Verse 10
10. He besought him The demon besought the Lord. He knows his master. It is a demon’s prayer. And it is heard! But he utters no petition to have his diabolical nature changed. He only asks a boon suited to his demoniac nature. Luke (Luke 8:31) says: “They besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep;” that is, the abyss, or “bottomless pit.” Revelation 20:3.
Not send them… out of the country Our Lord only assumed to expel the devils from their abode in the particular human being. He did not shape their subsequent course, or mark out their path. And Stier well argues with those who impute immorality to Jesus for giving this permission, that it is even less liable to the imputation of immorality than the divine permission, not withheld from demons, to possess men; or, we may add, the divine permission yielded to evil men to rule in the world. That a Mohammed, a Nero, or a Napoleon should rule mankind with bloodshed, is the mystery of God.
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