47. (Verse 26.) First, therefore, regarding the roaring of fury in the demoniac running to meet the Lord as he arrived, it is said: And they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes. "Gerasa, as Bede says, is a city of Arabia"; in which it is shown that after the miracles performed among the Jews, divine dispensation requires that they be performed among the Gentiles; according to what is said in Acts thirteen: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles," as if in contempt of the rebellious. Hence he adds: Which is opposite Galilee, which refers to the city understood through that people, which is called Gerasa. He sailed there to show the power of his might through miracles and to draw them to himself. For Gerasa is interpreted, as the Gloss says, as "sojourner"; and therefore it designates the Gentiles, according to Ephesians two: "Remember that at one time you were Gentiles, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, having no hope of the promise and without God in this world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near." Hence in this it is clear that "the same Lord of all is rich toward all who call upon him," Romans ten. "For everyone, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved."
48. (Verse 27.). Therefore it is added: And when he had gone out onto the land, there met him a certain man, so that just as he had worked wonders on the sea, so also on the land. And through this it is apparent that he is the one of whom it is said in the Psalm: "Whatever the Lord willed, he did in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths." And he shows this in this man, who is rightly called a certain man of singular suffering, who was a notable person and was notably and miserably possessed. And therefore, although two came to meet him, according to what is said in Matthew 8, Luke nevertheless records only the encounter with one, whose notable torment he specifies by the length of time.
On account of which he says: Who had had a devil now for a long time, so that it had already claimed him for itself as a possession, such that there could be said of him that word of Isaiah 34: "It shall be the lair of dragons and the pasture of ostriches, and demons shall meet, the onocentaur"; this concerns those fully possessed by the devil.
It is aggravated also by the unseemliness of appearance: whence it is also added: And he wore no garment; which was very unseemly, according to what the Lord threatens in Ezekiel 16: "They shall strip you of your garments and take away the ornaments of your beauty." And in this the fury of the demon is apparent, who not only tormented the members of the body but also tore apart the garments, as is said of that one in Acts 19: "When the most wicked demon had prevailed against the two sons of Sceva the Jew, they fled naked and wounded from the house."
It is aggravated also by the horror of the place: therefore he adds: Neither did he abide in a house, but in the tombs, where is a very horrible place. And the princes of darkness seek such places; Job 30: "They dwell in the deserts of the mountains and in the caverns of the earth"; and yet from these the Lord delivers, according to that word of the Psalm: "Who brings forth the bound in might, likewise those who provoke, who dwell in the tombs."
49. (Verse 28.). Secondly, with regard to the tumult of the outcry, as the demon cries aloud and the Lord commands, it is added: When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him. And thus is verified that word of the Psalm: "Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down"; and that word of Isaiah 60: "They who detracted you shall come to you and shall adore the footsteps of your feet," "that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth," Philippians 2. This, however, he did not do out of the humility of devotion, but with murmuring and clamor of outcry.
And therefore he adds: And crying out with a loud voice, he said: What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? This he did not display out of reverence, but rather he abhorred his presence with a cry, through which he showed groaning and pain in his heart, according to that passage of the penultimate chapter of Isaiah: "You shall cry out for pain of heart, and for crushing of spirit you shall howl." Moreover, he cries out and grieves at his presence because there was no agreement with Christ; Second Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial? What fellowship has light with darkness, justice with iniquity?" And Ecclesiasticus 13: "What will the wolf share with the lamb? Or what communion has a holy man with a dog?"
50. And note that in this confession he refutes a twofold error: one of the Jews, who said that Christ had a demon, John 8, and that he cast out demons by Beelzebub, Matthew 12. Whence Bede says: "The Jews say that he casts out demons by the prince of demons — he whom the demons deny to have anything in common with themselves."
He refutes another error of the Arians, who say that Christ is a mere creature, whereas the demon calls him the Son of the Most High God, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus 24: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature." But the demon confesses this not by venerating his dominion, but by dreading his command, according to that passage of James 2: "The demons believe and tremble."
51. And therefore it is added: I beseech you, do not torment me, namely by that power of which Wisdom 11 says: "Absent and present alike were tormented." Therefore he wanted to confess Christ so that at least by confessing he might find an opportunity of escaping, because, Wisdom 16, "the wicked who denied knowing you were scourged by the strength of your arm."
52. (Verse 29). But this supplication availed him little, for it was not voluntary but coerced; therefore it is added: For he was commanding the unclean spirit to go out from the man, a command which it could not resist, according to that passage of Wisdom 19: "Every creature served your commands, that your children might be kept unharmed." Moreover, it feared this command because it is a comfort to the unclean spirit to possess a man and to inflict torment upon him, according to that passage below in chapter 11: "When the unclean spirit has gone out from a man, it walks through waterless places, seeking rest"; and Bede in the Gloss says: "It is a torment for the devil to cease from harming a man, and the longer he possesses, the more reluctantly he lets go. Let him who is harmed by the devil therefore take heed to break the yoke quickly." — But in this petition the demon did not merit to be heard, because it was not from a disposition of devotion, but from impatience and the clamor of outcry; the Psalm: "They cried out, and there was none to save them."
53. Third, as regards the assault of strength in the demon resisting human binding, it is added: For many times he would seize him, namely by an assault of strength which the possessed man could not resist: according to what is said of Saul in 1 Kings 18, that "the evil spirit of the Lord seized Saul." But with this man it was otherwise than with Saul, because the latter was soothed by the harp, but this man could not be restrained by a chain.
Whence it is added: And he was bound with chains, as regards the hands, guarded with fetters , as regards the feet, which was a very strong restraint, according to that of the Psalm: "To bind their kings in fetters and their nobles in iron manacles."
And although it was so strong, he could not withstand the assault of diabolical strength: on account of which it adds: And breaking the bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desert . In this is shown the pride and audacity of the devil, who could be held back by no restraints, according to that of Jeremiah 2: "From of old you have broken my yoke, you have burst my bonds." Thus indeed do the proud imitators of the devil, against whom Jeremiah, in chapter 5, speaking of the princes: "They have broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds," namely of the divine precepts; although it is said in Ecclesiasticus 6: "Put your foot into his fetters, and be not weary of his bonds." But it is more tolerable for a sinner possessed by the devil to be driven about in the desert than to be bound by these fetters: Job 30: "They dwelt in the deserts of torrents and in the caves of the earth, who rejoiced in such things and counted it delightful to be under thorns."
54. (Vers. 30.). Fourth, as regards the company of multitude in the demon responding to the Lord's interrogation, it is added: And Jesus asked him, saying: What is your name? For it belongs to him to interrogate, to whom it also belongs to judge: Wisdom 6: "The Most High will examine your works and will search out your thoughts"; and in chapter 11: "These, questioning them as a stern king, you condemned"; because, according to that of Wisdom 1, "there will be an interrogation into the thoughts of the ungodly." He was asking about the name, not because he was ignorant, according to what the disciples say to him in John 16: "Now we know that you know all things, and you do not need anyone to question you," and much less that you should question others.
But he was asking so that from the demon's response the confutation of the multitude would become apparent; whence it is also added: And he said: Legion. "A legion contains six thousand six hundred and sixty-six"; and therefore he does not respond with the name of a single person, but of a multitude: which the Evangelist explains, adding: Because many demons had entered into him, so that he could say to the Lord: "Lord, how they are multiplied who trouble me"? And again: "They are multiplied beyond the hairs of my head who hate me without cause." Already what is said of Antiochus in 1 Maccabees 1 had been verified in this man: "Antiochus went up to Jerusalem with a great multitude. And he entered into the sanctuary with pride."
And thus from the four premises stated above, the violence of the besieging devil is made apparent.
55. (Vers. 31.). And they besought him etc. After the violence of the besieging demon, the Evangelist here subjoins the omnipotence of the Lord who liberates. Now in this part Christ is shown to be powerful in every way, namely powerful in commanding, powerful in permitting, powerful in saving, and powerful in destroying.
First, then, he is shown to be powerful in commanding harsh things, in that it says: And they besought him , namely the demons, that he would not command them to go into the abyss: because they could not transgress his command, according to that verse of the Psalm: "He has established a decree, and it shall not pass away." Therefore they besought him, because they knew that he was that Angel of whom Revelation 20 says: "I saw an Angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss," that is, the power of sending into the abyss by his just judgment, as he did to the Egyptians: Exodus 15: "The depths covered them, they descended into the deep like a stone"; and Revelation 20: "Judgment was rendered upon each one according to their works. And hell and death were cast into the lake of fire." The demons feared that this judgment would be hastened upon them by the command of Christ, not as ones foreknowing the future, but on account of the sayings of the Prophets. Whence Ambrose says: "The demons knew that by the coming of Christ they would at some time be plunged into the abyss, not because they themselves were foretelling the future, but because they were recalling what the Prophets had said concerning them."
56. (Vers. 32.). Second, he is said to be powerful in permitting losses, in that it is added: And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, into which, although they are brute animals, the demons had no power except by divine permission. For of Christ it was said in the Psalm: "You have subjected all things under his feet"; and afterward: "moreover also the cattle of the field." Whence into this herd they could do nothing except by the permission of God, according to that passage of Matthew 10: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father," that is, without the power of the Father.
And therefore it is added: And they besought him that he would permit them to enter into them; in which the demons display Christ's power and their own powerlessness, because they can do nothing against beasts unless permitted, much less therefore against a human being. Whence in Job 1 satan said: "Lord, stretch forth your hand and touch all that he possesses." On account of which also in the tribulation that the devil is to inflict upon the Church, the divine permission precedes, according to that passage of Revelation 9: "The four angels were loosed, who were prepared for the hour and the day"; and in chapter 20 it is said that "satan shall be loosed."
And because the Lord by his just judgment permits them many things, it is added: And he permitted them; in which permission he shows himself to be lord not only restraining the demons but possessing the swine, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Mine are all the beasts of the forests, the cattle on the mountains and the oxen." But the owners were merely stewards of the Lord Jesus, and therefore in no way did he do them an injury.
The Lord also showed that He loves the salvation of one man more than thousands of brute animals: First Corinthians 9: "Does God have care for oxen?" Wisdom 11: "But You spare all things, O Lord, because they are Yours, You who love souls." — Again, in this the Lord showed that carnal men, who are designated by the swine, are by the just judgment of God exposed to demons; Romans 8: "If you live according to the flesh, you shall die." Whence in First Corinthians 5 the Apostle says of that carnal man that "he judged to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." He also did this so that not only His power of saving but also of killing might be made known to the men of that land, according to that passage of Deuteronomy 32: "I will kill and I will make alive, I will strike and I will heal: and there is none who can deliver from My hand."
57. (Verse 33.). Third, He is shown to be powerful in saving the infirm in that which is added: The demons therefore went out from the man and entered into the swine: by which departure the man was freed. They went out by the command of divine power, according to that passage of Zechariah 13: "I will cast the unclean spirit out of the land." This was said by Him who says of Himself below in chapter 13: "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am consummated." For they went out by the power of Christ, in whose name they were cast out by His disciples, according to what is said in Acts 16, that "Paul said to the pythonic spirit: I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to go out from her; and it went out the same hour." But departing from the man, they enter into the swine, because the unclean spirit seeks unclean dwelling places: Job 37: "The beast shall enter its lair and shall dwell in its cave"; and of Behemoth it is said in Job 40: "He sleeps under the shadow, in the covert of the reed, in moist places." He says this with regard to carnal men, who seek nothing else but shadow and wantonness, like swine.
58. Fourth, He is shown to be powerful in casting down the proud in that which follows: And the herd rushed headlong over the precipice into the lake and was drowned; in which the Lord's extraordinary power is shown, which did not permit them to enter the swine for rest, but for drowning, so that thus might be fulfilled in them that passage of Exodus 15: "Your spirit blew, and the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters"; in which the submersion of sins is spiritually designated, according to that prophetic passage of Micah, the last chapter: "He will put down all our iniquities and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."