Luke 8:37

Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart from them, because great fear had taken hold of them. So He got into the boat and started back.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The multitude of the Gerasene region asks Jesus to leave after witnessing the healing of a demon-possessed man. This request occurs immediately after the miracle is reported and precedes Jesus sending the healed man back to his household.

The words — The Greek ἠρώτησεν (ērōtēsen) literally means "asked" or "requested," and περιχώρου (perichōrou) translates to "surrounding region." These terms establish the event as a formal petition from the local population rather than a spontaneous reaction.

The thread — This reaction mirrors Peter’s fear-driven request for Jesus to depart in Luke 5:8 and the magistrates' later request for Paul and Silas to leave Philippi in Acts 16:39. Each passage records a group asking a divine representative to withdraw because overwhelming fear has taken hold.

Why it lands — The text states that great fear caused the people to demand Jesus' departure, followed by His immediate obedience. It requires the reader to acknowledge that encountering divine power often triggers self-preservation before it produces obedience, demanding an honest assessment of whether fear or reverence drives their response to God.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.

Cross-references

Acts 16:39 They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”
Deuteronomy 5:25 But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.
1 Samuel 6:20 The men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”
1 Kings 17:18 “O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
Job 21:14 Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
Matthew 8:34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.
Mark 5:17 And the people began to beg Jesus to leave their region.
Luke 8:28 When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You not to torture me!”
Luke 9:5 If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”