Luke 8:30-33 30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31And they begged him that he might not command them to depart into the abyss. 32Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he permitted them. 33Then after the demons came out of the man, they entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
Names in the Bible are often symbolic. Asking the name of a person provides insights into that person’s background and personality. Much can be determined by a name. In the context of Luke’s account, only Luke as the narrator has identified the man as demon possessed. The man himself could not ask for help because he was spiritually, emotionally, and physically enslaved by the demon. The question Jesus asked identified the man’s problem in a way that the disciples could see.
The man’s response showed the seriousness of his problem. A legion represented a regiment of up to five to six thousand soldiers. The exact number of demons is not important but the fact that many had entered him. The poor man was about as far down spiritually as a person could go. He was a total victim of evil. The forces of evil had taken over his life until the point of complete insanity. Unchecked evil can ruin a person’s life and drive him or her to the blur between human and animal.
When the many demons were confronted with the Son of God, they knew they were in trouble. Behind this story is the core biblical idea that evil cannot stand in the presence of true holiness. The demons knew the power of Jesus and that he could send them to the abyss, the lake of fire, the place of eternal punishment, or “hell” (Romans 10:7; Revelation 9:1, 3, 11; 11:17; 17:8; 20:1, 3). Jesus will be the great and final judge of good and evil (John 5:22-23; 2 Corinthians 5:10). It was not yet time for the final judgment of Satan and demons.
The demons begged to be cast into a nearby herd of pigs. This area was obviously Gentile because pigs were considered unclean animals to Jews. Entering the pigs was the demons’ idea, not Jesus since he gave them permission to escape that way. The odd element to this story from a modern perspective is how the pigs ran down the hill and drowned. The curious mind wants to know, so did that destroy the demons? There is no clear answer to that. Since demons are spiritual entities but somehow connected to the physical world, drowning pigs would only be a temporary setback until the demons could find other people to bother. One idea is that by going into the pigs and then drowning the pigs in the water, the demons were making one last statement and causing more evil to the pig herders and a form of getting back of Jesus because it would create a problem for him in the eyes of the community.
Although the story seems strange from a modern perspective, evil spiritual forces and demons still both people today. They are not fabrications of imagination or psychological issues, though the difference between genuine mental problems and demon possession may not always be clear and can even been linked. Rather than trying to over or under interpret this passage, we will find more spiritual help by acknowledging the supremacy of Jesus over any force of evil or problem in a person’s life, whether than be physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual. As the Son of God, Jesus is the “Savior” who offers new hope to the desperate.
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