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NOTES for Luk 8:26-39

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26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 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.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (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.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
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Texts about demons and the demon-possessed are always difficult for us. There are many reasons for this. One reason is that in the Old Testament mythological, pagan, and folkloric ideas are clearly visible, borrowed partly from Babylonian "complex demonology" and partly from Persian folklore, as for example in the deuterocanonical book of Tobit (Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by Xavier Leon-Dufour), in other words, from the beliefs of neighboring peoples. Magical actions are proposed for fighting them: if a demon or evil spirit torments someone, then with the heart and liver (of the fish, editor's note) one should make smoke before that man or woman, and he or she will no longer be tormented (Tob 6:8). And to modern people it appears that they are being called to something similar, if not to make smoke, then in any case to personify or substantiate in one way or another. Remember, "the deacons are burning incense," as V. Vysotsky said.

But the Bible is the story of the ascent of the human spirit. And here is what we read in the Epistles of the apostle Paul. "No, but what the pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be in fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot be participants in the table of the Lord and the table of demons." (1 Cor 10:20-21). Here the division is already clear: pagans serve demons. That is what pagans are, and that is what demons are; these words define both concepts. These are the very peoples from whose folklore many ideas about demons entered the Bible. And this is not surprising.

But let us listen to one of our remarkable fathers, Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov). "Now let us answer those who do not believe in the real existence of demons. We have had occasion to meet such people. They even believed in Christ. And when I asked them whether they believed in the Gospel, they also answered affirmatively, but by evil spirits they understood moral, abstract evil. In vain I pointed them to the words of the Gospel where it says that the Lord cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene (Mk 16:9; Lk 8:2), and that in the possessed man there was a 'legion' of them (Mk 5:9, Lk 8:30). In vain I told them that all the Gospels are full of miracles of casting out demons, that the Gadarene demoniac immediately came to his senses after the demons were cast out of him, and that the herd of swine rushed from them down the steep bank into the Sea of Galilee. They did not want to believe! But the very coming of Christ also depended on this power of demons. For 'the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the Devil,' says the apostle of love (1 Jn 3:8). This is an elementary teaching of Christianity" (Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov), The Lord's Prayer).

So what is difficult for us? We do not want to explain our foolish acts with the words "a demon led me astray"; we are ashamed of this, and we ourselves are guilty? No one is calling us to do that. But how should we regard the woman who killed Brother Roger, the founder of the Taize community, a holy and radiant man? To say that she herself is guilty is very, very frightening. It means wiping her from the face of Heaven, if one may rework the words "wipe from the face of the earth." Who will take such responsibility upon himself? There are cold-blooded murders for profit, for material valuables; that is understandable, that is another matter. But what are we to do with this unfortunate woman?

Other notes

 
For Luk 8:26-39
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 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.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (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.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
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The evangelist notes an interesting feature of human perception: those who came to look at the man freed from the power of the dark forces are horrified that he is now...  Read more

The evangelist notes an interesting feature of human perception: those who came to look at the man freed from the power of the dark forces are horrified that he is now free. It would seem that everything should have been the other way around: the condition in which the possessed man had lived before his healing should have horrified them. But, as can be seen, they had already grown used to that condition, while the sudden change in him frightened them very strongly.

Why does this happen? Why does it turn out that the norm of fallen humanity often frightens people, while an anomaly is perceived as the norm, especially when spiritual life is involved? One can, of course, say that such is the condition of fallen humanity: if the world "lies in evil," then a person, living in such a world, gradually grows used to this evil and begins to perceive it as normal.

But in this case the matter concerned something extraordinary even against the background of all the evil characteristic of the fallen world. Possession still remains an anomaly even in the consciousness of a fallen person. Then what is it? The very manifestation of the Kingdom? Was it this that so frightened the people who saw an obvious miracle that they asked the One who had performed it to leave?

At first glance, the situation is strange: He had brought one of their fellow citizens freedom from the power of the force considered one of the most terrible threats to a person. But they perceived the healing of the possessed man only as the triumph of one force over another. Judging by the evangelist's account, none of them except the healed man himself understood Whom and what they were dealing with; no one sensed the breath of the Kingdom brought into the world by the Savior.

The one who sensed it was ready to remain with Jesus forever. The rest asked Him to leave. For power is a dangerous thing; who knows what it will turn into for them tomorrow? Fallen people react this way to the power of the Kingdom if they do not sense its love. A love that cannot be seen from the outside: for in order to sense it, one must come closer and feel the breath of God that permeates this Kingdom. Only then is fear replaced by trust and love.

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For Luk 8:39-56
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.
41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:
42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.
50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.
52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.
53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.
54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.
55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.
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Miracles never play an independent role in the Gospel. They always serve to illustrate the much deeper...  Read more

Miracles never play an independent role in the Gospel. They always serve to illustrate the much deeper reality of the relationship between the human person and God. This reality could be expressed in two words: faith and encounter. These are the fundamental concepts of the Kingdom of God that Christ proclaims and brings about. They always go together or follow one another: the sick woman who, against all odds, believed in Jesus and literally took hold of Him as He passed down the street, finds herself faced with the necessity of meeting Him. She cannot simply receive something from Him and leave, hiding from Him in the crowd. This encounter is not easy for her, but without it the miracle would not have taken place, for the true miracle is not the healing but what happened after it. The necessity of this encounter and its connection with faith are so great that the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, to whom it was said, “Do not fear; only believe,” returns to life in order to see the One who is Himself the true Miracle.

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For Luk 8:22-39
22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 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.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (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.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
Hide
Everything is subject to the Son of God—the raging elements and legions of demons alike. Only from a human being does He await free consent...  Read more

Everything is subject to the Son of God—the raging elements and legions of demons alike. Only from a human being does He await free consent to communion and love. Even when a person’s will is afflicted, as in the case of the demoniac, Jesus is ready to come to our aid so that at last we may make a free choice. But freedom from demons or from other circumstances that enslave our will does not yet give us true freedom. We find it in doing God’s will (like the former demoniac, who went to bring the Good News to his compatriots), and also in the Holy Spirit, who enables us to know God and His Kingdom.

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For Luk 8:22-39
22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 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.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (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.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
Hide
Today's reading offers us two stories: the story of Jesus calming the storm on Lake Gennesaret and the story of the healing of the Gadarene demoniac. At first glance, the two stories are connected only...  Read more

Today's reading offers us two stories: the story of Jesus calming the storm on Lake Gennesaret (vv. 22-26) and the story of the healing of the Gadarene demoniac (vv. 27-39). At first glance, the two stories are connected only by the external thread of events. Yet on closer examination this is not quite so. One could say that they are linked by the theme of the Kingdom, as are all the other accounts of miracles Jesus performed. But each such account has its own features, shading this theme differently and describing the appearing of the Kingdom from different sides.

So today: before us, on the one hand, is the transformation of a natural element, and on the other, the healing of a possessed person. Yet in both cases the human person, not the natural element and not dark forces, is in first place. For Jesus does not simply calm the storm; He interacts with His disciples, rebuking them for their little faith (v. 25), but even earlier He awakens from sleep (vv. 23-24). At first glance it may appear that Jesus only needed to awaken for the power of God to be revealed in all its fullness, putting an end to the storm. But if that were truly so, He would hardly have rebuked the disciples for their little faith: then they really would have had no other way out except to turn to the Teacher and ask Him to intervene in events immediately. Evidently, turning to Him was not what Jesus expected from the apostles in that situation. And if we remember that the Kingdom is first of all not a space but a relationship, everything falls into place.

On examination it turned out that even Jesus' closest disciples' relationship with Him was not so firm. As soon as the Teacher turned away, fell asleep, and left them without direct supervision in a critical situation, the Kingdom at once ceased to be a reality for them; they felt it again only when Jesus woke up and addressed them directly. This may be why the Gadarene demoniac healed by the Savior wanted most of all not to bear witness to the Messiah who had come into the world and to the Kingdom He had brought, but to stay beside Jesus so as never again to be separated from Him (v. 38). Meanwhile, what Jesus Himself needed was precisely witness (v. 39).

Still, taking into account the spiritual situation that had developed in the home region of the man healed by the Savior, it is no surprise that he would want to leave with his Deliverer. For he had already seen the reaction of his fellow countrymen to everything that had happened, including the miracle of his own healing (vv. 33-37). Here it was no longer a matter of little faith, but of real unbelief. These two spiritual states are often viewed as very close to each other; yet little faith is much closer to deep and strong faith than to unbelief. After all, little faith still presupposes faith in the biblical sense of the word, trust in the one whom or in whom one believes, and in that case the faithful person simply lacks the spiritual strength for the relationships born of faith to unfold in all their fullness.

Unbelief, as a rule, means a complete absence of trust either in someone specific or, in especially severe cases, in everyone and everything in the world. Even weak faith points the road to the Kingdom, and, gathering spiritual strength, the one who has such weak faith still has a chance to come there, especially since on this path a person never remains alone. But the absence of faith means a dead end, or a road to nowhere. If little faith is often conditioned by a person's objective abilities and capacities, especially at the beginning of the spiritual path, unbelief is always determined by choice. A choice that excludes the path to the Kingdom. And not because God wants to punish someone for a lack of trust, but because those who do not trust God choose another path - a path leading away from the Kingdom. And if the weak can be helped, then even God will not help the one who refuses to go, for He respects each person's choice and freedom. Even when that choice and that freedom mean a "no" thrown in His own face.

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For Luk 8:22-39
22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 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.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (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.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
Hide
The evangelist concludes both accounts of Jesus Christ's miraculous power with the words of the astonished witnesses: “Who is this, that He works such miracles?” Undoubtedly he wants to put this question to his readers as well. Naturally, he wrote for...  Read more

The evangelist concludes both accounts of Jesus Christ's miraculous power with the words of the astonished witnesses: “Who is this, that He works such miracles?” Undoubtedly he wants to put this question to his readers as well. Naturally, he wrote for believers—see the Gospel's prologue, 1:1-4—who by virtue of their faith could already answer the question, calling Jesus Lord, Messiah, and Son of God.

What, then, is the point of these accounts? Another “proof” of faith, or another question posed to the reader's consciousness: who is He? Could a confession of faith alone be insufficient to touch the mystery of Christ's person? Might we need an unfading wonder before Him like that experienced by the disciples in the boat or by those who saw the possessed man healed? Could this question, “Who is He?”, addressed to ourselves and to Him, be no less important than the answer known in advance? Perhaps there are too many questions here, but the Gospel is a book that not only answers its reader but questions him as well...

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Readings for  9 November 2025

Main news

Colossians 1:16

Notes

Orthodox readings

Galatians 6:11-18

Luke 8:26-39

Notes

Catholic lectionary

Ezekiel 47:1-2

Ezekiel 47:8-9

Ezekiel 47:12

1 Corinthians 3:9-11

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

John 2:13-22

Notes

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