Matthew 8:34
And, behold¹,
the whole² city³ came out⁴ to meet⁵ Jesus⁶:
and⁷ when they saw⁸ him⁹,
they besought¹⁰ [him]
that he would depart¹¹ out of their¹² coasts¹³.
¹) Then — καὶ (kai) — Conjunction — And, even, also, namely.
²) Whole — πᾶσα (pasa) — Adjective – Nominative Feminine Singular — All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.
³) Town — πόλις (polis) — Noun – Nominative Feminine Singular — A city, the inhabitants of a city. Probably from the same as polemos, or perhaps from polus; a town.
⁴) Went out — ἐξῆλθεν (exēlthen) — Verb – Aorist Indicative Active – 3rd Person Singular — To go out, come out. From ek and erchomai; to issue.
⁵) Meet — ὑπάντησιν (hypantēsin) — Noun – Accusative Feminine Singular — A meeting. From hupantao; an encounter or concurrence.
⁶) Jesus — Ἰησοῦ (Iēsou) — Noun – Dative Masculine Singular — Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.
⁷) And — καὶ (kai) — Conjunction — And, even, also, namely.
⁸) When they saw — ἰδόντες (idontes) — Verb – Aorist Participle Active – Nominative Masculine Plural — Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.
⁹) Him — αὐτὸν (auton) — Personal / Possessive Pronoun – Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular — He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.
¹⁰) They begged [Him] — παρεκάλεσαν (parekalesan) — Verb – Aorist Indicative Active – 3rd Person Plural — From para and kaleo; to call near, i.e. Invite, invoke.
¹¹) To leave — μεταβῇ (metabē) — Verb – Aorist Subjunctive Active – 3rd Person Singular — To change my place (abode), leave, depart, remove, pass over. From meta and the base of basis; to change place.
¹²) Their — αὐτῶν (autōn) — Personal / Possessive Pronoun – Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural — He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.
¹³) Region — ὁρίων (horiōn) — Noun – Genitive Neuter Plural — Neuter of a derivative of an apparently primary horos; a boundary-line, i.e. a frontier.
Other translations
Berean Literal Bible
And behold, all the city went out to meet Jesus. And having seen Him, they begged [Him] that He would depart from their region.
New King James Version
And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged [Him] to depart from their region.
New American Standard Bible
And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region.
Young’s Literal Translation
And lo, all the city came forth to meet Jesus, and having seen him, they called on him that he might depart from their borders.
Study
The whole city came out
The people of the city possibly came with a view of arresting him for the injury done to their property; but, seeing Him, and being awed by His presence, they only asked Him to leave them.
The whole city
That is the population of Gadara or Gerasa (more probably the former), according to the reading which we adopt in Matthew 8:28.
Mark and Luke add, that they found the demoniac “clothed, and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus,” in the clinging gratitude of faith.
The narrative half suggests the thought that the garment which he now wore as the outward sign of a new self-reverence had been supplied by the pity of the disciples.
Besought him that he would depart.
It was characteristic of the wild, half-heathen population that they were led to look on the Prophet who had wrought so great a work as a Destroyer rather than a Savior, and therefore shrank from His presence among them.
Not so with the demoniac himself.
He felt, with a faith which was real, though weak, as if he were only safe while close to his Deliverer.
He followed Him to the boat, and as He was in the act of embarking (Mark 5:18), the healed man prayed that he might follow Him and be with Him.
But this was not the discipline which was needed for his spiritual health.
Retirement, renewed fellowship with his kindred in his own house, the quiet witness borne there that the Lord had had compassion on him — this was better for him than the work of a more avowed discipleship.
And so he went his way “proclaiming,” or “preaching,” what Jesus had done for him.
A true evangelist to a people whose panic terror showed that they were in the darkness and in the shadow of death.
That he would depart
The motivation for the request was probably the fear that a greater disaster could follow.
Out of their coasts
Meaning: Out of their country.
This shows:
- That the design of Satan is to prejudice people against the Saviour, and even to make what Christ does an occasion why they should desire him to leave them.
- The power of avarice. These people preferred their property above the Savior. They loved it so much that they were blind to the evidence of the miracle, and to the good he had done to the miserable people whom he had healed.
It is no uncommon thing for people, like the people of Gadara, to love the world so much; to love their property and possessions so much, that they are not able to see beauty in religion and no excellence in the Savior.
And, rather than join Him, pray from Jesus to withdraw from them.
The most grovelling employment, the worst sins, the most loathsome vices, are often loved more than the presence of Jesus, and more than all the blessings of His salvation.
Illustration
Why the Saviour is not welcome.
- Because the need of Him is not felt.
- They look upon Christ as a questionable Benefactor. He will take notice of everything unlawful and unholy. We like the aids of religion in domestic government, but not its restrictions.
- The time will come when the Son of man will be admitted. Who may abide the day of His coming? He will not be shut out then.
Devotional
That’s a terrible prayer: to ask the Lord Jesus to please go away.
Many have begged Him to come, but here people pray for His departure.
What happened?
Well, the presence of Jesus turned out to be harmful to them: a herd of pigs drowned in the sea.
It is true that a man who was possessed by demons has been cured, but the life of that one man apparently does not compensate for the loss of an entire herd of pigs!
When Jesus comes into our lives, it can cost sacrifices.
Are we ready for that?
Would you rather lose everything than have to miss Him?
Or would you rather see Him go?
Also today He comes to you again with His Word.
But although you receive it every day for free, it is not without obligation!
With a simple push of a button you will not see these messages again.
You too can force the Savior to leave.
For He Himself has said, I will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent…
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