And they besought him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.
και παρεκαλει αυτον ινα μη επιταξη αυτοις εις την αβυσσον απελθειν
10 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The evil spirits plead not to be sent into the abyss but rather to remain on earth. The Lord permits their presence on earth so that by waging war against humanity, they may enhance their glory. Without adversaries, there would be no heroic deeds, and without heroic deeds, there would be no rewards.
The demons pleaded with Him not to expel them from their location or to consign them to the abyss prematurely. It is written, "go ... into the everlasting fire prepared for Satan and his angels." How can He, who declares this, expel Beelzebub and designate Gehenna for him? This is confirmed by their words, "lest He should send them before the time into Gehenna." This indicates the concern that His miracles could be attributed to Beelzebub's influence.
He was not afflicted by a single demon, but rather under the onslaught of a multitude of demons. Upon seeing and recognizing the Lord, the legion of demons, knowing that they would be cast into the abyss at His coming, pleaded for permission to enter the swine. Here, we must first acknowledge the Lord’s mercy; He does not rush to judgment. Instead, it is humanity that brings upon itself its own punishment. It is not the Lord who sends the demons into the swine; they, unable to endure the brilliance of the divine Light, seek refuge in darkness, much like those with impaired vision who shy away from the sun's rays. The demons recoil from the radiance of the eternal Light and dread the torment prepared for them!
They may not possess knowledge of what is to come, but they are aware of prophetic warnings. Zechariah said: "And it will be in that day, the Lord will destroy the names of idols from the earth, and they will no longer be mentioned... and I will burn out the unclean spirit from the earth" (Zechariah 13:2). From this, we comprehend that the demons will not endure eternally, nor will their malevolence persist without end. In their fear of retribution, they exclaim, "You have come to destroy us" (Mark 1:24; Matthew 8:29). Nonetheless, yearning to remain in the world and hiding from humans, knowing their impending judgment, the demons request to inhabit the pigs. What sort of pigs are these? Are they not, as it is written, "Do not give holy things to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet" (Matthew 7:6)? These represent those who, like impure creatures, bereft of reason, tarnish the inherent beauty of virtues with their filthy actions. They rush toward destruction, oblivious to the thought of divine justice. As though sliding down the steep slope of immorality, they are engulfed by the currents of this world, perishing as if suffocated. One who hesitates to navigate the tumultuous waters of indulgence cannot breathe in the Spirit of life. Thus, we observe that humanity often inflicts torment upon itself. Were some individuals not to live like swine, the devil would have no power over them; even if he did, he could not annihilate them, merely testing their resolve. Or perhaps, following the coming of the Lord, the devil finds it impossible to deceive the righteous and thus seeks to ruin only the foolish, just as a thief targets the unarmed, tormenting the weak, knowing the strong would disregard him and confront him. Yet one might ask: why does God permit this to occur through the devil? I would respond that it serves to test the righteous and punish the wicked; this is the consequence of sin. It is written that the Lord sends fever, trembling, evil spirits, blindness, and various scourges as a result of the sins of the unrighteous. But let us now return to our discussion.
Mark recorded this, and you can find its explanation in the eleventh chapter of his Gospel.
The Evangelist recounts, “And they asked Jesus not to command them to go into the abyss.” This illustrates how fear caused the demons to approach and prostrate themselves before Him, behaving and speaking with genuine humility. Furthermore, it highlights the infinite might of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, as the demon inadvertently acknowledges Him as the Sovereign of the abyss. Who is it that perceives the depths? Surely, it is He who dwells on high, transcending all and possessing dominion over all creation. It is essential to recognize that the legions of demons hold no power unless it is granted to them.
And I beseech Him not to command them to enter into the abyss. The abyss represents an eternal depth, referred to by the Apostle Peter as darkness and tartarus (2 Pet. 2:4). The exact location of this place—whether it lies within the earth or beyond the cosmos—remains unknown, as Divine Scripture has offered no clarity on the matter. Yet, we understand that this realm is where God, bound by His everlasting decrees, as testified by the Apostle, restrains the demons, preparing to judge them on the great day of reckoning (Jude 1:6). In their plea, the demons implored Him not to send them to the abyss destined for them.
The malevolent spirits that afflicted the tormented individual, upon noticing Jesus from afar, acknowledged Him as the Son of God, who possessed authority over them. Realizing that they were destined for punishment by God due to their rebellion against His will, they likely feared swift retribution. Thus, they cried out to Him, expressing what seemed to be an accusation that He had come to subject them to suffering before their appointed time. Clinging to their belief in an impending judgment, they entreated the Lord not to expel them from that region. To enhance Mark's account, Luke notes that the evil spirits implored Jesus not to command them to enter the abyss—a vast and desolate void devoid of humanity.
As the demons realized their control over the afflicted man was coming to an end, they pleaded with Christ to permit them to inhabit a large herd of pigs that were grazing on the mountainside. These pigs were likely kept by the Gerasenes either for the Roman legion stationed nearby or to feed the local residents, who in this secluded area did not rigorously adhere to the Mosaic law. To provide a striking illustration of the healing that had just occurred, the Savior granted their request. "The demons having gone out of them entered into the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep hill into the lake, and sank."
The narrative of the Lord's time in the region of the Gerasenes closely mirrors that found in Luke, which in turn is identical to Mark's version (Mark 5:1-20). While the account provided by Matthew is notably more concise and varies in some respects, it still conveys the essential events.
When the man possessed by demons saw the Lord from a distance, he ran to Him, bowed down, and cried out loudly, "What do we have in common with You, Jesus, Son of God? You have come to torment us before our time." The demons, aware of their certain fate, tremble (James 2:19), knowing that their final condemnation awaits them (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6). Until that day, they act according to their wicked nature and plead not to be subjected to torment prematurely. The blessed Theophylact observes that the demons perceived their own suffering as punishment and feared the Lord's wrath. Jesus, commanding the unclean spirit to depart from the man, inquired about its name.
The possessed individual, lacking control over himself, heard the demon respond on his behalf: "Legion," referring to a Roman military unit of approximately 6,000 soldiers, both infantry and cavalry. The demons implored Jesus not to drive them out of that region nor to cast them into the abyss. Nearby, on a hillside, there was a significant herd of pigs, likely owned by the Gentiles who populated the eastern shores of Lake Gennesaret. The malevolent spirits requested, "If You cast us out, allow us to go into the herd of swine." The Lord Jesus, granting their request, simply said, "Go." St. John Chrysostom explains that Jesus complied not out of capitulation but for other reasons—so that the people of that region might witness His power and recognize the malevolence of the demons, thus making it evident that they cannot harm even the pigs without the permission of the Almighty. Once the unclean spirits left the man, they entered the pigs, and immediately the entire herd, consisting of about two thousand animals, rushed down a steep bank into the lake and drowned.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 11 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS