The Demoniacs and Pigs Luke 8:26-39
I have read this story many times. Most of those times I did not really give it much thought. But this one time I decided to see if I could understand it. There really is not much commentary on it. The ones I did read did not make much sense.
There is no explanation of why Jesus sent the demons that possessed the man into the pigs. But these verses are not a thesis about where or how demons live. The topic is not about demons as you will see.
I am going to give you some ideas to think about. The first thing that I always do is see what was the topic that they were discussing.
From the beginning of chapter 8 Jesus is speaking about the Kingdom of God. He tells the parable of the Sower, the Parable of the lamp, and then speaks of his true family which he says are not his actual family but those that hear the word of God (the Kingdom Message) and act on it.
Then comes the story of the calming of the storm and then the Healing of the Gerasene Demoniacs.
All of these parables and stories will contribute to the understanding of Luke 8:26-39.
Let’s start with Luke 8:25. Jesus has just commanded the waves and the wind to stop before they sank the boat. But what do the disciples say?
Like 8:25 states;
“But they were filled with awe and amazed and said to one another, “Who then is this, who commands even winds and the sea, and they obey him?”
Why did they say, “Who is this”? Didn’t they already know he was the Messiah?
The answer is No they didn’t. This is going to shock a lot of people but hear me out and read the scriptures that I mention. I have to go out on a tangent for a second which is going to be crucial in the explanation of these verses.
Jesus never says or confirms that he is the Messiah until late in his ministry. He never refers to himself as the Messiah. He calls himself the Son of Man which could be a reference to the Messiah or a prophet. Ezekiel was called the son of man many times. So this term is not conclusive that he is the Messiah. The disciples refer to him as Teacher or Master or Rabbi. Never Messiah.
If you recall Jesus did many miracles where he told the people that witnessed it not to tell anyone.
You can read where people in the crowds were not sure if he was The Prophet that Moses had spoken about in Deuteronomy 18:18 or the Messiah. But Jesus never confirms that he is the Messiah until much much later in his ministry and then to only a few.
John 7:40:
Some in the crowd who heard these words said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah”. (They were not sure)
When he feeds the five thousand in John 6:14 this is what was said,
“When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world. Since they were going to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone”.
In John 10:24 which is toward the latter part of his ministry, the Jews asked him,
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly”.
So why keep it a secret? Because everyone was waiting for a Messiah that would come and restore the Kingdom back to Israel. Someone who would vanquish the Romans and sit upon the Throne of David. This is what the Jews were expecting.
So why is this a bad thing? Because Messiah implies a King. A king that will restore the Kingdom back to Israel. This of course means that The Messiah will show up and get rid of the Romans and return the Kingdom back to Israel.
This will not sit right with the Romans and Jesus knows that. If he would have said he was the Messiah from the beginning, the Romans would have arrested him and his followers right away. This why in John 6:14 it says that when the crowd was going to make him king, he withdrew to the mountain alone. He did not want to be called King at this time in his ministry. It was too soon.
So this is what everyone was expecting, but it was not what was happening. Jesus was going around preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick and doing all sorts of miracles, but there had been no revolution, no battle with the Romans no new Kingdom established. This is why people had doubts, they started to think that he might just be a great prophet. They did not know that he was truly the Messiah.
Even John the Baptist in Luke 7:18 sends his disciples to ask Jesus “if he is the one or should they look for another?”
John the Baptist was not sure anymore for the same reasons. No revolution, no new kingdom. Maybe he isn’t the Messiah, so he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah.
Jesus does not say to them, “tell John that Yes I am the Messiah”, he tells them “go and tell John what you have seen”.
Even his own disciples didn’t know.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus during his Baptism he told his disciples in John 1:46 “Behold the lamb of God”. John then went and found Peter and told him in John 1:41 “We have found the Messiah”.
So it seems that in the beginning they thought he was the Messiah even though Jesus never confirmed it. But after a while, they just like John The Baptist lost faith that he was The Messiah for the reason mentioned before.
That is the situation until Luke 9:18 when Jesus asks Peter, “Who do you say I am?” and Peter in Matthew says in reply, “You are The Messiah of God”. Then Jesus says to Peter that he did not come up with this on his own, that the Father has revealed this to him. But in Mark 8:30 it says that Jesus reply after Peter’s confession was “ He warned the disciples not to tell anyone about him”.
Jesus said both. I‘m sure he said something like, “Peter my father has revealed that to you, make sure none of you say anything to anyone about me.”
So why did Jesus not tell his own disciples that he was the Messiah? Because if he did it would have been a huge thing! The Messiah that all of the Jews have been waiting for centuries is finally here!
Jesus knew that there was no way they were going to keep this a secret. One of them is going to say something to someone and then they will tell another person and so on and so on and then the secret is out.
Jesus needed time to spread the message of the Kingdom of God. He needed time, this is why he did not tell anyone through most of his ministry.
So now back to Luke 8:26-39.
So Jesus is telling everyone about the kingdom. In the parables preceding these verses he speaks about those who hear the word and act on it and those who do not.
The parables are basically teaching the crowds about how some will accept the message of the kingdom and be saved and some will not and be lost.
Then the calming of the sea and the disciples say,
“But they were filled with awe and amazed and said to one another, “Who then is this, who commands even winds and the sea, and they obey him?”
My first question was why is this story here in this location. Why is it here at all. What is it trying to teach us.
In Luke 8:28 it states:
“When he (possessed man) saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, in a loud voice he shouted, “what have you to do with me, Jesus son of the Most High God?
So in Luke 8:25 the disciples ask “who is this” and now in Luke 8:28 the demons answer that question in front of the disciples. But I don’t think that even after this that his disciples knew he was the Messiah until Peter’s declaration in chapter 9. I believe that this episode will become clear like some others after Jesus’ resurrection when they look back and understand through the Holy Spirit.
These verses in my opinion are still continuing with the same message as the previous parables which is why it’s here.
The demon possessed man accepts Jesus as the son of the Most High God and Jesus cleanses him.
I think this story is telling us in a different way that whoever accepts the Messiah Jesus will be healed of his sins.
The demons are actual demons but in the story they represent sin. Then sin leaves the man and goes into the pigs.
Pigs are considered unclean. They are a source of sin for the Jews. If you eat pork or if you are associated with pigs in any way you are considered unclean, sinful.
The pigs in the story are pigs but the pigs represent the unclean, the unrighteous sinful people. The demons go into the pigs just like sin enters people’s lives and the consequences for the pigs and for people is death.
But it does not end here. Let’s see what happens after the pigs go over the cliff.
Luke 8:34-37. I will say it my own words but please read it.
The swineherds saw what happened then went and reported the incident in the town and surrounding areas. People came out to see what had happened and when they approached Jesus they saw the man from whom the demons had come out of sitting at Jesus’ feet. They were seized with fear. Those who had witnessed it told them how the possessed man had been saved. The entire population of Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave because they were seized by great fear.
So the people came and SAW that the man that had been possessed was cured. They then HEARD the witnesses tell them what had happened and they still rejected Jesus.
Back to verse Luke 8:10 which is the parable of the sower which are the stories that lead into this story. It says in speaking of the kingdom message,
“ But to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see and hear but not understand.”
Luke 8:21:
“My mother and brothers are those who HEAR the word of God and act on it.”
The people of the town came out and saw and heard how the man had been saved and they still rejected Jesus.
This is a reference to the kingdom message and how people react to it just like the parables.
Summary:
This story confirms to the disciples who Jesus is, the Son of God. It tells the story of a man who acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God and was saved.
It then goes on to repeat what the parables preceding it were saying by using the story of the demons going into the pigs to show that when sin enters a person it ends is death.
These sinful people will hear the word of God and see its power and still reject Jesus. Their end will be death.
While the man that was saved went home and recounted throughout the whole town what God had done for him.
Then chapter nine continues with the same theme that started in chapter 8 and is about Jesus sending out the twelve, he gives them authority over demons, power to heal the sick and to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
God bless, and don’t be a pig.
Juan Baixeras
