Original Meaning

JESUS HAS ALREADY performed exorcisms in this Gospel (4:31–36, 40–41; 6:18; 8:2), so why does Luke narrate yet another exorcism here? This one has unique characteristics that make it worthy of mention. (1) It is the first exorcism that occurs in Gentile territory, since Gerasa is located east of the Jordan.1 It shows how Jesus’ ministry is expanding in scope. (2) This exorcism involves multiple possession, so it is a more intense encounter than previous ones. (3) This account deals more fully with an array of responses to Jesus’ miracles, from the request of the locals for Jesus to depart to the transformation of the demon-possessed man into a witness for the Lord. (4) This miracle continues the sequence of four miracles in 8:22–56, where each one represents a different sphere of activity (nature to demons to disease to death). (5) Finally, this miracle is the only one where earthly creatures other than humans are involved. The pigs serve an important function, since their destruction pictures the kind of devastation inherent in demonic activity. Though demons themselves are unseen, the effect of their presence in the pigs illustrates just how dangerous they can be.

The account proceeds in a standard order for a miracle: setting, plea, exorcism, effect, reaction, and close.2 The detailed description of the demoniac shows the destructive power of the demons, for the man has totally withdrawn from society, living unclothed in tombs. We are told how he has been seized many times and bound with ropes, chains, or both. But he shattered them and could not be restrained.

The man falls before Jesus as the demons confess him to be the “Son of the Most High God,” and he asks Jesus not to torment him. The demon’s name is Legion, indicating that a whole battle division of demons inhabit the man. In the Roman world, legion referred to a company of thousands of soldiers.3 In other words, Jesus is engaging in a major battle here. He is outnumbered, but not overmatched.

The demons ask to be sent into a herd of pigs rather than into the abyss.4 This request has produced much speculation, none of which is answered by the text. What the incident involving the pigs does indicate is the real impact of demonic presence and influence, namely, the destruction of life. At Jesus’ command, the demons depart to enter the pigs. Their possession of them throws the herd into a panic that causes them to run over the edge of a steep bank and into the water, where they drown. The demons’ effort to continue their presence in the area apparently fails.

Word spreads fast as those tending the pigs flee into the city and country to report what has happened. Most amazing of all, when many people go out to the area, they see the new character that now inhabits the formerly possessed man. He is seated calmly at the feet of Jesus, restored, clothed, and of sound mind. Jesus has rescued him from life among the tombs and brought him into the real world again. The scene is a picture of new life.

The local people do not care for Jesus’ work, however. Luke does not tell us exactly why they ask him to leave other than their fear, but Mark 5:16 makes it clear that Jesus has had a negative economic impact on the region. They do not want to lose more livestock. Their fear has turned into rejection and a desire to have nothing more to do with the presence of divine authority.

The healed man wants to join Jesus’ traveling group of disciples, but Jesus has another calling in mind. Someone must be left behind to share what God has done in the area. That is the man’s task. He does that and more, preaching and proclaiming what Jesus has done for him. Those whose lives are most radically transformed often end up being the strongest witnesses for Jesus.

Bridging Contexts

THIS MIRACLE MAKES a wonderful collage of responses to Jesus, whether one considers the demons, the locals, or the man who benefits from Jesus’ work. The demons recognize Jesus’ power, but that does not stop them from trying to raise havoc with those around them. Even an army that knows it is losing a war can try to inflict as much damage as possible before going down. The locals see the power of Jesus and want little to do with it. They are too afraid of God’s power and presence. The healed man indicates how helpless one can be without Jesus, especially when one is shackled and stripped of sanity by forces more powerful than one’s own. But his turnaround indicates the startling contrast that emerges when one is freed from such enslavement. This miracle is not only about exorcism; it is especially about the liberation of a soul.

As we have noted in other sections, miracles are audiovisuals of spiritual activity. The swine incident indicates vividly, even tragically, how deadly the forces of evil are. The presence of evil and the demonic should not be taken lightly. Jesus probably performs this incident to demonstrate in a painful manner how the presence of evil results in death. This reminds us how presence of sin in the human race required his own death as payment.

Though we rarely deal with overt cases of demon-possession, that fact should not stop us from realizing the impact the demonic has on us daily. It is not entirely clear why demon-possession is so rare in the Western world. Those who work in other cultures where the demonic is more openly accepted speak openly about its presence and see more cases of demon-possession than we do. Do we underestimate its presence? Or does Satan have less need to manifest himself openly in a culture that denies his existence? I suspect a combination is at work. The Scripture makes it clear that a fallen world is still influenced by the presence of sin and Satan, and will be until the Lord’s return finishes what this healing represents (Rom. 8:18–39).

Thus the bridge into our context is the constant presence and threat of demonic influences in our world. It is not hard to spot its symptoms. Demons may not possess the soul as vividly as this example, but they do cause people to do destructive things and retain a power that is almost overwhelming. People in the grip of excessive drink, debilitating drugs, or destructive lust reflect a world where destructive indulgence inflicts not only pain on those possessed by such addictions, but also on others around them. Though the forces in view here are chemical or psychological, there can be little doubt that they are the remnants of a fallen world that Satan exploits (cf. Eph. 4:17–19). With this scriptural insight, it may be that Satan is much more active than we give him credit for today.

Contemporary Significance

OUR WORLD PLAYS with spiritual forces rather than taking them seriously. Attraction to the devil and the demonic has recently taken on an avant-garde air. Some of the music that permeates our culture is loaded with innuendo and suggestion about the spirit world. One senses that those who engage in this practice are having fun and trying to be cute. It is a way of expressing rebellion. But there is a serious side to this reality. I remember my shock when one of my relatives told me of going to a family home that was awaiting sale and finding that in the basement some people had obviously made it a temporary home, including some type of animal sacrifice. The news media occasionally inform us of accounts of violence, injury, and death in groups that engage in demonic ritual. The exorcism in Luke 8 is but one picture of the dangerous character of such activity. Encounter with demons is not a neutral undertaking.

One must be careful not to overreact, however. Some people see a demon behind every bush, while our culture, being enlightened, often makes the opposite error of dismissing such talk as reflecting a primitive worldview. Both approaches are a victory for the dark side. One never fights against what one does not believe is there. On the other hand, to be preoccupied with the demonic can produce a type of fixation that does not reflect spiritual balance and can deflect taking spiritual accountability. “The devil made me do it” can turn sinners into victims who have no control over whom they decide to ally themselves to. Jesus’ power over such forces should deliver us from any tendency to attribute too much to demonic power (Eph. 1:15–23).

Texts about demons are difficult for many modern people because they ask us to deal in categories that do not involve seeing or hearing. But when we see the horrific destructive character of our culture and how terribly we can treat one another, it is hard not to recognize the presence of diabolical evil in our world. It takes more than our own efforts to reverse its presence. That reality, too, is portrayed in this event. Our efforts are as successful as the attempts by the locals to chain this demoniac in order to restrain him. The power of Jesus is needed.

I am reminded of a close friend who grew up on drugs, was alienated from his family, had dropped out of school several times, and was sent to a psychiatrist for treatment. Nothing helped. Then he was led to the Lord. His life was cleaned up and his demeanor changed. His relationship to his family was restored. His psychiatrist was amazed, as were his parents. If you ask him what did it, he will tell you it was not religion, though that was the more culturally neutral term many of his unchurched relatives used. Neither was it “growing up,” another popular secular answer. It was Jesus, pure and simple. The grace of God gave him a new heart. He would tell you Satan had a solid grip on him until he came face to face with Jesus. He identifies with this story in Luke 8, for Jesus delivered him from the depths that were leading him to self-destruction.

A significant human quality appears in this text. The people who ask Jesus to leave their region recognize his power, but are afraid to be too close to him. Many fear divine accountability, preferring to be left on their own and to fend for themselves. They regard Christianity as a crutch, but I wonder if in fact there is a failure to recognize where real weakness resides. The locals were so concerned with their own affairs that they could not appreciate the deliverance that had taken place before their eyes. Perhaps the biggest tragedy of all is to see God at work and pretend nothing has really happened.

The delivered man gives us a final point of application. Not everyone is called to a ministry of traveling to share Jesus. That is, not everyone is called to a mission field far from home. Sometimes Jesus wants those who have experienced his goodness to tell those in their own hometown about him. Some are called to go; others are called to stay. This newly healed and transformed man did not need to raise support to find his mission field; he simply needed to start sharing—which, in fact, he did. He could not tell the story of God’s work in his life without discussing Jesus.