They
begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.
Luke 8:31
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.
Luke 8 [30.] Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered into him. They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss. Now there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter into those. He allowed them. The demons came out of the man, and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned. When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country.
Luke 8 [35.] People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who saw it told them how he who had been possessed by demons was healed. All the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. He entered into the boat, and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you.” He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Meaning:
Luke 8:31 records a detail that Mark and Matthew express differently. The spirits that possessed the man of the tombs, a whole “legion” of them, begged Jesus not to command them to go into the abyss. The request reveals two things the demons knew very well: Jesus had the authority to send them wherever he chose, and a place of confinement and judgement awaited them.
- What Is the Abyss?
The Greek word abyssos means “the bottomless” or “the deep.” In the Greek Old Testament it often translates the Hebrew word for the deep waters of creation: “Darkness was on the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). In Jewish thought of Jesus’ time, and later in the book of Revelation, the abyss came to mean the prison where rebellious spirits are held until the final judgement.
Mark’s parallel records the demons’ plea that Jesus “would not send them away out of the country” (Mark 5:10), and Matthew’s records their cry, “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). Each Gospel shows the same fear: the end of their freedom to roam and destroy.
- A Legion Begging for Mercy
A Roman legion was a unit of several thousand soldiers, a familiar and feared sight in occupied Palestine. The name suggests a large, organized force of evil, yet this “army” could only beg. They did not argue with Jesus or resist him. They knew his word was final. Jesus allowed them to enter the pigs, a temporary permission that showed both his authority and the destructive nature of evil, for the herd rushed into the lake and drowned.
- Authority Shared with the Disciples
Soon afterwards Jesus sent out his disciples with authority over demons. The seventy returned saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17). That authority came from Jesus alone. The demons who begged him in the country of the Gadarenes were the same powers that later had to yield to the name of Jesus spoken by his followers.
The Significance of Luke 8:31
- Evil Is Limited and Its End Is Certain
The forces of darkness are real, but they are not equal to God. They operate only within limits he allows, and their end is fixed: “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur” (Revelation 20:10). Believers can stand without panic, because “greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
- Rejoice in the Right Thing
Jesus told his excited disciples, “don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Our greatest joy is not power over evil but belonging to God. The man freed from the legion went home rejoicing in exactly that.
Cross-References:
Mark 5:9-10: "He asked him, “What is your name?” He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country." Mark’s account of the same plea.
Matthew 8:29: "Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”" The demons knew a time of judgement was set.
Revelation 20:10: "The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever." The final end of the powers that feared the abyss.
1 John 4:4: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." Believers share in Christ’s victory.
Conclusion: Luke 8:31 lets us overhear an army of demons pleading with Jesus. They knew his authority and dreaded the abyss that awaited them. For believers the verse is a strong comfort: the powers that terrify people tremble before Christ, their time is limited, and the One who commands them has made us his own.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible