Luke 8:38-39 · Bible study
Luke 8:38-39 Commentary: Why Jesus Sent the Healed Man Home to Proclaim
Greek · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine why Jesus refused the healed demoniac's request to stay, commanding instead that he go home and declare what God had done.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The healed demoniac wanted to follow Jesus but was sent home to witness. His obedience turned his personal restoration into public proclamation, a model of mission in place.
- Key words: edeito (imperfect 'was begging', persistent desire), apelusen (aorist 'sent away', decisive release), diēgou (present imperative 'relate fully', ongoing testimony), kērussōn (present participle 'proclaiming as a herald').
- Main debate: Why did Jesus refuse the man's request? Calvin points to gradual revelation to Gentiles; Cambridge Bible suggests Jesus avoided drawing crowds where he would not return; others see the man's need to witness to his own household as primary. Views are not mutually exclusive.
- Theological theme: God's goodness draws rather than terrifies (contrast v.37). The healed man becomes a witness, and his testimony naturally moves from 'God' to 'Jesus', a pattern of progressive revelation and personal confession.
- Best use: Teaching on the nature of discipleship, the priority of home mission, the value of personal testimony, and the surprising ways Jesus directs gratitude into service.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
38The man whom the demons had left begged to go with Jesus. But He sent him away, saying,
39“Return home and describe how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and proclaimed all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.
WEB World English Bible 2000
38But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39“Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you.” He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
KJV King James Version 1769
38Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
38But the man from whom the demons were gone out prayed him that he might be with him: but he sent him away, saying,
39Return to thy house, and declare how great things God hath done for thee. And he went his way, publishing throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
38And the man from whom the demons had gone forth was beseeching of him to be with him, and Jesus sent him away, saying,
39`Turn back to thy house, and tell how great things God did to thee;' and he went away through all the city proclaiming how great things Jesus did to him.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
38But the man out of whom the demons had gone besought him that he might be with him. But he sent him away, saying,
39Return to thine house and relate how great things God has done for thee. And he went away through the whole city, publishing how great things Jesus had done for him.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
38Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying:
39Return to thy house and tell how great things God hath done to thee. And he went through the whole city, publishing how great things Jesus had done to him.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Luke 8:38
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The healed man begged to remain with Jesus, but Jesus sent him away with a clear command: return home and declare what God had done. Commentators agree this reversal highlights both the man's gratitude and Jesus' purpose in the Gentile region of the Decapolis. Calvin observes that power drives people away in fear, but goodness draws them near, the man had tasted God's goodness and wanted to stay close. Yet Jesus had a wider purpose: the region had just asked him to leave (Luke 8:37), so the man would become a resident witness where Jesus would not return. Cambridge Bible notes that Jesus did not command secrecy here as he often did elsewhere, because he would not be present to draw crowds. The man obeyed immediately, going through the whole city proclaiming what Jesus had done for him. The shift from Jesus' words, 'what God has done', to the man's proclamation, 'what Jesus had done', reflects, in Calvin's view, a gradual revelation of Jesus' identity suited to an audience not yet ready for the full truth.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Gradual revelation (Calvin): Jesus starts with the Father because the Gentile audience could not yet receive the full confession of his deity; the man's later proclamation of Jesus shows progress.
- Pastoral necessity (Cambridge Bible): Since Jesus was leaving the region and would not return, he did not command silence here as elsewhere; the man's testimony would reach people Jesus could not reach in person.
- Household mission (Gill, Matthew Henry): Jesus deliberately sent the man back to his own home and friends to restore him to community and to make his family the starting point of witness.
What is clear: Jesus did not let the man become a disciple who traveled with him, but commanded him to stay in his own region and tell others what God had done — and the man obeyed by proclaiming Jesus throughout the city.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Why Jesus sent the man home instead of letting him follow | All commentators agree the man was genuinely thankful and Jesus had a missional purpose for sending him back: he was to be a witness in a region Jesus would not physically minister in again. | The emphasis varies: Calvin stresses gradual revelation to unprepared Gentiles; Cambridge Bible focuses on avoiding crowds in a place Jesus was leaving; Gill and others prioritize the man's duty to his own family and community. |
| The shift from 'God' to 'Jesus' in the proclamation | All recognize that Jesus tells the man to declare what God has done, but the man goes and proclaims what Jesus had done. This is not a contradiction but reflects the early Christian confession of Jesus as divine. | Calvin explains it as a deliberate pedagogical step: Jesus began with the Father because the people were not yet ready to understand his full divinity. Others see it simply as the man realizing that Jesus is the one through whom God worked. |
| The significance of Jesus' command to tell his own household | There is wide agreement that this emphasizes witness to one's own family and community, not just a general commission. | Matthew Henry and Gill note that the man likely had relatives and friends in the city; Jesus restored his relationships and made his home a base for mission. No significant disagreement, this is a shared application. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The setting is the region of the Gadarenes (or Gerasenes), on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This area was part of the Decapolis, a league of ten Greek cities with a predominantly Gentile population. The presence of a large herd of pigs (Luke 8:32) confirms the non-Jewish character of the region, since pigs were unclean animals under the Law.
The healed man had been severely demon-possessed, living naked among the tombs, a social and religious outcast. After the exorcism, the townspeople found him 'sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind' (Luke 8:35). But instead of rejoicing, they were terrified and asked Jesus to leave. The man's request to go with Jesus was likely driven by gratitude and a desire to stay close to his deliverer, but Jesus denied it. In the Jewish context, leaving one's home to follow a rabbi was an honored practice. Yet Jesus sent him back to his own household and community, a surprising instruction for a man who likely had no family left or was estranged.
The command echoes the Old Testament pattern of telling what God has done, as when parents explained the Passover to their children (Exodus 12:26, 27; 13:8). Jesus was sending the man as a living witness to his own people, many of whom had just rejected Christ's presence. The man's subsequent proclamation 'throughout the whole city' fulfilled the Deuteronomy 10:21 pattern: 'He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things.'
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Luke 8:38-39. The passage is textually stable across the major manuscript traditions. The main variant discussed concerns the location name in the surrounding passage (Gadarenes vs. Gergesenes vs. Gerasenes in v.26), but that does not affect verses 38, 39.
Reception History
In the early church, this passage was often read as an example of the healing power of Christ and the proper response of the healed: to witness to one's own community. Origen and Gregory of Nyssa allegorized the demoniac as the Gentile world delivered from idolatry and sent back to 'his own house' (the world) as a preacher. In the Reformation, Calvin used the passage to contrast the terror of God's power with the attraction of God's goodness, the townspeople feared and rejected Christ, while the healed man longed to stay. Later evangelical tradition has frequently appealed to this text as a model for personal testimony and mission in one's own neighbourhood, seeing the man's proclamation as the beginning of the gospel's spread among the Gentiles of the Decapolis.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- A healed heart wants to stay close. The man begged (edeito, imperfect tense, he kept begging) to be with Jesus. This is the natural response of someone who has tasted grace. He wanted to leave his old life and follow.
- Jesus sends him back as a witness. Jesus refuses and commands him to return home and relate (diēgou, present imperative, keep on relating) how much God had done. The mission field is not always far away; sometimes it is your own house.
- Obedience leads to wider proclamation. The man went and proclaimed (kērussōn, present participle, acting as a herald) through the whole city what Jesus had done. The message began with God and landed on Jesus, the heart of all testimony.
Five-point outline
- The delivered man's request: 'Let me be with you.'
- Jesus' surprising refusal: he 'sent him away' (apelusen, released, dismissed).
- The commission: 'Return to your house and declare what God has done.'
- The content of the message: not the man's story alone, but God's great deeds.
- The result of obedience: the man spread the news about Jesus throughout the whole city, reaching a region Jesus himself could not physically stay in.
Illustration hooks
- A person rescued from addiction who wanted to move away and start fresh somewhere nobody knew them, but instead stayed in their old neighbourhood to tell their story and help others.
- A missionary who felt called overseas but ended up ministering effectively among their own extended family after a life change.
- A marriage restored after infidelity, where the couple felt hesitant to stay in their church, but chose to remain and become a testimony of grace to others.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why would Jesus say no to someone who just wanted to be with him? Doesn't he want us close?
- What do I do when my desire to follow Jesus leads me away from the people who need to hear my story?
- How do I speak about what God has done without sounding like I have it all together?
Leading a Discussion
Healed and grateful, the demoniac wanted only one thing: to stay with Jesus. But Jesus sent him in a different direction, back to his home, his city, his past. This small-group guide explores what it means to be a witness right where you already live.
Discussion questions
- Read Luke 8:26, 39 as a whole. What details stand out to you about the man's condition before and after the exorcism?
- Why do you think the townspeople were afraid and asked Jesus to leave (v.37)? In what ways do we sometimes prefer Jesus to stay at a distance?
- The man begged (edeito, imperfect, he kept on begging) to go with Jesus. Have you ever wanted to follow Jesus so intensely that you wanted to leave behind everything? What is good about that desire, and what might be incomplete about it?
- Jesus says, 'Return to your house and declare how much God has done for you.' Why is home often the hardest place to share our testimony? What fears arise when we think of telling our own family?
- Notice that Jesus says 'God has done' and the man proclaims 'Jesus had done.' What does this shift tell you about the man's understanding of who Jesus is? How do you explain the connection between God and Jesus when you share your faith?
- In other passages (Mark 1:44; 5:43), Jesus commands silence. Here he commands proclamation. What might make this situation different? (Scholars suggest Jesus would not return to this Gentile region, so the man became the ongoing witness.)
- The man went 'throughout the whole city' proclaiming. What one step could you take this week to tell someone in your own 'city', your neighbourhood, workplace, or family, what Jesus has done for you?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 12:25 | It shall happen when you have come to the land which Yahweh will give you, as he has promised, that you shall keep this service. |
| Exodus 12:27 | that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’” The people bowed their heads and worshiped. |
| Exodus 13:8 | You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ |
| Exodus 13:9 | It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that Yahweh’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt. |
| Exodus 13:14 | It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage. |
| Exodus 13:16 | It shall be for a sign on your hand, and for symbols between your eyes; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.” |
| Deuteronomy 10:20 | You shall fear Yahweh your God. You shall serve him. You shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name. |
| Deuteronomy 10:21 | He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
5 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin highlights the contrast between the Gadarenes, who flee Christ's power in terror, and the healed man, who is drawn by God's goodness and wants to stay. Christ sends him home, likely because he could be more useful to his Gentile countrymen, and has him tell what God did, not what the man himself did. For Calvin, bodily healings like this point symbolically to spiritual healing by the Great Physician.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that Jesus told the healed man to proclaim his miracle because He did not plan to return to that region. In other places where He would stay longer, Jesus often commanded silence to avoid being thronged by curious crowds. This explains the apparent difference in His instructions.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that Jesus tells the delivered man to report what God has done, tacitly claiming His own deity by equating God's work with His. The man then proclaims what Jesus did, showing he understood the point. Gill also notes Mark's addition that compassion, not the man's merit, motivated Christ.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry pairs the stilling of the storm with the casting out of demons to show Christ's authority over both the natural and spiritual realms. In each case a single word from Jesus brings instant obedience from wind, water, and legions of devils, leaving the disciples awestruck at His divine power.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent notes a careful word choice in the Greek: demons address Christ with the term for pray when recognizing His divine authority, but switch to the word for beseech when making their requests. The restored man uses the stronger term, pray. He cautions, however, that the two words often overlap in the New Testament.