possess

All About Love

by

Scripture Used to Create “All About Love”

1 Corinthians 12:31 (Greek Text Analysis for 1 Corinthians 12:31)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with 1 Corinthians 13:1)

 

English Bible translation used: Berean Standard Bible

 

But eagerly desire the 1 greater gifts. And now I will show you the 2 most excellent way.

If I speak in the 3 tongues of men and of angels, but have not 4 love, I am only a 5 ringing gong or a 6 clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of 7 prophesy and can 8 fathom all mysteries and all 9 knowledge, and if I have 10 absolute faith so as to 11 move mountains, but have not love, 12 I am nothing. 13 If I give all I possess to the poor and 14 exult in the surrender of my body so that I may boast, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is 15 patient, love is 16 kind. It does not 17 envy, it does not 18 boast, it is not 19 proud. It is not 20 rude, it is not 21 self-seeking, it is not 22 easily angered, it keeps 23 no account of wrongs. Love takes no 24 pleasure in evil, but 25 rejoices in the truth. It 26 bears all things, 27 believes all things, 28 hopes all things, 29 endures all things. 30 Love never fails.

But where there are 31 prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be restrained; where there is knowledge, it will be dismissed. For 32 we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial passes away.

33When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways. 34 Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three 35 remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

 

NOTES

 

1 greater gifts: The greater gifts are listed throughout 1 Corinthians 12. They include (but are not limited to) apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helping, administrating, wisdom, knowledge, faith, distinguishing of spirits, speaking in different languages previously unknown, and the ability to interpret languages previously unknown. In chapter 14, prophesy is elevated even above the other gifts of chapter 12. See Note 7 for more on prophesy. No gift is more important than love, as chapter 13 is making clear to us. Also, no gift makes the recipient of said gift more valuable over another member of Christ’s church (1 Corinthians 12:12-30), as all gifts are given, as Paul says, “for the common good” see 1 Corinthians 12:7. (BACK)

2 most excellent way: The Greek words used here in 1 Corinthians 12:31 are  huperbolé and hodos. They mean “a more surpassing way”, and give the feel of using the best means possible to arrive at your destination point. Paul is saying if you desire these greater gifts (as described in 1 Corinthians 12), here’s the best way to them. (BACK)

3 tongues of men and of angels: The Greek word used for tongues in 1 Corinthians 13:1 is glóssa and it means “language, nation” and it also means the physical organ of the tongue. Here, Paul is saying, “Even if one is the most eloquent orator of Scripture, speaking to both humans and angels”. It should be noted that all of the situations described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (faith, surrender, giving to the poor, etc.) are all proper actions/attitudes that should be exhibited in a Christian’s behavior. What we are learning here is that all of these outward “actions” mean nothing without the love to accompany them. This is an underlined point in the Bible: outward show doesn’t mean a thing when the inside motives are lacking true Godly love. See Matthew 23:23-27 as example. (BACK)

4 love: The Greek word used for love throughout 1 Corinthians 13 is agapé and it means “love”. This type of love is unconditional, has no strings attached, and is self-sacrificing. It is not based on feelings or how you are treated by the recipient of your love. Don’t think of it as how a parent loves a child. That type of love still has some human motivation attached to it. Think of agapé love like this: Your innocent baby has been brutally beaten, spit on, mocked and called every filthy name ever invented, and then murdered in the most painful and humiliating way possible, for everyone to see. Many people laugh about the murder, or simply don’t care that it happened. They even use your baby’s name as a swear word or as a casual jest. But you have compassion, pity, and forgiveness for the perpetrators of these (seemingly) unforgiveable crimes and offenses. You even feed and clothe these people. Not only that, you allow and promote good things to happen in their lives. When bad things happen in their lives (even if they caused their own bad situation), you provide a way through, giving them every chance to lean on you for understanding and comfort. The Bible is very clear, that this love is the basic building block in our relationship to God and to each other (1 John 4:8-21). (BACK)

5 ringing gong: Gongs were simple instruments with percussion pitches. They were usually made of brass, a metal less costly than gold or silver, and hit with a type of mallet. They were used, in a way,  like a drum or to transmit signals.  The Greek word used for gong is chalkos and means “bronze, brass”. The Greek word used for ringing is écheó and it means “to sound, echo”. (BACK)

6 clanging cymbal: The Greek words used for clanging and cymbal in 1 Corinthians 13:1 are alalazó and kumbalon. Cymbals were used as musical instruments in worship or celebration. And, just like today, cymbals were limited in their range or variety of notes. (BACK)

7 prophesy: The Greek word used for prophesy in 1 Corinthians 13:2 is prophéteia and means “the gift of communicating revealed truth of God”. Today, we have the Bible that communicates all of the revealed truth of God, including those events we haven’t seen played out yet, as described in Daniel 7-12 and the Book of Revelation. (BACK)

8 fathom all mysteries: The Greek word used in 1 Corinthians 13:2 for fathom is eidó and means “to understand, perceive” with the feeling of intuition or deeper understanding. The Greek word used for mysteries is mustérion and means “mystery”. In the Bible, a mystery is an unrevealed detail or truth of God, and just to be clear, is not a mystery to God, just to humans. (BACK)

9 knowledge: The Greek word used for knowledge in 1 Corinthians 13:2 is gnósis and it means “to understand or to know”. It can apply to both secular and spiritual understanding. (BACK)

10 absolute faith: The Greek phrase used in 1 Corinthians 13:2 says “all the faith” or “entire faith”, using the Greek words pas (every, all, entire ) and pistis (faith). The faith referred to here means to have confidence and trust in what you have been persuaded to believe in as truth. Faith in Christ is a gift of God, see Ephesians 2:8-9. In our own natural human state, God’s ways, including the idea of needing salvation from sin, are foolishness to us, 1 Corinthians 2:14. (BACK)

11 move mountains: Jesus talks about moving mountains by faith in Matthew 17:20. This can be understood in the context of hyperbole, as even the apostle Paul isn’t recorded as having removed any mountains. However, he is recorded, in Philippians 4:13, as understanding that he can do all things through God who strengthens him. It is to be understood that this is because it is God who can do all things, not man, therefore the glory belongs to God. See Mark 10:27; Ephesians 3:20-21. (BACK)

12 I am nothing: The Greek word for nothing used in 1 Corinthians 13:2-3 is from the word oudeis  and it means “none, nothing”. Oudeis is a complete void and is devoid of any substance. Our English terms sometimes don’t carry the same mental picture that is meant to be conveyed. (BACK)

13 If I give all I possess to the poor: The Greek phrasing for 1 Corinthians 13:3 says “If I may give away all the possessions of me”. The Greek word used for I may give away is psómizó and it means “to feed” with the idea of giving a small piece of food to one in need. Although the word poor is not included in the Greek text, it is implied through the use of psómizó. Jesus once told a rich man to give all he had to the poor and then to follow Him (Matthew 19:21-22; Mark 10:21-22). And, judging by the understanding of the disciples at the Last Supper, giving to the poor was a common action for the Lord’s ministry (John 13:29). The apostles were concerned with those in need as well (Galatians 2:9-10). It is a Christian attribute, to be concerned with the needs of those who don’t have enough. See 1 Timothy 6:17-19 on instructions for those who have an abundance. (BACK)

14 exult in the surrender of my body so that I may boast: 1 Corinthians 13:3. There are many English translations that read “surrender my body to be burned” or to the same effect. The original Greek phrase does not mention burning. The transliteral Greek says “I may deliver up the body of me that I may boast”. It is in the usage of the word deliver that gives us a clue to the sacrifice involved, but not the method used. The Greek word used for deliver is paradidómi and it means “to deliver, betray, abandon, commit”. The word is also used to describe the delivering up of Jesus for crucifixion, as shown in Luke 23:25. The Greek word used for boast is kauchaomai and it means “to glory, boast, exult”.  Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 10:17 (Jeremiah 9:23-24) that the only boasting (using the word kauchaomai) anyone should do is in the Lord. (BACK)

15 patient: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 now explains just what agapé love really is. The Greek word used for patient in verse 4 is makrothumeó and it means “patient, long-suffering”. This patience does not retaliate even when someone is trying to be provoking, and will put up with long-term hardship without anger. (BACK)

16 kind: 1 Corinthians 13:4. The Greek word used for kind is chrésteuomai and it means “kind, useful, benevolent to others”. This kindness does not expect anything in return, including a “thank you”, for its benevolence. It is gentle and service-minded, wanting to be useful in doing good for other people. (BACK)

17 envy: 1 Corinthians 13:4. The Greek word used for envy is zéloó and it means “to be eager to possess”. This can be a good thing, as in eager to possess the right attitudes and mind-set in Christ. But in the negative shade, envy means wanting/coveting what someone else has. There’s even a commandment against envy (Exodus 20:17). (BACK)

18 boast: 1 Corinthians 13:4. The Greek word used for boast is perpereuomai and it means “boast, brag, arrogant”.  Pride is the base element in perpereuomai .  See Note 14 regarding proper boasting. (BACK)

19 proud: 1 Corinthians 13:4. The Greek word used for proud is phusioó and it means “puffed up, arrogant, pride”. See the following verses for a sampling on pride: Proverbs 16:18; Romans 12:16; James 4:6. (BACK)

20 rude: 1 Corinthians 13:5. Many English translations use the word rude here. The Greek word used here is aschémoneó and it means “behave improperly, act unbecomingly”. It can encompass rudeness, but it means to behave inappropriately or in shameful manner. (BACK)

21 self-seeking: 1 Corinthians 13:5. The Greek word used for seek is zéteó (seek, desire, search for). It gives the feeling of intense searching, with determination to get what it wanted. This is admirable when seeking the things of God. It is the self part or selfish part that is a problem here. Jesus said we should first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness and He will take care of our actual needs. See Matthew 6:25-34 on this lesson. (BACK)

22 easily angered: 1 Corinthians 13:5. The Greek word used for easily angered is paroxunó and it means “to stir up, provoke, irritate, anger”. For some passages regarding anger, see Psalm 37:8; Proverbs 14:29;  Proverbs 15:1; Galatians 5:19-20; Ephesians 4:31; James 1:19-20. (BACK)

23 no account of wrongs: 1 Corinthians 13:5. The Greek word used here for account is logizomai and it means “charge with, count, reckon”. It has legal and financial applications. The Greek word used for wrongs is kakos and it means “bad, evil”. It has a wide application and covers anything considered harmful. (BACK)

24 pleasure in evil: 1 Corinthians 13:6. The Greek word used for pleasure is chairó and it means “rejoice, glad”. It gives the feel of an internal joy and delight with a celebratory mood. The Greek word used for evil is adikia and it means “injustice, wrongdoing”. It would be difficult to imagine anyone taking joy in bad things happening to so-called good people, but what about a person who is perceived to be “getting what they deserve”?  This actually plays around the border of revenge. We should never take joy in anyone’s misfortune, even if they caused it themselves and even if it seems they deserve it. We are instructed to cry with those who cry, as well as to laugh with those who are joyful (Romans 12:15-21). For a few verses on revenge, see Proverbs 20:22; Matthew 5:38-39; 1 Thessalonians 5:15. (BACK)

25 rejoices in the truth: 1 Corinthians 13:6. The Greek word used for rejoices is sugchairó and it means “to be glad with”. This is not a singular or personal gladness—it is shared with others. The Greek word used for truth is alétheia and it means “truth”. This word encompasses what is reality, and alongside that, what is moral and trustworthy. (BACK)

26 bears all things: 1 Corinthians 13:7. The Greek word used for bears is stegó and it means “to cover, endure, conceal”. It gives the feeling of protecting with a covering or safety in covering. (BACK)

27 believes all things: 1 Corinthians 13:7. The Greek word used for believes is pisteuó and means “faith, believe, to place trust in”. It is the same word used for the God-gifted faith that Christians have in Christ. This kind of faith is filled with trust and confidence. It is important to understand that this is not a blind faith nor is love blind, as many like to think. There are people who are not trustworthy and we have been instructed to be wise (Matthew 10:16). Does this mean that we don’t love those we can’t trust? Of course not, we are to love everyone, even enemies (Luke 6:32-35). But 0ur faith and trust is always in God, not in people. God will be our provision, our protection, and our salvation (see Proverbs 3:5-6, 25-26). (BACK)

28 hopes all things: 1 Corinthians 13:7. The Greek word used for hope is elpizó and it means to “to hope, trust, expect”. This kind of hope is not wishful thinking with positive thoughts that something might happen. This hope is filled with confidence and assurance; this kind of hope knows that what has been promised will be fulfilled. It is the believer’s hope that is held in Jesus Christ. (BACK)

29 endures all things: 1 Corinthians 13:7. The Greek word used for endures is hupomenó and it means “endure, persevere”. This endurance’s power to hold one steady and faithful isn’t shaken by adversity, trials, disappointment, pain or horrors. (BACK)

30 Love never fails: 1 Corinthians 13:8. If you have to sum up 1 Corinthians 13 into three words, this is it: Love never fails. The Greek word used for fails is piptó and it means “to fall”. The word can be used in a wide ranging sense from metaphoric to literal. It’s overall significance is falling equals decline, and therefore, failure or ruin. Love can never be ruined. (BACK)

31 prophecies…cease… tongues…restrained… knowledge… dismissed: Eventually, all prophecy will be fulfilled, all the language will be unnecessary, all the knowledge will be known. This is what the Christian is waiting for, when all of these temporal things are done with. See Revelation 21 and 22. (BACK)

32 we know in part…prophesy in part…perfect comes… partial passes away: God knows everything, but we don’t. Even our Bible is only what God wants us to know; it is by no means a full explanation, as there are things we can’t possibly understand (Romans 11:33-36). We do, however, have everything we need to make our decision to trust the Lord and to obey Him (Romans 1:20). (BACK)

33 When I was a child…I set aside childish ways: Children are not generally deep or forward thinkers. Their decisions are usually made with focus on self and based on immediate need or situation. Children rarely, if ever, have long-term ramifications in mind when choosing a path forward. As adults, we (should) have a much more advanced understanding. We make important decisions based on outcomes that will possibly have short-term discomfort, but have long-term and lasting benefit. This analogy of maturity can also be equated to “before- Christ thinking” and “with-Christ thinking” or “how I used to think before I knew Jesus” and “how I think now that I know and trust Jesus”. (BACK)

34 Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror: Mirrors were made of polished metal back in the days of Paul, and they weren’t very detailed in the reflection. They also tarnished and were usually small, not giving a full head-to-toe reflection. To read about the interesting find of an ancient mirror in a Jerusalem grave, click here. (BACK)

35 but the greatest of these is love: Jesus was once asked by the scribes which of the commandments was the greatest. Jesus answers in the definite that loving God with all that you are is the first greatest and loving your neighbor is the second greatest. Note that He gives both the greatest and the second greatest, even though they asked for only the first one. This is because of His answer in Matthew 22:40 and also because of  1 John 4:20-21. See Leviticus 19:18;  Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-31; Galatians 5:14. (BACK)

Jesus and the Demon-Possessed Men of the Gadarenes

by

Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus and the Demon-Possessed Men of the Gadarenes”

Matthew 8:28-34 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 8:28)

Mark 5:1-20  (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Mark 5:1)

Luke 8:26-39 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Luke 8:26)

 

Revelation 12:7-9
7 Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels. 9 And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

 

THE SPLICE 

Then Jesus and the people with Him sailed to the 1 other side of the sea, to the countryside of the 2 Gerasenes/the region of the Gadarenes, which is opposite the region of Galilee. When Jesus got to the other side, into the region of the Gadarenes, and when He got out of the boat and went onto the land, immediately 3 two men who were 4 demon-possessed met Him because 5 at least one of the men had seen Jesus from far-off. 6 At least one of the men was from the surrounding city.

The two men were coming out of the tombs, because 7 at least one of them had not been living in a house, but had been living among the tombs. Both of these men were so extremely violent, that no one could pass by that way. For at least one of the men, no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain. This is because even though he had often been bound with 8 shackles and chains, and kept under guard, the demon had seized him many times, so he would break his bonds. The chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and the demon would drive him into the wilderness/the desolate desert and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Also, for at least one of the men, he had not put on any clothing for a long time, and constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.

When the men met Jesus, they ran up and at least one of the men 9 bowed down before Him. And both of the men cried out (under the power of the demons), saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come to torment us 10 before the time?” More specifically, one of the men, shouting with a loud voice said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You, I beg You, by God, do not torment me!” The demon was saying this because Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the men, saying to at least one of the men, 11 “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Jesus was asking the demon in at least one of the men, 12“What is your name?” And the demon said to Him, “My name is 13 Legion; for we are many”; because for at least one of the men, 14 many demons had entered him.

The demon calling himself Legion began to implore Jesus earnestly 15 not to send them out of the country and all of the demons were imploring Him not to command them to go away 16 into the abyss. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding at an unspecified distance from them, yet nearby, on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, 17 “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 18 Jesus gave them permission and He said to them, “Go.” And the demons came out of both of the men, the unclean spirits entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, 19 about two thousand swine; and they perished by drowning in the water of the sea.

When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and 20 reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs, in the city and out in the country. And behold, the whole city came out and all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district, to meet Jesus and to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed at least one of the men who had been demon-possessed sitting down, at the feet of Jesus, clothed and 21 in his right mind, the very man who had been possessed by the “legion”. And the people who had come out 22 became frightened. Those who had seen what had happened described to the crowd of people how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well and all about the swine. When the people saw how it had been because of Jesus that the man had become well, they implored Him to leave them and their region, for they were gripped with great fear.

As Jesus was getting into the boat to leave, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And Jesus did not let him, but He said to him while sending him away, 23 “Go home to your people, return to your house and report/describe to them what great things the Lord God has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

And the formerly demon-possessed man went away and proclaiming throughout the whole city and in Decapolis, what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. And then Jesus got into the boat and 24 returned.

Gertie the Pig’s Portrait

 

NOTES

1 other side of the sea: The Sea of Galilee, because Luke 8:26 tells us they are opposite of the region of Galilee.  (Back)

 

2 Gerasenes/the region of the Gadarenes: The region was probably known by both names, depending on the people/culture. “The Gerasenes” takes its name from a city of Decapolis called Gerasa, and “The Gadarenes” takes its name from another city of Decapolis called Gadara. The main point is that both names for the region take their names from cities of Decapolis.  (Back)

 

3 two men: Matthew tells us that there were two men, while Mark and Luke mention only one of the men. This might be because the one man mentioned in Mark and Luke becomes a true follower of Jesus, as is evidenced in the man’s staying with Jesus (Mark 5:15; Luke 8:35), his wanting to accompany Jesus in His ministry (Mark 5:18), and his subsequent evangelizing afterwards (Mark 5:20; Luke 8:39). The Bible doesn’t really say why only one of the men is mentioned in Mark and Luke, so we can only guess. (Back)

 

4 who were demon-possessed: Who can be possessed by demons? Anyone who isn’t filled with the Holy Spirit. Not even Satan himself could occupy a true bond-servant of God because he would have to overthrow the Holy Spirit in order to do so. See 1 John 4:4.   (Back)

 

5 at least one of the men had seen Jesus from far-off: We do not know how far away Jesus was when the man/demon spotted Him. However, the Greek word used for distance in Mark 5:6 is makrothen and it means “from afar, far off, far away, a (long) distance”. It is most probable that the boats being used were ordinary fishing boats (more than likely belonging to one of the fishermen amongst the disciples). Back then, fishing boats were very plain, and didn’t have identifying tags or cute names etched to the stern or side to single them out. It would have been impossible for the demon-possessed man to know who was in the boat, in his natural state as a human being. Click here to see what a boat from Jesus’s time would have looked like.  (Back)

 

6 At least one of the men was from the surrounding city: We don’t know exactly which city was closest to the spot where Jesus and His crew landed. It is Luke who says that one of the men is “from the city” after mentioning that Jesus had sailed to the country/region of the Gerasenes, across from Galilee (Luke 8:26-27).  (Back)

 

7 at least one of them: Matthew does not give much information about the two demon-possessed men, therefore most of the information known about the human condition of the demon-possessed men is from Mark and Luke, but they only mention the one man. It is possible that Mark was writing of one man and Luke the other, but we don’t know this for sure. It is very probable that both men had been living in the tombs. We can assume that whatever was said about the one man was true for the other man as well, as long as it is remembered that the Bible isn’t exactly clear on the matter.  (Back)

 

8 shackles and chains: During the Roman Empire era, shackles and chains were made from iron. For an example of what shackles may have looked like for these demon-possessed men, click here.  (Back)

 

9 bowed down before Him: I have heard a pastor say in his sermon for a radio program that the demon-possessed man bowed out of mockery. This is not true. The demon bowed out of fear, since the demons were thinking that they would either be banished from the region or tossed into the abyss. Also see James 2:19, where in describing demons’ general reaction to God, the Greek word used for shudder is phrissó and means “tremble, to shiver in fear, shudder (in fear)”.  (Back)

 

10 before the time: The demons are well aware of what their future holds (see Revelation 20). What they feared was an early start to the torment, or perhaps something akin to the punishment meted out to some of their fellow demons who stepped out of bounds (Jude 1:6-7).  (Back)

 

11 “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”: We know from the Bible that demon-possessions can be violent, as evidenced by this story, as well as by Luke 9:38-42. There are many dramatic movies and reality TV shows depicting demon-possessions, hauntings and exorcisms for entertainment purposes. In truth, we don’t know how often demon-possession happens or if it even happens anymore at all. We don’t  have an abundance of information from the Bible on the subject of demon possession. But we do know that, in the Bible, attempting to remove demons from someone can be ineffective (Matthew 17:14-20) or even dangerous (Acts 19:1-16) to perform, if one is not in complete dependence on Christ to cast demons away. (Back)

 

12 “What is your name?”: Jesus was not asking the demon its name because He didn’t know it; He asked the name so that the witnesses watching what was happening to these men knew that many demons had been involved in the possession. It is also possible that the response from the demon was for the benefit of the two demon-possessed men, so that they would know who it was (and how numerous they were) that tortured them. Demons don’t have to obey humans, or give them information, so it is possible that these terrorized souls had only a partial understanding of what was happening to them.  (Back)

 

13 Legion: Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30 tell us the group name that the demons are collectively labeled with. Legión is a Greek word which refers to the ancient Roman army and its organization of infantry divisions. A legión contained at least 6,000 infantry, not counting the cavalry that was included.  (Back)

 

14 many demons had entered him: Jesus explains at least one way someone might get possessed by multiple demons in Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26. The thing that we must remember is we really don’t know that much about it. God has chosen to keep the Bible vague on the subject, perhaps for our own peace of mind. (Back)

 

15 not to send them out of the country:  Why would the demons want to stay in that region? It’s not clear from the accounts that we are reading, but Jesus does say in Matthew 12:43 that when a demon leaves a person, it wanders through waterless places, seeking rest but not finding it. It is possible that the demons had a comfortable situation here in this region, with plenty of people to infest and lots of sin to participate in, and therefore they didn’t suffer from the wandering described by Jesus. We just don’t know, but using our limited understanding of demons, this is a logical assumption.   (Back)

 

16 into the abyss: Our understanding of the abyss comes from several places in the Bible, but Jesus Himself sums it up succinctly in Matthew 8:12. There are demons already occupying the abyss, due to their obstinate refusal to stay in their proper place of authority (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6-7). We can safely assume that the “legion” of demons believe that they also will be cast into the abyss because they are traversing outside of the domain allowed to them by God; otherwise they wouldn’t logically be afraid of it.  Tempting humans (Ephesians 6:11-12), terrorizing humans (when allowed by God, 1 Samuel 16:14-23) and even harassing them with horrible disease and horrid events does seem to be allowed (again, when issued by God), as shown in the book of Job and in 2 Corinthians 12:7.  To be clear, we should never assume that someone has an illness or disease or that bad things are happening in a person’s life because demons are causing the problems. For a few references on hell/the abyss see Isaiah 30:33, Matthew 25:41, Revelation 19:20, 20:1-3; 7, 10.  (Back)

 

17 “Send us into the swine…”: Why would the demons ask to go into the swine? Jesus Himself tells us that when demons have no person to house themselves in, they are wandering with no rest (Matthew 12:43). And, although the Bible doesn’t specify this, I believe that Jesus would not allow the demons to simply go and infest someone else. The swine must have been the next best thing to possess, albeit, the least desirable thing, as animals don’t participate in sin; sin is a human activity as well as demonic activity (see 1 John 3:8). It is my belief that demons, although their first priority is to try to drag any and all humans from God (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Peter 5:8), revel in sin, terrorizing human beings, and mocking God’s order.  (Back)

 

18 Jesus gave them permission: The Bible gives no indication as to why Jesus gave the demons permission to possess the pigs. The only thing that we can be sure of is that Jesus allowed the death of the pigs for a reason. God is not arbitrary; He always has a reason, although we may never know what the reasons are, see Romans 11:33-36.  (Back)

 

19 about two thousand swine: There is a “legion” of demons possessing the men, which would logically indicate that the number of demons participating in the infestation would be at least 6,000. However, the demons could be using the word “legion” figuratively to mean “many”, as the spokesdemon mentioned in Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30. This number of 2,000 swine does not give us an exact indication of the number of demons, as each pig could be infested with multiple possessions, just like the men. It does tell us that there were at least 2,000 demons, though. The terror that these men must have suffered while under possession is unimaginable.  (Back)

 

20 reported everything: We don’t know how long the herdsmen were gone while they were reporting everything in the city and the country. It could have been a few hours or a few days. We can be relatively certain that at least a few people who heard these fantastic reports spread the news, too, but the Bible makes no mention of that.  (Back)

 

21 in his right mind:  The Greek word used in Luke 8:35 for this English phrase is sóphroneó, and it means “of sound mind”.  (Back)

 

22 became frightened: This fear reaction to Jesus’s power calls to mind the reaction of the disciples, when Jesus calmed the sea, right before this event (Mark 4:41). The power of God is frightening and amazing and nothing is too difficult for Him (Jeremiah 32:17).  (Back)

 

23 “Go home to your people…”: The people we love are the first mission field that we all have. God may add things for us to do later on, but our beginning task is to take our newly changed minds, our brand new beginning in life with Jesus and to tell those we know and love how He has had mercy on us and the great things He has done for us. But we can’t stop there. We must also show them the changes that have taken place by living a quiet and godly life (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). This is also how we will be able to identify other true followers of Christ, by the fruit of godliness in their lives (Matthew 7:16-20). Note that these things are a continuous showing of proof, the habit of our lives, not just a “one and done” thing.  (Back)

 

24 returned: We know from Matthew 9:1, Jesus returned to Capernaum.  (Back)