Why is it that Jesus listened to the pleas of the legion of demons and the pleas of the people of the region of the Gerasenes, but did not listen to the plea of the man from whom the demons had gone out?
“Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus stepped out on land, a man from the city who was possessed by demons met Him. For a long time he had not worn clothes, and he did not live in a house but among the tombs. When 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.’ For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For it had often seized him, and though he was guarded, bound with chains and shackles, he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilderness.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Legion,’ for many demons had entered him. And they begged Him not to command them to depart into the Abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs. And He gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the countryside. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been saved. Then all the people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So, He got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘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” (Luke 8:26–39).
(1) Today, as I compare the passage of Luke 8:26–39 with Matthew 8:28–34 and Mark 5:1–20, I wish to receive the lessons given while meditating on the event in which Jesus healed the man possessed by a legion of demons in the region of the Gerasenes.
(a) First, I would like to consider the demon-possessed man whom Jesus met in the land (region) of the Gerasenes [Lk. 8:26–27; Mt. 8:28 (which records that there were two demon-possessed men); Mk. 5:1–2].
(i) Luke records that this demon-possessed man “had not worn clothes for a long time and did not live in a house but lived among the tombs” (Lk. 8:27). Matthew records that “they were so extremely violent that no one could pass that way” (Mt. 8:28). Mark records that the demon-possessed man had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he tore the chains apart and broke the shackles in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him (Mk.5:3–4). Mark also records that “night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones” (v. 5).
· An interesting point is that although the demon-possessed man was so violent that no one could pass that way (Mt. 8:28), Jesus nevertheless passed through that way, and therefore met the demon-possessed man.
- I came across the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. This is the final part of the poem: “… Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” One of the main meanings of this poem is “courageous pioneering,” expressing “the courage to seek out a new road without competition, and the challenging spirit to choose a path that others do not take” (Internet).
n I desire to imitate Jesus and, even if it is a road that no one can pass through, to obey in faith when the Holy Spirit leads me down that road, and to have the encounters that the Lord desires. Though it is impossible by my own strength and ability, I pray that I may obey by faith, holding fast to God’s word: “Is anything impossible for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14).
(b) Second, I would like to consider the words cried out by the demon-possessed man when he saw Jesus from afar, shouted, ran to Him, fell down before His feet, and worshiped Him, saying: “Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what have You to do with me? Have You come here to torment me before the appointed time? I beg You (I implore You, swearing before God), do not torment me” (Lk. 8:28; Mt. 8:29; Mk. 5:7).
(i) As I meditated on these words, I was led to reread a piece I wrote on April 24, 2013, under the title “Who Is the One Who Causes Trouble?”, reflecting on 1 Kings 18:17–18.
· “…When we look at 1 Kings 18:17–18, we see a scene in which Elijah the prophet, the man of God (17:18, 24), and King Ahab, who followed the idol Baal, meet (18:16) and engage in a direct and forthright conversation. If we summarize the content of their conversation, from King Ahab’s perspective Elijah the prophet is ‘the one who troubles Israel,’ while from Elijah the prophet’s perspective ‘Ahab and his father’s house are the ones who have troubled Israel.’ Each side is saying that the other is the one causing trouble. Then who truly is the one who causes trouble? Is it Elijah the prophet, or is it King Ahab?”
- Of course, it is King Ahab. He abandoned the command of God and followed the Baals (idols) (18:18). Therefore, God did not send rain or dew upon Israel (17:1), and as a result there was a severe famine in Samaria (18:2), causing the people of Israel to suffer distress.
n Nevertheless, the reason King Ahab said to Elijah the prophet, “Is it you, troubler of Israel?” is that the sin of idolatry made him spiritually blind, so that he could not see his own sin; not only that, it even caused him to resent the man of God who pointed out his sin.
(ii) In today’s passage, Luke 8:28, the demon-possessed man cried out to Jesus, “Do not torment me.” This cry was spoken to Jesus by the demons through the mouth of the demon-possessed man [the demons’ name was “Legion” (v. 30); here “Legion” refers to a Roman legion (approximately 6,000 soldiers), which signifies a state in which many powerful evil spirits dwell together as a group (Internet)]. Then why did the legion of demons cry out to Jesus in this way? What kind of torment were the legion of demons experiencing?
· The legion of demons knew that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God, and they feared being destroyed before Him. Therefore, the legion of demons begged Jesus, “Please do not command us to go into the Abyss” (v. 31). Here, “the Abyss” is a term derived from the Greek word abyssos (ἄβυσσος), meaning “a bottomless and endless deep pit,” and it is used figuratively to refer to a temporary place of confinement where evil spirits or Satan (the devil) are imprisoned (Rev. 9:1; 20:3) (Internet).
- Thus, the legion of demons cried out to Jesus, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what have You to do with me?” (v. 28). This cry was a request not to interfere; it was a desperate outcry and plea from the legion of demons asking Jesus not to bring their existence to an end, but to allow them to remain in the world where they had been (Internet).
(c) Third, I would like to reflect on the passage where Jesus commanded the unclean legion of demons to come out of the demon-possessed man, and the legion of demons, after begging Jesus not to command them to go into the Abyss, further begged to be allowed to enter even the large herd of pigs that happened to be feeding there. When Jesus granted permission, the demons came out of the man and entered the herd of pigs, and the pigs rushed down the steep slope into the lake and were drowned (Lk. 8:29–33).
(i) As I meditated on this passage, I was somewhat surprised by the fact that Jesus even granted the plea of the “unclean spirits” (v. 29). Perhaps this is because I think that Jesus could have fully refused (ignored) the plea of the “many demons” (v. 30), who were extremely fearful and begged, “Please do not command us to go into the Abyss” (v. 31), and that commanding those many demons to go into the Abyss would have revealed the Lord’s righteousness.
· I was reminded of the words of Isaiah 55:8–9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways
and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
(ii) I also meditated on the passage of Luke 11:5–8. There is a man who goes to his friend at midnight to borrow three loaves of bread. The homeowner has already gone to bed and finds it bothersome to get up and open the door despite his friend’s request. However, when the friend persists in pleading insistently, the homeowner finally gets up and gives him what he needs. In conclusion, Jesus asks rhetorically that if even a worldly friend does this, how much more will God listen to our pleas (earnest prayers) (Internet).
· These are the words of Luke 11:8–10: “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
(iii) I also meditated on Luke 18:1–8.
· Verses 2–5 from the Modern Korean Bible read as follows: “There was in a certain city a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him, pleading, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor respect people, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, lest by her continual coming she wear me out.’”
- Verses 7–8 say: “And will not God grant justice to His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
(iv) As a result of Jesus granting the plea of the legion of demons, the demons came out of the demon-possessed man and entered into “a herd of about two thousand pigs” (Mk. 5:13). In the end, the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and was completely destroyed (Lk. 8:33).
· Here, the phrase “were drowned” (v. 33) comes from the Greek word apepnígē (ἀπεπνίγη), which means “to suffocate with water, to drown.” This word appears not only in Luke 8:33 but also in verse 7: “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it (ἀπέπνιξαν).”
- Here, the Greek word apepníxan (ἀπέπνιξαν), translated as “choked,” means “to choke, to suffocate.” In the parable of the seed that fell among thorns, it refers to the worries of the world, riches, and pleasures that prevent the word of God from growing and bearing fruit by blocking it, suppressing it, and choking it (Internet).
· Then what connection is there between the demons that entered the lake and suffocated in the water, and the worries of the world, riches, and pleasures that block, suppress, and choke us so that we cannot bear fruit from the word of God?
- When I think about how, in the parable of the seed that fell among thorns, the worries of the world, riches, and pleasures block and suppress us so that we cannot bear fruit from the word of God, I am reminded of a Parkinson’s disease patient suffocating due to a blocked esophagus: “The primary reason Parkinson’s disease patients suffocate due to blockage of the esophagus is dysphagia (swallowing disorder). This occurs because damage to the nervous system prevents food from being properly directed into the esophagus and instead causes aspiration into the airway, or because reduced motility of the esophageal muscles causes food to stagnate and become lodged. As a result, the airway can become blocked, leading to suffocation” (Internet).
n And when I think of the demons that entered the lake and suffocated in the water, I learned that the main reason for suffocation during drowning is that water enters the airway (trachea and bronchi), blocking the supply of oxygen to the lungs. This can cause airway spasms (laryngospasm), inflammation in the alveoli, difficulty breathing, and hypoxemia, leading to brain damage and death. I also learned that “dry drowning” can occur even with a small amount of water, and that “shallow water blackout,” where a person loses consciousness after hyperventilating and then diving, can also be a cause (Internet).
- Ultimately, I believe that in both cases the primary cause of death by suffocation is that the airway is blocked, cutting off the supply of oxygen and leading to death by asphyxiation.
n I began to think of this spiritually as being deprived of oxygen. This symbolizes a state in which the breathing and vitality of the soul are blocked, resulting in spiritual lethargy and suffocation. It primarily refers to a condition in which spiritual life activities (fellowship and growth) stop or weaken due to a lack of prayer, disconnection from the Word, or rejection of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Just as the body loses strength when deprived of oxygen, the soul too experiences spiritual thirst and emptiness when its connection with God is cut off, which can lead to a decline in faith (Internet).
(d) Fourth, I would like to reflect on the passage that says that when the herd of pigs rushed down the steep slope and entered the lake and perished, those who were tending the pigs saw this and fled, went into the city and villages, and told everything that had happened and all that had occurred to the demon-possessed man. Then all the people of the town came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they saw the man from whom the demons had gone out, clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus, and they were afraid (Lk. 8:33–35; Mt. 8:33–34; Mk. 5:14–15).
(i) Here, I think that both the men who were tending the pigs and the people who came after hearing their report—and who saw the man from whom the demons had gone out, clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus—could not help but be astonished and fearful.
· The men tending the pigs witnessed the incident that took place between Jesus and the demons. On the one hand, they must have been bewildered by the loss of the herd of pigs they had been tending, and on the other hand, they must have felt an intense fear of Jesus’ authority. The expression that they “fled” reveals this fact (Hochma).
- Just moments earlier, a man who had been wandering naked, roaming about here and there, sometimes threatening people with terrifying screams and superhuman strength, was now sitting calmly, properly clothed and in his right mind. This sight caused “fear” among the people around him. The fact that they were afraid means that the situation confronting them was extremely shocking, proving that it was a transcendent or divine event that could not possibly be understood by human logical reasoning (Hochma).
(ii) As I meditated on the statement that the formerly demon-possessed man was sitting at the feet of Jesus in his right mind (Lk. 8:35), two applications came to my mind:
· First, I pray that the many people who are currently suffering from mental illness may be restored to sound minds through the grace of the Lord’s healing.
· Second, I believe that spiritually sound Christians are those who are before Jesus.
- That is, they sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His teaching [Ref.: Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His word (Lk. 10:39)].
(e) Fifth, I would like to meditate on the passage that says that all the people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes were seized with great fear and begged Jesus to leave their region (Lk. 8:37).
(i) The exorcism event brought about by Jesus caused the local residents to feel an overwhelming fear. As a result, they dared not lodge any complaint about the dead herd of pigs and instead cautiously asked Jesus to leave. Although they saw the salvation of the demon-possessed man who had been as good as dead, they failed to understand it and instead committed the mistake of rejecting Christ, thinking only about their material loss (Hochma).
· An interesting point is that Jesus, who listened to the plea of the legion of demons (v. 31), also listened to the plea of the people of the Gerasene region (v. 37).
- Then how much more will the Lord not listen to the pleas of you and me? This is connected to the parable of the “unjust judge and the widow” in Luke 18:1–8, where Jesus emphasizes His teaching to always pray and not lose heart. Even an unrighteous judge listened to the persistent plea of a widow; how much more, then, will the righteous God listen to the prayers of His children who cry out to Him day and night? This expresses both the assurance that God surely hears and answers our prayers and the importance of persistent prayer (Internet).
(f) Finally, sixth, when Jesus was getting into the boat to return, the man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with Him. However, Jesus sent him back, saying, “Return to your home and tell how much God has done for you.” So, he went away at once and proclaimed throughout the whole town what great things Jesus had done for him (Lk. 8:37–39).
(i) Jesus, who listened to the plea of the legion of demons (v. 31) and also listened to the plea of the people of the Gerasene region (v. 37), did not grant the plea of the man from whom the demons had gone out. Instead, He sent him away, saying, “Return to your home and tell how much God has done for you” (vv. 38–39).
· Here, the fact that the man begged Jesus means that he repeatedly and earnestly asked Him again and again. Having experienced such precious grace, it may have been only natural for him to want to follow Jesus. Despite his repeated requests, Jesus did not permit it and sent him back home, because Jesus had another purpose for him (Hochma).
- That purpose was precisely this: “Return to your home and tell how much God has done for you” (v. 39). Why, then, did the Lord specifically say, “return to your home”?
n I believe it is because the salvation of the family members at home is of great importance to the Lord. This brings to mind Acts 16:31: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” In this way, after saving a woman named Lydia and her entire household (vv. 14–15), the Lord also saved the jailer and his entire family (vv. 33–34).
n The man from whom the demons had gone out obeyed Jesus’ word and went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town how much Jesus had done for him (v. 39). He was so full of joy that he went all around the town proclaiming what had happened to him (Hochma).