When
Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man out of the city who had demons for a long time met him. He wore no clothes, and didn’t live in a house, but in the tombs.
Luke 8:27
Luke 8 [22.] Now on one of those days, he entered into a boat, himself and his disciples, and he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they sailed, he fell asleep. A wind storm came down on the lake, and they were taking on dangerous amounts of water. They came to him, and awoke him, saying, “Master, master, we are dying!” He awoke, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and it was calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” Being afraid they marveled, saying to one another, “Who is this, then, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?” They arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
Luke 8 [27.] When Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man out of the city who had demons for a long time met him. He wore no clothes, and didn’t live in a house, but in the tombs.
Luke 8 [28.] When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me!” For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bands apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.
Meaning:
Luke 8:27 is the first glimpse of the tormented man whom Jesus met on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Luke, whom tradition remembers as a physician, gives details Mark does not: the man came “out of the city,” had been troubled by demons “for a long time,” wore no clothes, and had no home but the tombs. In one sentence we see what evil had stolen from him: his town, his clothing, his house and his dignity. The rest of the story shows what Jesus gave back.
- A Man Out of the City
The man had once belonged somewhere. He came from one of the towns of the region the Gospels call the country of the Gadarenes, opposite Galilee in mainly Gentile territory. He had family and neighbours, and later Jesus would send him back “to your house, to your friends” (Mark 5:19). His affliction had lasted “a long time,” long enough for people to try guarding and chaining him and then give up.
- No Clothes, No House
In Jewish and Middle Eastern culture, public nakedness was deep shame. To wear no clothes was to lose the most basic sign of human dignity. To have no house meant to be outside the family and community that gave a person identity, protection and belonging. Rock-cut tombs in the hillsides were sometimes used as shelter by outcasts, but they were places of death and uncleanness under the Law (Numbers 19:11).
Isaiah had pictured a rebellious people “who sit among the graves, and spend nights in secret places” (Isaiah 65:4). Here was a man trapped in that picture, not by his own choice but by the spirits that ruled him.
- The Same Story in Three Gospels
Matthew tells of two men “coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce” (Matthew 8:28); Mark describes the broken chains and the self-harm (Mark 5:3-5). Luke’s details about clothing and home prepare for the beautiful reversal later in the story, when the townspeople find the same man “sitting, clothed, and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15).
The Significance of Luke 8:27
- Jesus Restores Dignity
Sin and evil strip people of dignity; Jesus restores it. When the lost son came home, the father said, “Bring out the best robe, and put it on him” (Luke 15:22). In a deeper sense, “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Whatever shame clings to us, Christ clothes us with his own righteousness.
- Seeing the Person Behind the Problem
People in the town probably saw only a danger to be managed. Jesus saw a man to be saved. Followers of Jesus are called to the same compassion for the homeless, the mentally distressed and the outcast. Jesus said, “I was naked, and you clothed me” (Matthew 25:36). Practical care for such people is part of following him.
Cross-References:
Mark 5:15: "They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid." The naked man of the tombs is soon clothed and at peace.
Matthew 8:28: "When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way." Matthew’s account of the same event.
Luke 19:10: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus crossed the lake to seek one lost man.
Galatians 3:27: "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Those who belong to Christ are clothed with him.
Conclusion: Luke 8:27 shows a man who had lost almost everything: home, clothing, community and peace. He met Jesus the moment Jesus stepped ashore. The verse reminds us how completely evil can ruin a life, and it prepares us to see how completely Jesus can restore one. No one is too far gone, too ashamed or too isolated for him to meet.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible