told them.

oJ daimonisqeiV (daimonizomai) aor. pas. part. "the demon-possessed man" - the one having been demon-possessed. The participle serves as a substantive, nominative subject of the verb "to be healed."

eswqh (swzw) aor. pas. "had been cured" - was healed / saved. For Luke, a healing like this serves as a visible expression of salvation.

aJpan to plhqoV "all the people" - [and] all the multitude, the whole crowd. Is Luke making the point that the conversion of the Gentiles is still in the future? Mark is nowhere near as definite. Anyway, given such a demonstration of divine power (not just economic disruption as suggested by some), fear drives the people to ask Jesus to leave.

thV pericwrou gen. adj. "of the region" - of the surrounding region, country. The adjective serves as a substantive; ablative expressing source / origin; "the whole crowd of people from the district", Phillips.

twn Gerashnwn gen. adj. "of the Gerasenes" - of the gerasenes. The adjective serves as a substantive, the genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / identification; "called / known as the Gerasenes." As Thompson notes, the sense could be either "of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes", ESV, or "of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district", NASB.

hrwthsen (erwtaw) aor. "asked" - asked [him]. A much softer Greek word than the previous "begged / besought" used by the demons. Used of ask a question.

apelqein (apercomai) aor. inf. "to leave [them]" - to depart [from them]. The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement, indirect speech, entreating, expressing what they asked; "they asked that he depart from them."

oJti "because [they were overcome]" - because [they were being seized, constrained]. Here introducing a causal clause explaining why they asked Jesus to leave. Note the use of an imperfect verb after a recitative oJti and the question as to whether it is declarative or durative - probably durative, as NIV.

foqw/ (oV) dat. "with fear" - in = with / by [great] fear. The dative is instrumental, expressing means.

de "so" - but/and. Transitional, but here with an inferential sense; as NIV.

uJpestrefen (uJpostrefw) aor. "and left" - returned to galilee.

vi] The reaction of the demon possessed man, v38-39: As a Gentile, the healed demoniac has no place in the Jewish mission of Jesus, but he may proclaim the mighty acts of God to his own people. Here, we see an echo of the coming Gentile mission.

edeito (deomai) imperf. "begged" - [but/and the man from whom the demons had gone out] begged, pleaded, prayed. The imperfect, being durative, may indicate an ongoing asking on the part of the man, "he was begging, pleading", possibly iterative (repeated action), or conative (attempted action), so Thompson, although it is not unusual for an imperfect to be used of speech, given that it is durative by nature. Luke is treating v38 and 39 as a new episode with its own message which is why the "pleading" is following the "leaving".

autou gen. pro. "-" - of him. Genitive of direct object after the verb "to ask of", although Thompson classifies it as verbal, objective.

einai "to go [with him]" - to be [with him]. The infinitive of the verb "to be" may be understood as introducing a final clause expressing purpose, but is more likely serving to form a dependent statement of indirect speech, entreating, expressing what the man asked Jesus; "begged that he might be with him", NRSV.

de "but" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step to a contrasting point.

apelusen (apoluw) aor. "sent [him] away" - he dismissed / released [him]. Jesus has not refused him, but has given him another direction to follow. His following Jesus will not so much entail being with Jesus, but rather being with his own people.

legwn (legw) pres. part. "saying" - saying. This participle commonly serves to introduce direct speech and is usually attendant on a related verb, redundant with a verb of speech, see legwn 4:35; "But Jesus sent him away, 'Go back to your home,' he said", Rieu. Both Culy and Thompson treat it as adverbial, instrumental, expressing means; "sent him away by saying ..."

uJpostrefe (uJpostrefw) pres. imp. "return [home]" - return [to the house of you]. "Return to your local community."

soi dat. "for you" - [and tell = communicate, explain what god did] to you. Dative of interest, advantage; "for you." Witness to the sign of his healing.

kai "so" - and [he went away]. This coordinate conjunction takes an inferential sense here, as NIV; "so he went away, and all over the town he proclaimed all that Jesus had done for him", Barclay.

khrusswn (khrussw) pres. part. "and told" - preaching, proclaiming. The participle is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of the man's going. This episode prefigures the coming Gentile mission recorded in Acts. Interestingly, Mark notes the response of the people, namely "amazement". For Mark, amazement is the first response toward Jesus, from which comes either belief or disbelief. Luke has already mentioned the people's "fear" and this seems to be enough for him.

kaq (kata) + acc. "all over [town]" - throughout [the whole city]. Spatial, expressing extension; "throughout the whole city."

autw/ dat. pro. "for him" - [what jesus did] to him. Dative of interest, advantage, as NIV.

Luke Introduction

Exposition

Exegetical Commentaries

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