Luke 8

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:32

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. For what end was this request? Was it simply the way they chose to enter the abyss by? We know that the lives of the creatures, after the permission was given, lasted but a few minutes at most. Was it a desire to do more mischief during their brief sojourn on earth? Theophylact (eighth century) suggests that the purpose of the evil... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:33

And the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. Some exception has been taken at our Lord's action here in connection with the swine, but it has been well said "that the antedating of the death of a herd of unclean animals was as nothing compared with the deliverance of a human soul." But it seems better to see, in the permitted destruction of the herd, the Lord's grave rebuke to the open disregarders of the holy ritual law of Israel, for the sake of selfish... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:34

When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. The men who kept the swine had witnessed the whole transaction; and as the Master uttered the word "Go," they saw a change in a moment pass through the vast herd. A wild panic seemed to seize the creatures, something : had filled them with a great fear,—they would hurry from the unseen but felt presence; the cool blue waters of the lake, clearly seen from the upland down where... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:35-36

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. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. The swineherds told their story, quickly the news spread; a great concourse from all the country-side soon gathered round the scene of the catastrophe. It was quiet then; the waters of the lake had... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:37

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. The recital had no effect upon. the headmen of the neighbouring towns and villages. They were probably for the most part owners of similar herds of swine, perhaps sharers in nameless sins, all specially hateful to the Rabbi Jesus, whom they no doubt knew well by repute. But he was, they saw,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:37-40

Jesus Christ: rejection and welcome. We have in these two passages a very striking contrast; we have in the one a very deliberate and consentaneous dismissal, and in the other a very cordial and unanimous reception of our Lord,—it is illustrative of the treatment he is now receiving at the hands of men. I. THE REJECTION OF JESUS CHRIST . 1 . It may be deliberate and determined. In the case of the Gadarenes it was emphatically so. They all came together to seek him and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:38

Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying . The restored man longed to remain with his Deliverer, but this was not permitted—the great Teacher bade him stay behind in his own country. Perhaps, thought the Redeemer, "some of these hardhearted Gadarenes will be won by his testimony—one of themselves, too, and so notorious a sufferer." His work, the Master told him, was there among his own people; so he stayed,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:38-39

Our return for God's greater kindnesses. The outcasting of a demon from a man was certainly one of the greater miracles Christ wrought, and the greater benefits he bestowed. It required special power, and it conferred a boon of the highest order. We look at— I. THE GREATER KINDNESSES WE RECEIVE FROM GOD . It might be argued that all God's mercies are great, inasmuch as 1 . That some of them are little marked by us. Among these are: 2 . That there are special... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:40

When Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. Allusion has already been made, in the notes which preceded the parable of the sower, to the enthusiasm for Jesus in the Galilee lake-cities and their neighbourhood. This, as the Master well knew, was only a temporary religious revival, but still while it lasted it gathered great crowds in every place where he visited. He had not been long in the Gadarene district, but his return was eagerly looked... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:40-56

The healing of the woman with the issue of blood , and the raising of the daughter of Jairus. read more

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