Luke 8:31

31 The demons begged Jesus not to send them into eternal darkness.

Luke 8:31 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 8:31

And they besought him
That is, all the devils, the whole legion of them, entreated Jesus, under whose power, and at whose dispose they were:

that he would not command them to go out into the deep;
meaning, not the deep waters of the sea, for thither they ran the swine at their own request; but the bottomless pit of hell, where others of these spirits lay in chains of darkness; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "into hell": they desired, that when they went out of this man, they might not be ordered thither, or remanded to their former prison; for they knew that if he gave the word of command, they must obey; but that they might be suffered to continue in that country, and range about on earth, or be any where, rather than in hell.

Luke 8:31 In-Context

29 He said this because Jesus was commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had taken hold of him. Though he had been kept under guard and chained hand and foot, he had broken his chains and had been forced by the demon out into a lonely place.

30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He answered, "Legion," because many demons were in him.

31 The demons begged Jesus not to send them into eternal darkness.

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on a hill, and the demons begged Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. So Jesus allowed them to do this.

33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd ran down the hill into the lake and was drowned.