We begin in the story of the demon possessed man of the region we know as the Gerasenes or Gadarenes. This will take us two studies to get through so that we can look at the fine details of what is going on here. In this study we will look at the encounter Jesus and His disciples have with this demon possessed man. Matthew and Mark’s accounts will give us a similar account with really one distinction we find in Matthew’s account that we will address.
In the next study we will look at the reaction from the people of the city, possibly the city of Gadara. We will also look at the reaction from the man that was delivered from this demon possession and what Jesus says to him. As we look at this we will notice once again Jesus displaying a power like none other. This continues to show the disciples that He is indeed the Son of God, the Messiah and the Lord of all creation. Let’s look now at this Scripture as we look at our first point.
1.The encounter with the demon possessed man.
Look with me at Luke 8:26-27 that says Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He came out onto the land, a man from the city met Him, one who was possessed with demons and had not put on any garment for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.
We remember from our last study that Jesus and His disciples were traveling across the Sea of Galilee from around Capernaum. The purpose of this traveling was to first show the disciples Jesus’ power over the storm that they were so afraid of. Secondly they were traveling to this area for a specific reason which we know that Jesus knew. It is again proof that Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen and was not startled by what they encountered when they got off of the boat.
Now I do want to point out what is said in Matthew’s account that seems to be a distinction in the story. Matthew 8:28a says And when He came to the other side, into the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs.
We notice that Matthew says that there are two men that encountered Jesus as He came to shore. Both Luke and Mark focus on just one man. Some people see this as a contradiction but in reality what we see is that there are two men there but Luke and Mark both only focus on the conversation and healing between the demon named Legion and Matthew focuses on the fact that both men were healed. I think that what we will see by the end of this look between both this study and the next will reveal to us that only one of the men were actually saved spiritually. I have said several times in our study of Luke that a physical healing does not constitute that a person has been redeemed. The proof that this man that had the demon Legion was saved will be noticed at the end of our next study.
Let’s find out a little more about this man as Jesus encounters this man when He comes to land. Luke 8:27 says And when He came out onto the land, a man from the city met Him, one who was possessed with demons and had not put on any garment for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.
Matthew 8:28b says They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.
This would be the truth of both demon possessed men. Then Mark 5:2-5 says And when He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And constantly, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was screaming and gashing himself with stones.
These two demon possessed men controlled this area and was terrifying to all in this area. I believe the disciples were fearful as well because in every account we see the phrases He came out onto the land(meaning Jesus), He came to the other side, He got out of the boat, a man from the city met Him, two men who were demon-possessed met Him and immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him.
I believe the disciples had no plans to get off of the boat because of the way these men were acting. They were violet and seemed to be like maniacs that would destroy you in an instant. There was screaming and their appearance was that they were naked, bloody from their constant cutting of themselves and living among the tombs. This would be a scary scene for any of us but again the disciples were still seeming to act on their fear more than their faith. The focus is not on them though in this story but only on the healing of this man but before we get to that let’s look at the submission of the demon to Jesus in our next point.
2.The demon knows who Jesus is.
Look with me at Luke 8:28-31 that says Now seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” 29 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, being kept under guard. And yet breaking his bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desolate regions. 30 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they were pleading with Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
I can’t help but start out here with the reminder that demons and Satan know who Jesus is. There is no doubt that every time He comes across a demon that they know who He is. James 2:19 says You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
The demons that Jesus encounters always knows who Jesus is and here is no exception. Luke 8:28 says Now seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”
This demon knows who Jesus is and he knows the power Jesus possesses. Clearly we see that the demons know who Jesus is and they know the power He possesses to cast them away forever. In our Luke text we see that the demon says I beg You, do not torment me.
In Matthew’s account in Matthew 8:29b both demon possessed men said: Have You come here to torment us before the time?
They seem to know their fate. They seem to know that Jesus is the One that will cast them away forever into eternal damnation. We also see in Mark 5:7b the one demon possessed man says I implore You by God, do not torment me!
I want to make clear that nothing that Satan or demons do are outside of God’s control. He can not torment you nor make you do anything unless God grants that right to him. They are under God’s control and under God’s power. Before this man speaks to Jesus, there is an obvious submission to Jesus from this demon. Mark 5:6 says And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him.
Both Mark and Luke express that this demon possessed man prostrated himself before Jesus. The two Greek word used in Mark and Luke’s accounts are proskuneó (pros-koo-neh’-o) and prospiptó (pros-pip’-to) which means to kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior or to rush violently upon and fall prostrate before. There is no doubt that this demon was no match for the Lord Jesus. This demon did not seek to wage war against Jesus but only submitted.
During this time Jesus asks the demon’s name in which we find out his name is Legion. This demon’s name indicates that there are many demons in this man. A legion in the Roman army signifies 6000. We can not for certain say that this is what is indicated here but for sure we know that the text says for many demons had entered him.
Once again these demons did not wage war but only pleaded with Jesus at this time. They know that they are no match to the Son of God so Luke 8:31 says And they were pleading with Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
There is a lot we could go into here but I’m going to refrain because I do not want to get into a whole study of eschatology here. What I think is clear is that these demons know that just as other demons have already been bound, that they too will be bound and tormented in the eternal flames of Hell. 2 Peter 2:4 says For if God did not spare angels who sinned, but cast them into the pit and delivered them to chains of darkness, being kept for judgment.
Also Jude verse 6 says And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
Both of these verses show to us that some demons have already been placed in a place of torment, bound until the final judgement. The demon called Legion does not want that fate at this moment and pleads to not be cast into that place just yet. This brings us to look at our last 2 verses and our last point.
3.Jesus delivers the man from the demons.
Look with me at Luke 8:32-33 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain, and the demons pleaded with Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. 33 And when the demons came out of the man, they entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
This seems like an odd request to enter into the swine. The fact is these demons did not want to end their terrorizing of the world. They thought they could stay in that place controlling the region if they were at least possessing something. There is nothing in the Scripture that indicates this for sure but we do know this was their attempt to not be cast into the bottomless pit called the abyss.
Surprisingly to us Jesus gives them permission to go into the swine. We would think that Jesus would just cast them away but instead He gives them permission to go into the swine. Because the text is not clear about Jesus’ motive to do this we can assume that He was making a clear point that the outcome was going to be the same whether He just cast them away into the abyss or let them go as they wished. The truth is these demons cast these pigs into the lake and drowned them. These demons were not allowed in this area and they were not in control. Jesus was in control and at that moment this man was free from the demon. I do believe that both men were freed from this demon possession at this time but only one was converted.
Never do we see in any text that two men wanted to travel with Jesus nor do we see that two men began to proclaim what Jesus had done in casting these demons from them. The focus is only on one man and it is this man we will see more of in our next study.
Amazingly we see once again that Jesus proves His deity over the domain of darkness. All of this continues to show the disciples that He is the Son of God. He possesses a power like none other and they are seeing that more and more. The people of this city do not recognize it. We will see their reaction to what just happened and we will see this man’s reaction as well in our next study.
Disciple's Direction 