Legion

Hello everyone,

In Luke 8:26-39 we read about what happens when Jesus crosses the lake into Gentile territory. It is a story that we are probably all familiar with.  Jesus encounters a man who is inhabited by many demons.  Remember that the disciples have just seen an incredible miracle, watching Jesus rebuke a storm.  Now they are going to see another incredible miracle, as Jesus casts out a legion of demons from one man.

When Jesus' boat pulls up on the other shore of the lake, he is met by a man with overwhelming need.  He is living completely out of control.  He lives among the tombs, and runs around naked.  The townspeople had not been able to contain him.  They had tried to chain him, but he broke the chains. (Verse 29) It seems that the demons had taken full control of the man. Alfred Edersheim says this in regard to the demon-possessed man, "The demonized are incapable of separating their own consciousness and ideas from the influence of the demon, their own identity being merged, and to that extent lost, in that of their tormentors." (Edersheim, 419.) 

The demons are so much in control that when Jesus asks the man’s name, it seems that it is the demons who respond, saying that their name is Legion.  Luke explains that he was called that because he was inhabited by many demons.  Mark records that the response was “My name is Legion, for we are many.” (Mark 5:9) It seems that the demons were in charge, and they were the ones who were talking to Jesus through the man, rather than the man speaking himself. 

The possessed man, although clearly under the control of the demons, falls down in front of Jesus.  The demons recognize Jesus' authority. They make a bazaar request from Jesus.  In spite of the fact they constatnly tortured their victim, they beg Jesus not to torture them. While they recognize Jesus' authority, they really don't understand him at all.  Torture is not on Jesus' agenda, even for demons.  His desire is simply to drive them out so that they will stop torturing this poor man,   In fact, Jesus was quite obliging to the demons.  Not only does not torture them, but when they ask him to go into the nearby herd of pigs, he allows it. 

The name Legion certainly implies that there were many demons inside the man.  Even though Luke doesn't give a number, Mark tells us that there were around two thousand pigs on the hillside that ran down into the water and drowned.  If we assume that there was a demon per pig, we would conclude that there were well over a thousand demons in the man.  So the battle was one (Jesus) against a thousand or more (the demons).  Jesus won easily. The demons understood from the outset that it was Jesus who had all of the power and all of the authority here. 

As mentioned previously, the demons are trying to avoid going into the Abyss, and beg Jesus to allow them to go into a nearby herd of pigs. Jesus allows it, but when they enter the pigs, the whole herd rund down the hill and drowns themselves in the lake. Now, according to petpigworld.com and several other websites. Pigs can swim.  So these possessed pigs chose drowning over demon possession.

After the pigs have run into the water and drown themselves, the swineherds run off to the town to tell people what has happened and the people come to see.  When the townspeople arrive, they see a couple of things.  First, there is no more herd of pigs.  Second the formerly demon-possessed man is clothed and in his right mind.  The man who demons had made so strong that he could break chains was now a normal rational man. 

One would think that they would be relieved and grateful.  Their response however, was one of fear. It would seem that Jesus’ healing of this man would lead to a different response than what it received from the people of the Gerasenes.  In fear, they asked Jesus to leave. To me, it seems that if Jesus could overpower and cast out a thousand or so demons, that I might want him to perform some miracle for me. That is not their thinking though, and they ask him to leave. 

Just like with the demons, Jesus is very obliging.  He leaves. Jesus is not one to hang around somewhere where he is not wanted. However, the man formerly known as Legion begs Jesus to go with him.  Ironically, Jesus has granted the wishes of the demons and of the townspeople who ask him to leave, but this man who wants to go with Jesus, is declined.  Jesus tells the man to go home and tell what God had done for him. The man goes beyond what Jesus asks of him.  He not only goes home, but declares what Jesus had done for him throughout the home city.  

Jesus travels across the lake, through a storm, encounters one situation, in which he rescues one man, then leaves and goes back to where he started.  It seems like a lot of trouble for one man, but Jesus was willing to do all of this for one person. 

Tom