Devils Begging Jesus - Luke 8:31

The beloved physician Luke wrote how Jesus and His disciples, “arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God most high? I beseech you, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is your name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him”, and in chapter eight and verse thirty-one of his book Luke shared how the “unclean spirits” begged Jesus, “that he would not command them to go out into the deep” where we read:

And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.

The verse reads, “And they besought him ...” Luke began with the words, “and they” or “and the demons or unclean spirits” “besought him” which means “begged, asked, desired, summoned and entreated Jesus”. Luke shared how the “devils” within the man began to “beg” Jesus for the following action not to be taken.

The verse goes on to say, “... that he would not command them to go out into the deep.” Luke continued with the words “that he would not command them” which means “that Jesus would not order, direct or charge the demons” “to go out into the deep” or “to depart, leave or go away to the abyss, immeasurable depth or unbounded and bottomless pit”. Luke shared how the demons “begged” Jesus not to order them to go the “abyss”.

When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we see the fear and understanding these demons had concerning Jesus. They knew He had the power to banish them to the “abyss” where they would be forever lost and tormented. God's desire is to “save” people from their sinful lives through His Son Jesus so no one would be “banished to the abyss”, and because Jesus has the power to direct and order demons, none of them are able to condemn anyone who submits their life to Him. Those who are wise will understand the “power” in Jesus' words and yield their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord” and never be separated forever from God.

Next time Luke shares how, “there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".