Bible Strands
Matthew 8:34
Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The inhabitants of the town exit to encounter Jesus after herdsmen report the exorcism and the destruction of the swine. Upon seeing Him, they collectively request that He depart from their territory.
The words — The phrase πᾶσα ἡ πόλις (pasa hē polis) literally means "all the city," emphasizing the collective scope of the response. The verb ἐξῆλθεν (exēlthen) indicates that they physically went out to meet Him.
The thread — This pattern of crowds requesting Jesus’ departure appears in Luke 8:37, where fear drives the people to ask Him to leave. Similar requests for departure occur in Luke 5:8 and Acts 16:39, though the latter involves civil authorities addressing travelers rather than a community addressing Jesus.
Why it lands — The text records a direct request from a community to withdraw divine presence after witnessing supernatural power. It requires the reader to observe how overwhelming encounters with holiness can provoke rejection rather than acceptance.
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
And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
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.”
- 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.
- Job 21:14 Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
- Mark 5:17 And the people began to beg Jesus to leave their region.
- Job 22:17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’
- 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?”
- 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 16:4 So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?”
- 1 Kings 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”