The preacher man Q&A
Luke 8:26-39
Why do we not see demons in our every day lives today?
For those apart from Christ, Satan’s influence is universal (Eph 2:1-3), but it takes shape within particular cultures. In Ephesus, there was the worship of Artemis and the practice of magic (Acts 19); in Athens, the philosophical discussions at the Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34). Even today, in parts of the world where spiritual beliefs are still much more thoroughgoing than in the contemporary West, it’s not difficult to hear reports of significant spiritual experience, including demon possession.
In the contemporary West, however, many of us are philosophical materialists - denying such non-physical realities altogether. As a result, in our context, generally speaking, the influence of Satan may be most clearly seen not in demon-possessions, but by the almost the complete absence of such things!
Do the demons die when the pigs go into the lake? Also, why does Jesus give into their begging and not send them to the Abyss?
Not everything is explained to us, and our generally non-spiritual worldview means we still have lots of questions! But Luke’s purpose is not to give a complete set of answers on spiritual realities, but to proclaim ‘the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word’ (Luke 1:1-2).
As to why Jesus didn’t send the demons to the Abyss, a reasonable suggestion is that he sent them to the pigs instead for the sake of eyewitness evidence. In other words, it’s similar to instructing the paralyzed man to walk as the evidential proof that his sins had been forgiven (Mark 2:1-12) - it’s an outward sign, for the sake of those who were there, of an otherwise un-witness-able spiritual reality.
Did the demons die? Certainly the pigs did. And the demons were definitely gone as a threat to the man or the townspeople. Remembering the largely negative Jewish view of the waters as a place of restless evil, it’s possible that the implication is the demons, now without a living host, have gone, in effect, back to some form of the ‘underworld.’
Why choose the pits to be drowned? Is that simply about being ‘unclean,’ or is it more symbolic?
That the events of this passage take place on the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee is reflected by the emphasis on ‘unclean’ things: the tombs; the unclean/impure spirit; and, yes, the pigs. From a Jewish perspective, the pigs were completely suitable ‘vessels’ into which Jesus could send the unclean spirits. Would he have done the same if it was a flock of sheep, or a herd of goats? It’s probably unwise to speculate too much. Certainly, in the Old Testament law, such animals could be sacrificed in order to spare the sinner. So at the very least, it does fit within a broader biblical valuation of human lives vs animal lives.
What does it mean that the man was ‘in his right mind’?
The demon-possession had taken self-control away from the man; the casting out of demons brought self-control back to him. It means he was now able freely to sit quietly at the feet of the Master, to listen and to learn.
Please tell me more about the Abyss! What is the Abyss?
The Greek word that Paul uses is found in eight other passages in the NT (Rom 10:7; Rev 9:1-2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3). In Romans, it is translated as ‘the abyss,’ and seems to be the place of the dead. In Revelation, it is translated as ‘the bottomless pit’ or, simply, ‘the pit.’ There, it is the place of spiritually evil beings - Abaddon (9:11), the ‘beast’ (11:7), the ‘dragon’ (20:1-3).
This is all fairly unfamiliar to us! But elsewhere, the NT speaks of God sending angels who sinned ‘to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment’ (2 Pet 2:4). It seems, then, that the Abyss is a place of punishment where spiritual forces of evil are held captive while they await God’s final and ultimate judgment.
Was it the man himself who knew who Jesus was or was it the demons within him who had awareness of Jesus’ identity?
In the gospels, the demons always know who Jesus is (see also Luke 4:31 as the first example of this in Luke). In Luke 8:26-39, however, there is a subtleness when it comes to whether the man or the demon who is recognising and speaking to Jesus, and whether it is one demon or many.
In 8:28, it is the man who cried out, shouting at the top of his voice. But given that he pleads with Jesus not to torture him (for Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man, 8:29), it seems clear that it is really the demon speaking through the man. Then in 8:30, Jesus asks the man his name, which he answers. But then, the moment we are told that many demons had gone into the man, the nouns and pronoun become plural in form: ‘they begged Jesus repeatedly’ (8:31); ‘When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs …’ (8:33).
This all reflects something of the chaotic and out-of-control situation Jesus is dealing with.
Should we be concerned about demons today? What do we know about evil spirits in the world today?
If we know and trust Christ, demons are not something we should fear, since as Luke 8:26-39 makes clear, Jesus is stronger than satan by far!
Ephesians 6:10-20 teaches about a Christian’s ongoing experience of spiritual warfare: ‘against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ However, in the facet of such warfare, the Christian’s posture is simply, by faith, to ‘put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand’ (Eph 6:13).
More generally, the Bible makes plain that spiritual realities, as well as physical realities, are constantly at work in the world. Satan is as real and as personal as God, though less powerful. Satan has his servants - evil spirits, just as God has his - angels whom he sends to serve us his people (Heb 1:14). As in an earlier answer, however, what this looks like will vary from culture to culture, both in the ancient world and the modern.
How do we expand our thinking further during Bible reading – going beyond philosophical materialism and fear of the unknown when it doesn’t fit into that?
The challenge for all of us as Bible readers is to let the Bible interpret our experience of life in this world, rather than allowing our experience of life in this world to interpret the Bible. When it comes to spiritual realities, Luke 8:26-39 is a great example of this. We come to this topic with all sorts of our own ideas, that, in a Western tradition, are massively shaped by centuries of philosophical thinking and history. Of course, the Bible also comes from a particular cultural orientation. But it can never be reduced to that. At the same time, it is the enduring and authoritative Word of God which addresses all people everywhere. Therefore, when the Bible teaches on realities about which we feel largely ignorant, we need to suspend any inclination to rush in and dismiss the Biblical view, and instead, question how our own perspective is out of line with the teaching of God’s Word.
