23  The Maniac Who Became a Missionary  (Luke 8:26–39)

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss. Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. And 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. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in thecity and out in the country. The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. (8:26–39)

A saying attributed to G. K.Chesterton, whose apologetic writings were instrumental in C. S. Lewis’s conversion to Christianity, is that when people cease to believe in God they do not believe in nothing; they believe in anything. Having rejected the only true God, people today are fascinated with transcendent, alternative realities, science fiction, the legends of pagan mythology, or fictional beings with superhuman powers.

On a more sinister note, many are obsessed with the occult. Witchcraft, séances, Ouija boards, astrology, spiritism, fortune telling, palm reading, seers who allegedly predict the future, and even open worship of the devil are increasingly popular. The rise of interest in alternative realities, the paranormal, and the occult coincided with the declining influence of biblical Christianity in Western culture, as Os Guinness notes:

People are inevitably drawn to the power and mystery that is just beyond their comprehension. But the fallen human race, compelled bydemons, will never arrive at an accurate understanding of the supernatural realm. People on their own cannot get outside the space-time continuum and can only fantasize about it, while demons will only add their hellish deceptions to those fantasies. The Bible is the only source of accurate knowledge about the supernatural realm, and it is foolish and futile to seek such knowledge elsewhere:

The Bible features insights into the character, purposes, and plan of God. It reveals His supernatural power to create and His purpose eventually to destroy the universe. But the primary supernatural event in Scripture is not God’s creation or destruction of everything, as stupendous as that is. The central supernatural event in the Bible is the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, the one who perfectly reveals God to man (John 1:18; 14:9; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3).

Christ’s coming to earth to “save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21) and to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8; cf. Gen. 3:15; John 12:31; 16:11; Rom. 16:20; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14) touched off a frenzied outburst of demonic activity unlike anything that had come before. It should be noted, however, that the demons were not attacking Jesus; He was attacking them. There is only one recorded instance of demonic activity in the Old Testament (along with a few allusions to demons; e.g., Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37), Genesis 6:1–4, where demon-possessed men cohabitated with women (cf. 2 Peter 2:4–5; Jude 6). Outside of the gospels and Acts, there are no references to demon possession in the New Testament. Only during the future time of the great tribulation will global, open demonic activity exceed that of the time of Christ’s earthly ministry.

The rarity of overt demonic manifestation does not mean that the forces of hell are not always active. Those “deceitful spirits” (1 Tim. 4:1) prefer to remain anonymous, working behind the scenes disguised as angels of light (2 Cor. 11:14–15). But so great was their terror in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ that they could not help revealing themselves. Earlier in Luke’s account Jesus entered a synagogue in Capernaum and a demon-possessed man was there. Unable to control his fear, the demon blurted out, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” (Luke 4:34). Paul stated that the Lord Jesus is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion [angels]” (Eph. 1:21).

As God incarnate, Jesus Christ displayed the power to vanquish Satan that only God possesses. To the Jewish religious authorities, who blasphemously tried to explain away that power by claiming He was in league with the devil, Jesus replied,

As the Messiah and Son of God, Jesus defeated Satan and delivered His people from their bondage to him (Eph. 2:1–3; Col. 1:13; 1 John 5:19).The Lord demonstrated His power over the devil throughout His earthly ministry The incident in this passage, presented by all three Synoptic Gospel writers, is the most dramatic and extreme encounter between Jesus and the forces of hell recorded in the Gospels. It tells the miraculous story of Christ’s deliverance of a demon-plagued maniac, who became a most unlikely missionary As the account unfolds, three forces are revealed: the destructive power of demons, the delivering power of Jesus, and the damning power of sin.

THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF DEMONS

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” … For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. (8:26–28, 29b)

This amazing demonstration of Jesus’ divine power immediately follows another astonishing miracle. As the Lord and the disciples sailed across the northern section of the Sea of Galilee, a massive storm hadarisen. Fearing for their lives, the disciples had awakened Jesus, who had instantly calmed the wind and the waves (see the exposition of 8:22–25 in the previous chapter of this volume). The powerful storm had undoubtedly blown them off course, and as a result it was probably daybreak by the time they made it to shore. Luke (along with Mark [5:1]) calls their destination the country of the Gerasenes, which was opposite Galilee on the eastern shore, while Matthew refers to it as “the country of the Gadarenes” (Matt.8:28). Mark and Luke evidently referred to a small village (Gerasa; modern Kersa) near the shore of the Sea of Galilee, while Matthew referred to the larger town, Gadara, which gave its name to the region (and may have been its capital).

After Jesus and the disciples came out of the boats onto the land, they were met by the shocking sight of a man from the city who was possessed with demons. Matthew noted that there were two demon-possessed men (Matt. 8:28), while Luke and Mark focused on the one whom Jesus delivered. What happened to the other man is not recorded (although the use of the plural “demoniacs” in Matt. 8:33 suggests that he too was delivered). The demon-possessed man in Luke’s account was literally a maniac, exhibiting extreme symptoms of wild, uncontrollable behavior.

As I wrote in the first volume of this commentary on Luke, Scripture uses four terms or phrases to describe demon possession:

As those terms make clear and the present passage demonstrates, demon possession involves demons indwelling their victims and taking control of their minds, bodies, and voices. How the man in this story became demon possessed is not known, but all unbelievers are part of Satan’s kingdom of darkness and hence vulnerable. Since this man was a Gentile, perhaps his idolatrous religion provided the entry point for the demons to enter him.

Having seized control of him, the demons compelled the man to behave in a bizarre manner. First, he had not put on any clothing for a long time. Shame has been associated with nakedness ever since the fall (Gen. 3:7; cf. Rev. 3:18; 16:15). Nakedness is also used in the Old Testament as a metaphor for sexual sin (Lev. 18:6–19; 20:11, 17–21). But not only was nakedness aberrant behavior, it was also physical torment for the man, who was exposed to all the extremes of weather and other dangers. Adding to the macabre nature of his existence, he was not living in a house, but in the tombs. He was so completely under the demons’ dominion that he was more at home among the dead than the living. Furthermore he was a danger to himself. Mark 5:5 reveals that he was constantly gashing his body with sharp stones.

That violence was also directed toward others (Matt. 8:28) on an ongoing basis, as Luke’s note that the demons had seized him many times indicates. He was such a threat that the people who lived nearby had done what they could to restrain him and his companion; he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard. And yet despite their best efforts, time and again his maniacal, demonic strength would cause him to break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. The end result was that “no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain … and no one was strong enough to subduehim” (Mark 5:3–4).The man and his partner remained a constant danger to that region.

On this particular morning, the two men spotted some potential victims coming ashore. In typical fashion, they raced down the hill toward them, shrieking and howling like banshees. But while the two men did not recognize the Lord, the demons indwelling them did. Seeing Jesus, the demon spokesman cried out using the man’s voice in sheer panic and the man, expressing the demons’ fear, abruptly fell before Him in a posture of submission. The last person the demons wanted to confront them was the Lord, who is sovereign over them and has already determined their eternal destiny.

Aware that he was in the presence of his divine judge, the demon said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (cf. 4:34). It may seem strange for demons to give testimony affirming Jesus’ true identity. But they unlike their human victims, are all too aware of who He really is—God the Son, Lord of heaven and earth in human form. Even Satan, the leader of the demons, was forced to acknowledge that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity (Luke 4:3).

Specifically, this demon expressed his fear that Jesus was going to judge him before the appointed time (cf. Matt. 8:29). The demons understand biblical eschatology, and know that their final judgment does not take place at Christ’s first coming. Therefore he pleaded with Him, I beg You, do not torment me before the designated time. The demons know their ultimate fate—eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10). They are aware that both their freedom and their power are restricted. In the presence of his executioner, the demon could only plead that the appointed time of his and his fellow demons’ punishment had not yet arrived.

THE DELIVERING POWER OF JESUS

For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man…. And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss. Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. And 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. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in thecity and out in the country. The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. (8:29a, 30–35)

In a typically understated report of the astounding miracle of Jesus over the forces of hell, Luke reports that the Lord commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Jesus addressed His command to the unclean spirit who was acting as the spokesman for all of the demons. That Jesus had the power to order the demons to leave this man is a mark of His deity, since only God is more powerful than angels. Angels are superior to humans in intelligence, power (2 Peter 2:11), influence (Dan. 10:13, 20), experience, since they are ageless and have lived throughout all of human history, and in nature, since they are spirits who live outside the realm of the physical.

Addressing the man, even though He knew the demon would answer, Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” No name for the man is given, and instead the spokesman for the demons, who had control over the man’s voice, said, “Legion.” That was an appropriate designation, for many demons had entered him. Legion is not a proper name, but a term referring to a unit of Roman soldiers, which could have as many as six thousand men. This poor, benighted, tormented soul was indwelt by literally thousands of demons; since there were two thousand pigs in the herd, there could have been that many demons indwelling the man and his companion.

The panicked demons were imploring Jesus not to command them to go away into the abyss. The abussos (abyss), or bottomless pit (Rev. 9:1–2) is a place where some demons are currently imprisoned. Some of these imprisoned spirits will be released for a brief time during the tribulation (Rev. 9:1–11); others, apparently those who indwelt men who then cohabitated with women before the flood (Gen. 6:1–4; cf. Jude 6), are permanently bound (2 Peter 2:4). They will remain in the abyss until they are cast into the lake of fire. These demons were terrified, knowing that Jesus had the authority to imprison them in the abyss to await their final sentencing to eternal hell. In desperation, they proposed an alternative destination: a herd of many swine that was feeding there on the mountain. Their bizarre request reflects the demons’ desire to continue to operate their corrupting plan in the physical world (cf.Matt. 12:43–45)—even, if need be, in animals.

After the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine, Jesus gave them permission. Here is further confirmation of Jesus’ divine power over the demons; they could do nothing that He didnot allow them to do. In an amazing scene the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd, acting with the same maniacal, self-destructive frenzy that had characterized the demon-possessed man, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

This shocking development offered vivid, unmistakable proof that the demons had left the man. It also demonstrated Jesus’ absolute authority over them, since they had no choice but to do so. Their destruction of the pigs also displayed the demons’ evil propensity to kill and destroy.

After they recovered from their shock, the herdsmen who saw what had happened ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. In response to their excited report, the people went out to see what had happened. Matthew notes that the entire city turned out (Matt. 8:34) to investigate. Having heard the eyewitness account of the herdsmen, they came looking for Jesus.

Some have argued that the people were upset at the loss of the pigs, and came to Jesus to hold Him accountable for their deaths and the economic loss. But the owners of the pigs are never mentioned in the gospel accounts, nor are the pigs the issue. The focus is on the sensational transformation of the formerly demon-possessed man and above all on Jesus, who transformed him. When the crowd arrived, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. His radical change was complete, undeniable, and inexplicable from a human perspective. The man was clothed, not naked; seated at the feet of Jesus, not wandering aimlessly; away from the tombs, the realm of the dead, and in the presence of the Lord of life; quiet, not shrieking; calm and peaceful, not out of control and deadly; comforted, not tormented; in short, manifesting God-given sanity, not demon-inspired insanity This is a magnificent picture of salvation transformation. No doubt Jesus had explained the gospel to him, telling him that He had come to save lost sinners (Luke 19:10), and the man had repented and been forgiven.

One would have expected the people to rejoice with the man over his deliverance, or at least to be relieved that he no longer posed any threat, but instead they became frightened. Frightened translates a form of the Greek word phobeō, which refers to extreme fear or terror (the related noun phobos is the root of the English word “phobia”). They realized that they were sinners in the presence of holy God (cf. Luke 8:25).

THE DAMNING POWER OF SIN

Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. And all the people of thecountry of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. (8:36–39)

In stark contrast to the delivered maniac, the response of the sane people tragically illustrates sin’s power over the lost. It blinds them to the truth and causes them to hate it and reject all evidence of it. They obstinately cling to their false illusion of well-being because love of iniquity dominates them. Jesus had performed an undeniable miracle that clearly manifested His absolute power over the supernatural realm and to deliver people from the forces of hell.

The herdsmen, as noted above, who had seen Jesus cast the demons out of him and into the pigs, reported to the people how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well (or delivered). They heard the complete story in all its details. Some argue that sinners will be convinced if they see a powerful enough miracle, but here is proof that that is not necessarily the case. Before them was undeniable evidence of the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is hard to envision more dramatic, compelling proof than His casting thousands of demons out of the two maniacs. But so powerful was sin’s hold on them that instead of believing in Jesus, all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them. Their hearts were like the hard-packed roadside soil in the parable of the sowers (cf. chap. 20 of this volume), which the seed of the gospel cannot penetrate.

Luke reiterates that the reason the people wanted Jesus to leave was that they were gripped with great fear. Knowing that they were in the presence of God, loving their sin (John 3:19) and blinded by Satan (2 Cor. 4:4), they wanted only to be rid of the one whose presence intimidated and terrified them. There was not a word of thanks for delivering them from the danger the man had posed; astonishingly, they saw Jesus as an even greater threat to their sinful lifestyle. Thus they preferred a maniac to the Son of God; to be terrified by Satan rather than offer reverence to God; to endure the presence of demonic danger rather than the presence of divine deliverance; the unholy to the holy; a tomb dweller to the Lord of life. David Gooding writes,

In a tragic reflection of their missed opportunity, Jesus got into a boat and returned to Capernaum. There is no record that He ever returned to their region.

But the story, mercifully, does not end there. The man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Jesus that he might accompany Him. His willingness to forsake all and follow Christ shows that he had been delivered from his sin as well as from the demons. Jesus was his Lord, Savior, and deliverer, and he naturally wanted to go with Him and learn from Him. But Jesus had a different plan and sent him away, saying, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” Since he knew enough to be saved, he knew enough to be a missionary The priority for him was not further training, since he was the lone witness to the gospel in that region. Here is an example of God’s grace in the face of man’s rejection. Though they had rejected Him, Jesus had not totally rejected them. In obedience to the Lord’s command, the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Jesus had commanded him to tell others what God had done, and he told them what Jesus had done, since Jesus is God. As a result of his testimony to Jesus’ power, everyone who heard him was amazed (Mark 5:20).

This remarkable story teaches several important truths. First and foremost, it reveals Christ’s absolute authority over the demonic realm. It is also illustrates the truth that the good news of the gospel is for Gentiles, as well as Jews (cf. Matt. 12:18, 21). The passage also demonstrates that God graciously reaches out to those who reject Him. Finally, the story of the maniac who became a missionary illustrates that it is the responsibility of all Christians to tell others of how Jesus delivered them from the power of sin (Matt.28:19–20).