Luke 8:29, commentary and pictures

The man had been seized again and again by an unclean spirit, held under guard in chains and fetters that he broke apart before being driven by the devil into lonely places, until Jesus ordered the spirit to come out of him. The account tells of two possessed men of Gadara, also called Gergesa, living among graves, caves and tombs, whose demon-given strength made them a terror to travelers, rushing on people as if to tear them apart while cutting themselves with stones, with glaring faces, matted hair and fragments of broken chains still hanging on them. Jesus' command exposed Satan's tormenting and cruel power and revealed His own supreme authority as the Prince of Light over the Prince of Darkness, and at His word the demons left their human dwelling for the swine while the men were restored to calm reason and sound minds, sitting at His feet with mild faces and praising God. The healed men remained to tell throughout Decapolis and the region of Christ's power to free captives from Satan, helping open that country to the gospel, yet the Gadarenes themselves turned Jesus away for fear of further loss, showing how worldly interests can drive His Spirit away. The same possession can rule now when a person yields soul, body and spirit to Satan to dominate others and breaks into fury when self is crossed, making home a reign of terror, and such a one must be wholly transformed by the grace of Christ, bending the stubborn will, casting out the controlling evil, and sitting meekly at Jesus' feet to learn of Him.

Bondage and Deliverance

Luke 8:29 describes a man repeatedly seized by an unclean spirit, who was kept bound with chains and fetters but broke them and was driven by the devil into the wilderness, until Jesus commanded the spirit to come out of him. Even chains and shackles could not restrain him, and his destructive condition came from the controlling evil spirit that tormented him. When Christ commands the spirit to leave, the man is freed from demonic torment and restored to a sound mind.

The account concerns two demon-possessed men at Gadara, also called Gergesa, who dwelt among the graves, caves and tombs. The spirits were cast out of their human habitation and entered the swine. It was the healing of the demoniacs at Gadara from which Jesus had returned before going with Jairus to his daughter.

In his fits the man had prodigious strength from mental excitement and was a terror to the neighborhood. No traveler could safely pass that way, for the possessed men would rush upon him with demonic fury as if to tear him in pieces and kill him if they could. They cut and bruised themselves with sharp stones and other missiles they could lay hands on, and with glaring faces looking out from long matted hair they looked more like wild beasts than men. They had been kept bound in confinement with chains but had broken them and escaped, with parts of the broken chains still clinging to them.

At Jesus' command the demons left and the men were freed from torment, restored to reason and sound minds so that bolts and chains were no longer needed. Light returned to their minds and their faces became mild. They sat at Jesus' feet, listened to His words and praised God.

Christ's Power and Response

The repeated seizures, the binding with chains and fetters, the breaking of them, and the flight into the wilderness all came from the controlling unclean spirit that had caught the man. That control shows Satan's tormenting power over the sufferer, and the great number and cruel power of the demons at work in him. At Jesus' word of command the spirit was ordered to come out, and the demons departed from their human habitation at His command. That command demonstrates His authority and supremacy over the demons that tormented the man, His power as the Prince of Light who overcame Satan as the Prince of Darkness, and His mercy toward those tormented by evil. His restraint of the demons in the encounter also preserved the swine's keepers and owners from destruction.

Satan meant the destruction of the swine to turn the people from Jesus and to hinder the gospel. Instead that destruction drew attention to Christ and opened the region to the gospel, showing that even demonic power was under Christ's control. The men thus freed from torment were restored to reason and left as witnesses and messengers of truth. Obediently telling throughout Decapolis and the surrounding region of His power to save people from Satan's bondage, they helped bring the message of salvation there and helped convince the region that Jesus was the Son of God.

Though the Gadarenes saw in this deliverance and restoration to reason clear evidence of His mercy and of power overcoming the Prince of Darkness, they rejected Jesus from fear of financial loss. Their refusal warns that when following His teaching seems costly, worldly interests can lead people to refuse His grace, to turn Him from their hearts, and to drive away His Spirit.

A person can be just as possessed now as the man who tore and cut himself, by giving soul, body and spirit to Satan to carry out a determined will to rule the mind and body of others. Such possession studies and pleases self, breaks into perfect fury when wishes are not gratified, makes married and household life a reign of terror, and can even make life unsafe. Deliverance requires thorough transformation of character through the grace of Christ, bending the determined will to put away the controlling wicked spirit, being dispossessed, and sitting meekly at the feet of Jesus learning precious lessons in His school.