Exorcism of Legion

The Exorcism of Legion is a story from the Gospel of Mark. It was later modified and retold in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. In the story, Jesus confronts a man possessed by demons, and the demons fear Jesus and ask to be allowed to possess pigs, which Jesus allows. The pig then drown themselves.

Sources

Early Epistles (50-66 CE)

There is no mention of this story in any of the early epistles.

Gospel of Mark (66-70 CE)

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis a how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5:1-20 NIV)

Gospel of Matthew (80-90 CE)

When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"

Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."

He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. (Matthew 8:28-34 NIV)

Gospel of Luke (80-100 CE)

They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, a which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:26-39 NIV)

Gospel of John (90–110 CE)

There is no mention of this story in John.

Later Epistles (80+ CE)

There is no mention of this story in any of the later epistles.

Interpretations

Most Christians I've met accept this story at face value, that there was a man possessed by demons, and Jesus drove them out.

A metaphorical approach to this story is that "legion" was meant to be a reference to a legion of Roman troops. Like the Romans, they should fear Jesus, and Jesus would deliver his people from those who are no better than swine, and not fit to live.

Historical Evidence

The only historical evidence of this story comes from the Gospel of Mark; Matthew and Luke are merely shortened and modified re-tellings. None of the supposed witnesses every wrote about the event, and the author of Mark waited around 30 years to write about it, when few would still be alive to attest to its authenticity.

Criticisms

There are several differences between the stories, indicating that Matthew and Luke either didn't have a complete account of Mark, or chose to heavily edit it in different ways. The most striking discrepancy is that the author of Matthew added a second demon-possessed men and does not have Jesus asking the demon's name, so "Legion" isn't mentioned.

In each gospel, Jesus and his disciples cross a lake assumed by most readers to be the Sea of Galilee because it is the only known large body of water in the region. Upon crossing it, they encounter the man, the demons enter the pigs and drown themselves in the lake, witnesses go to the city and bring the townsfolk who ask Jesus to leave, so he gets back into the boat on the lake and leaves. The story implies that they are by the shore the entire time, and this makes the city names mentioned in the gospels problematic. Mark, and later Luke, set the story in Gerasenes (Gerasa, now called Jerash) which is about 35 miles away from the Sea of Galilee. If the witnesses on the shore walked all the way to the town and the townspeople (Luke says everyone in the town made the journey), it would take about ten hours, but the story makes it seem instantaneous. This may be why the author of Matthew changed the location to Gerasenes (Gadara, now called Umm Qais), which is more believable at only six miles away. Apologists dismiss the location problem saying that neither author is giving an exact location, but just placing it near the city most important to them, though there is no evidence for this assertion.

Despite the demons from the story acknowledging that Jesus had the ability to banish them, Jesus agrees to their request of entering pigs, which they then drown. Not only has Jesus refused to do away with evil, not only has he accepted the request of demons, but his failure to banish the demons has ruined the livelihood of the pig farmers, as 2,000 pigs would be an enormous investment at the time.

Like in Jesus Cursing the Fig Tree, no regard is shown for non-human living things. Classical Christian commentators including Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas both have argued that killing animals and plants, even through drowning, isn't immoral, because morality only matters as it applies to humans.

Links

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exorcism_of_the_Gerasene_demoniac - Wikipedia.
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_(demons) - Wikipedia (Legion).