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.
Luke 8:35-39
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.
Luke 8 [40.] When Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet, and begged him to come into his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him. A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any, came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?”
Meaning:
On the eastern shore of the lake Jesus had met a man tormented by a “Legion” of demons, who lived naked among the tombs and broke every chain (Luke 8:27). Jesus cast the demons out, allowed them to enter a herd of pigs, and the pigs rushed into the lake and drowned (Luke 8:31). These verses describe how the region and the healed man responded. Mark tells the same story in more detail (Mark 5:15-17; Mark 5:18-19; Mark 5:20), and Matthew summarises it (Matthew 8:30-34).
- “Sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind”
The contrast with the earlier picture is complete. The man who had worn no clothes is clothed. The man who had lived among the tombs is sitting quietly. The man driven by demons into the desert is “in his right mind.” Sitting at a teacher’s feet was the position of a disciple, the posture Mary of Bethany would later take (Luke 10:39). Jesus had restored not only his body and mind but his dignity and his place among people.
- “And they were afraid”
One would expect joy, but the crowd was afraid. They had grown used to the madman in the tombs; they were not used to a power that could change him in a moment. Luke repeats that they were “very much afraid.”
- “Asked him to depart from them”
This is one of the saddest requests in the Gospels. The people of the region could have brought their sick and troubled to Jesus. Instead they asked him to leave, and he did. Jesus does not force himself on anyone. Losing their pigs seemed to matter more than gaining the man who had been set free.
- “Begged him that he might go with him”
The healed man wanted to stay with the one who had rescued him. But Jesus had a different calling for him. Others, like the twelve, were called to leave home and follow; this man was sent home.
- “Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you”
Earlier, Jesus had told a healed leper to tell no one (Luke 5:14). Here, in Gentile territory, where there was less danger of crowds trying to make him a political king, he tells the man to speak. The first missionary to the Decapolis was a former demoniac with no training, only a story. His message was simple: what God had done for him. Mark adds “and how he had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).
- “What great things Jesus had done for him”
Jesus told him to declare what God had done, and he went and told what Jesus had done. Luke records this without correction. For the man the two were the same, and Luke quietly invites his readers to see who Jesus is: God present among his people in power and mercy. The man’s witness went “throughout the whole city,” and Mark adds that “everyone marveled.”
The Significance of Luke 8:35-39
- A new creation
The change in this man is a picture of what Christ does for anyone who comes to him: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away” (2 Corinthians 5:17). No one is too far gone, too bound or too frightening for Jesus to restore.
- Witness begins at home
Many believers feel unqualified to speak about Jesus. This man knew very little theology, but he knew what had happened to him. The psalmist says, “Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so” (Psalm 107:2). Family, friends and neighbours who knew us before are often the first people we are sent to.
Cross-References:
Mark 5:19: "Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you." Mark’s fuller wording.
Mark 5:20: "He went his way, and began to proclaim in Decapolis how Jesus had done great things for him, and everyone marveled." The witness spreads.
Psalm 107:2: "Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so," Those rescued by God tell their story.
Conclusion: In Luke 8:35-39 the people of the Gadarene region find the former demoniac sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind. Instead of rejoicing, they are afraid and ask Jesus to leave, and he goes. The healed man begs to come with him, but Jesus sends him home to declare what great things God has done for him. He tells the whole city what Jesus has done. Jesus transforms lives completely, and those he restores are sent to tell others.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible