Unbinding the Unbindable Bound Man

Below is a rough translation and some initial comments regarding Luke 8:26-39, the gospel reading the second Sunday after Pentecost in the Revised Common Lectionary. When I say “rough,” please take me literally. This is a long text and Luke’s Greek is very sophisticated (it seems to me) relative to Mark’s Greek, with which I am more familiar. So, please chime in with your corrections, suggestions, and ideas as we journey through this story together. 

 

In the process of bringing a critical reading apparatus to the text, my hope is not to lose sight of this man, tormented by oppressive spirits, a real problem and bane to the community, who tried to protect itself or him by binding him in chains, but even that didn’t work. My assumption is that everyone is at wit’s end with this situation. And yet, the surrounding community ultimately is driven by their fears to reject Jesus’ presence among them. The sociological and psychological possibilities of this story are endless and heartbreaking. 

 

As some of my comments will suggest, the next step in my own work will be to identify words that might suggest the dynamics of power at play in this story. 

 

²⁶Καὶ κατέπλευσαν εἰς τὴν χώραν τῶν Γερασηνῶν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἀντιπέρα τῆς 

Γαλιλαίας.

And they sailed into the region of the Gerasenes, which is over-against Galilee. 

κατέπλευσαν: AAI 3p, καταπλέω, 1) to sail down from the deep sea to the land  

ἐστὶν: PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

1. This is the one and only use of κατα/πλέω in the NT, but it is related to a family of verbs and nouns, the most familiar of which is πλοῖον, boat. 

2. Those of us who grew up reading the King James Version of the Bible would expect us to be in the region of “the Gadarenes” (γαδαρηνων) instead of “the Gerasenes” (Γερασηνῶν), because of the later and less reliable manuscripts that the KJV used. Some manuscripts have Gergesenes also. 

 

 ²⁷ ἐξελθόντι δὲ αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ὑπήντησεν ἀνήρ τις ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἔχων 

δαιμόνια: καὶ χρόνῳ ἱκανῷ οὐκ ἐνεδύσατο ἱμάτιον, καὶ ἐν οἰκίᾳ οὐκ ἔμενεν 

ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς μνήμασιν.

Yet to him having come out onto the land a man approached who was out of the city having demons; and for a long time he was not wearing a garment, and was not staying in a house but in the tombs. 

ἐξελθόντι: AAPart dsm, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the point from which he departs

ὑπήντησεν: AAI 3s, ὑπαντάω, 1) to go to meet, to meet  2) in military reference  2a) of a hostile meeting

ἔχων: PAPart nsm, ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold 

ἐνεδύσατο: AMI 3s, ἐνδύω, 1) to sink into (clothing), put on, clothe one's self

ἔμενεν: IAI 3s, μένω, 1) to remain, abide 

1. My translation of this sentence is very awkward in the rough stage. Part of the awkwardness is because the first clause, in the dative case, seems to be referring to Jesus, the subject of the previous verse. The NIV and ESV, in fact, insert Jesus’ name to make it clearer. The subject of the sentence as a whole is in the nominative case, referring to the man who approaches Jesus. 

2. The note that the man what “out of the city” is similar to last week’s reading of the woman, who was a “sinner” and “in the city.” In v. 34 below, the herders will go “in the city” and tell about what Jesus had done. Luke is keeping the lines of communication between the city and the events at the shore or in the Pharisee’s house open.

3. I love how μνῆμα the noun for “tomb” is related to the verb μνημονεύω, for “remember.”  

 

 ²⁸ ἰδὼν δὲ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀνακράξας προσέπεσεν αὐτῷ καὶ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ εἶπεν, 

Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, Ἰησοῦ υἱὲ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου; δέομαί σου, μή με βασανίσῃς.

Yet having seen Jesus having cried out he fell before him and said in a loud voice, “What to me and to you, Jesus son of the God most high? I beg you, that you may not torture me.” 

ἰδὼν: AAPart nsm, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know

ἀνακράξας: AAPart nsm, ἀνακράζω, 1) to raise a cry from the depth of the throat, to cry out

προσέπεσεν: AAI 3s, προσπίπτω,1) to fall forwards, fall down, prostrate one's self before,  in homage or supplication: at one's feet  2) to rush upon, beat against  2a) of winds beating upon a house

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 

δέομαί: PMI 1s, δέομαι, 1) to want, lack  2) to desire, long for  3) to ask, beg  3a) the thing asked for  3b) to pray, make supplications  

βασανίσῃς: AASubj 2s, βασανίζω, 1) to test (metals) by the touchstone, which is a black siliceous  stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the color  of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal  2) to question by applying torture  3) to torture  4) to vex with grievous pains (of body or mind), to torment  

1. The root of ἀνακράζω , “cry out” (κράζω ‘krazō’) is something of an onomatopoeia in Greek, like the croak of a raven. I suppose it would be like the English word “squawk.” I wonder if it is somehow related to κηρύσσω, “to preach.” It wouldn’t be the last time someone likened preaching to squawking. 

2. The use of δέομαι, to beg, is one of many words in this story that seem to denote who is in deference to whom, whether as suppliant and benefactor or in stark opposition. 

3. Reading along, one can ask, “Who is speaking?” The man? The demons? The language about the speaker is singular, but “demons” in v.27 is plural. When we get to v.29, however, Luke will speak of a singular “unclean spirit.”

4. Most translations supply some kind of verb to make the phrase, “What to me and to you?” more readable.   

 

²⁹ παρήγγειλεν γὰρ τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἀκαθάρτῳ ἐξελθεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. 

πολλοῖς γὰρ χρόνοις συνηρπάκει αὐτόν, καὶ ἐδεσμεύετο ἁλύσεσιν καὶ πέδαις 

φυλασσόμενος, καὶ διαρρήσσων τὰ δεσμὰ ἠλαύνετο ὑπὸ τοῦ δαιμονίου εἰς 

τὰς ἐρήμους.

For he ordered to the unclean spirit to come out from the man. For many times it had seized him, and he was bound in chains and foot shackles being held under guard, and breaking apart the bonds he was driven by the demon into the deserts. 

παρήγγειλεν: AAI 3s, παραγγέλλω, 1) to transmit a message along from one to another, to declare, announce  2) to command, order, charge

ἐξελθεῖν: AAInf ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs

συνηρπάκει: PluperfectAI 3s, συναρπάζω, 1) to seize by force 

ἐδεσμεύετο: IPI 3s, δεσμεύω, 1) to put in chains  2) to bind up, bind together 

φυλασσόμενος: PPPart nsm, φυλάσσω, 1) to guard   1a) to watch, keep watch  

διαρρήσσων: PAPart nsm, to break???

ἠλαύνετο: IPI 3s, ἐλαύνω, 1) to drive  1a) of the wind driving ships or clouds  

1. One would think that when Jesus ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man, it would warrant having its own moment in the narrative. Instead, Luke gives the man/spirit’s words in v.28, and then says that it was a response to Jesus’ order in v.29. That’s curious storytelling. 

2. This description is starting to sound like a Marvel comic book. And yet, none of the power that this demonized man exhibits seems to be causing harm to the community itself. By binding and guarding him, they seem to be attempting to protect the man himself.

3. The word “demon” here is singular, unlike in v.27, and seems to be another way of speaking of the “unclean spirit.” 

4. The storytelling keeps moving backwards, like a movie with flashbacks. The man with the unclean spirit asks Jesus what he’s up to in v.28. V.29 starts with “for” to explain why the man with the unclean spirit would ask such a thing. The 29b goes back to explain what the experience of this unfortunate man and malicious spirit has been. 

 

 ³⁰ ἐπηρώτησεν δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Τί σοι ὄνομά ἐστιν; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, Λεγιών, ὅτι 

εἰσῆλθεν δαιμόνια πολλὰ εἰς αὐτόν.

Then Jesus interrogated him, “What is your name?” Then he said, “Legion,” because many demons entered into him. 

ἐπηρώτησεν: AAI 3s, ἐπερωτάω, 1) to accost one with an enquiry, put a question to, enquiry of,  ask, interrogate  2) to address one with a request or demand  2a) to ask of or demand of one 

ἐστὶν: PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 

εἰσῆλθεν: AAI 3s, εἰσέρχομαι, 1) to go out or come in: to enter

1. The verb ἐπερωτάω can often signal a confrontation, which is why I use ‘interrogated’ here. See the contrast with ἐρωτάω in the comments of v.37 and the chart below of their uses in Luke. 

2. As in many stories of persons who have a demon, the pronouns are hard to keep separate. In the phrase “He said” the ‘he’ is Legion. In the phrase “into him” the ‘him’ is the man, not Legion. It is not a linguistic problem, it is the problem of identity with anyone who has a demon. Who am I? Who am I apart from or in cohesion with this demon? Can ‘I’ be separated from ‘it’? I find stories of persons with demons to be powerfully insightful into the real dilemmas facing anyone with controlling habits, diseases, afflictions, or conditions. (I am not implying that anyone with a controlling habit, disease, etc. “has a demon.” I’m implying that what it means to “have a demon” could be very different from the kind of scenario one might see in movies like “The Exorcist.”) We become identified with the disease and the behaviors, whether looking at us with pity or anger. What worse condition is there than to ask, “Who am I” and not to be able to answer? 

3. We also get a sense of why Luke’s language about the demon/s is so flexible. If a demon’s name is Legion, “for we are many,” is it a singular, a plural, or a collective single plurality of demons? I think “yes” is the answer. 

4. I have long been taught that part of the ancient practice of overcoming evil spirits is to learn their name, the use of which gives on power. And I’ve been taught to associate that practice with when Moses tries to ascertain God’s name in Exodus 3, only to hear, “I will be whom I will be.” And if you happen to know otherwise, please keep it to yourself because I delight in this whole idea.  

 

 ³¹καὶ παρεκάλουν αὐτὸν ἵνα μὴ ἐπιτάξῃ αὐτοῖς εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον ἀπελθεῖν.

And they were calling him in order that he might not order them to go away into the abyss. 

παρεκάλουν: IAI 3p, παρακαλέω, 1) to call to one's side, call for, summon  

ἐπιτάξῃ: AASubj 3s, ἐπιτάσσω, 1) to enjoin upon, order, command, charge 

ἀπελθεῖν: AAInf, ἀπέρχομαι, 1) to go away, depart

1. Now it is not the single voice, but the plural voice of Legion, calling out to Jesus. This would be an utterly mind-blowing scene face-to-face. 

2. The word “abyss” (ἄβυσσον) is transliterated here. A/bussos is ‘without bottom.’ It does not necessarily mean infinite depth, because sometimes it is used of the ‘ocean.’ It seems more like “good luck trying to measure the depth.” It appears only here in the gospels, once in Paul’s letters (Rm.10:7) and seven times in Revelation.

3. The word παρακαλέω here and in v.32 literally means to call (καλέω) alongside (παρα). I do not want to confuse it with ἐρωτάω in v.37. Both could conceivably be translated “begged.”   

 

 ³² ην δὲ ἐκεῖ ἀγέλη χοίρων ἱκανῶν βοσκομένη ἐν τῷ ὄρει: καὶ παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὸνἵνα ἐπιτρέψῃ αὐτοῖς εἰς ἐκείνους εἰσελθεῖν: καὶ ἐπέτρεψεν αὐτοῖς.  

Then there was a herd of many pigs there feeding on the mountainside; and they called him in order that he might allow them to go into them; and he allowed them. 

ην: IAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

βοσκομένη: PPPart nsf, βόσκω, 1) to feed  

παρεκάλεσαν: AAI 3p, παρακαλέω, 1) to call to one's side, call for, summon 

ἐπιτρέψῃ: AASubj 3s, ἐπιτρέπω, 1) to turn to, transfer, commit, instruct  2) to permit, allow, give leave 

εἰσελθεῖν: AAInf εἰσέρχομαι, 1) to go out or come in: to enter

ἐπέτρεψεν: AAI 3s, ἐπιτρέπω, 1) to turn to, transfer, commit, instruct  2) to permit, allow, give leave

1. I won’t pretend to know first century purity laws or economics enough to say much, but raising pigs is something that seems to happen in places outside of Galilee or Jerusalem (such as the lost son laboring with pigs in a “far off” land). The proximity of pigs grazing on the mountainside is a reminder that Jesus is the outlier here, having come to this place across the Sea of Galilee (v.26).  

2. To that point, the word “herd” (ἀγέλη) only appears in this story (here and v. 33) and in the parallel stories in Mt. and Mk. 

 

 ³³ ἐξελθόντα δὲ τὰ δαιμόνια ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσῆλθον εἰς τοὺς χοίρους, καὶὥρμησεν ἡ ἀγέλη κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ εἰς τὴν λίμνην καὶ ἀπεπνίγη.

Then having gone out from the man the demons went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep into the lake and was drowned. 

ἐξελθόντα: AAPart npn, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of

εἰσῆλθον: AAI 3p, εἰσέρχομαι, 1) to go out or come in: to enter

ὥρμησεν: AAI 3s, ὁρμάω, 1) to set in rapid motion, stir up, incite, urge on  2) to start forward impetuously, to rush

ἀπεπνίγη: API 3s, ἀποπνίγω, 1) to choke  1a) to suffocate with water, drown

1. The assumption here seems to be that you can’t just send demons off on their way. They must have a place, whether it be in the life of a ruined man, the abyss, or even in a herd of swine. And it seems that there must be torment involved, they are either tormenting or being tormented. That is a powerful symbol of evil, that it can’t simply vanish, but must be and must be somewhere. I think there is a lot of 1^st century thinking and wisdom that may come by exploring the assumption that evil exists and will continue to exist, so the question is ‘where?’ rather than ‘whether?’ 

2. Is Jesus showing mercy to demons? And if the host pigs merely killed themselves, was that a demonstration that the demons are, literally, hell-bent on destruction? 

3. And, speculating beyond this text, if demons must go somewhere, where do they go when their hosts are dead? Do they die with them? Is that why the community was so hard-pressed with this man, that they were in pitched battle against these demons who were intent on destroying him and perhaps others?

4. I find this story takes on some powerful dimensions when I quit trying to reconcile it literally in my mind and let it stun me with the power and pervasiveness of evil. Still the literalness of the story brings another host of considerations – destruction of someone’s economy, polluting a lake, and so on.

 

 ³⁴  ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ βόσκοντες τὸ γεγονὸς ἔφυγον καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν 

καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀγρούς.  

Then the ones who were feeding having seen fled and reported what had happened in the city and in the fields. 

ἰδόντες: AAPart npm, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know

βόσκοντες: PAPart npm, βόσκω, 1) to feed 

γεγονὸς: PerfAPart asn, γίνομαι, 1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being 

ἔφυγον: AAI 3p, φεύγω, 1) to flee away, seek safety by flight

ἀπήγγειλαν: AAI 3p, ἀπαγγέλλω, 1) to bring tidings (from a person or a thing), bring word, report  2) to proclaim, to make known openly, declare

1. Often it seems the word just gets out. Here we have some agency behind it. 

 

 ³⁵ ἐξῆλθον δὲ ἰδεῖν τὸ γεγονὸς καὶ ἦλθον πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ εὗρον καθήμενοντὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀφ' οὗ τὰ δαιμόνια ἐξῆλθεν ἱματισμένον καὶ σωφρονοῦντα παρὰ τοὺςπόδας τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν.

Then they came out to see what had happened and went to Jesus, and came upon the man out of whom the demons had exited having been clothed and right-minded seated at the feet of Jesus and they were afeared. 

ἐξῆλθον: AAI 3p, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of 

ἰδεῖν: AAInf, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know

γεγονὸς: PerfAPart asn, γίνομαι, 1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being

ἦλθον: AAI 3p, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons 

εὗρον: AAI 3p, εὑρίσκω, 1) to come upon, hit upon, to meet with

καθήμενον: PMPart asm, κάθημαι, 1) to sit down, seat one's self  2) to sit, be seated, of a place occupied  2a) to have a fixed abode, to dwell

ἐξῆλθεν: AAI 3s, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of

ἱματισμένον: PerfPPart asm, ἱματίζω, 1) to clothe

σωφρονοῦντα: PAPart asm, σωφρονέω, 1) to be of sound mind  1a) to be in one's right mind

ἐφοβήθησαν: API 3p, to strike with fear, scare, frighten. Middle or passive as here, to be put in fear, take fright

1. I love Luke’s description of the man. What a blessing after such torment to simply be clothed, right-minded, and sitting - at Jesus’ feet! 

2. I have not heard anyone use the word ‘afeared’ since the passing of my grandfather, but it is my way of expressing the passive voice in this fright. They were put to fright; the fear was evoked, not their selected reaction. In case we miss this motive, Luke reiterates it in v.37. 

3. And yet, one wonders why being afeared is the reaction, instead of being relieved, amazed, wondering, angry about the pigs, or thankful. 

 

³⁶ ἀπήγγειλαν δὲ αὐτοῖς οἱ ἰδόντες πῶς ἐσώθη ὁ δαιμονισθείς.

Then the ones who saw reported to them how the one having been demonized was rescued. 

ἀπήγγειλαν: AAI 3p, ἀπαγγέλλω, 1) to bring tidings (from a person or a thing), bring word, report 

ἰδόντες: AAPart npm, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know

ἐσώθη: API 3s, σῴζω, 1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction

δαιμονισθείς: APPart nsm, δαιμονίζομαι, 1) to be under the power of a demon. 

1. Now we have to wonder what the initial report was, which brought people out to see what had happened, if this secondary report is about the man who had been demonized. Had they forgotten about him and only initially reported about the loss of the herd? Luke’s stories seem to refocus the attention to the victim and not to the hoopla surrounding the victim or the victim’s rescue. 

2. I shy away from ‘save’ language for σῴζω, preferring ‘rescued’ here, because ‘saved’ has taken on such religious connotation of an eternal heaven/hell nature and it is a far more meaningful, rich, and lovely word than that. 

 

 ³⁷καὶ ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος τῆς περιχώρου τῶν Γερασηνῶν 

ἀπελθεῖν ἀπ' αὐτῶν, ὅτι φόβῳ μεγάλῳ συνείχοντο: αὐτὸς δὲ ἐμβὰς εἰς 

πλοῖον ὑπέστρεψεν.

And all the people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes begged him to go from them, because they were held together in great fear; Then having boarded onto a boat he went back.

ἠρώτησεν: AAI 3s, ἐρωτάω, 1) to question  2) to ask  2a) to request, entreat, beg, beseech

ἀπελθεῖν: AAInf ἀπέρχομαι, 1) to go away, depart 

συνείχοντο: IPI 3p, συνέχω, 1) to hold together  1a) any whole, lest it fall to pieces or something fall away from it  2) to hold together with constraint, to compress

ἐμβὰς: AAPart nsm, ἐμβάλλω, 1) to throw in, cast into 

ὑπέστρεψεν: AAI 3s, ὑποστρέφω, 1) to turn back  1a) to turn about  2) to return

1. Unlike ἐπερωτάω in v. 30 above, ἐρωτάω is a kind of questioning that often takes the form of a request. See the charts below comparing ἐπερωτάω and ἐρωτάω. 

2. I read thick tension here. The whole surrounding region is begging Jesus to go and they are bound together by fear. 

3. Is it irony that those who had once chained the demonized man are now bound, literally ‘held together’ by fear (συνέχω = συν together + έχω to hold)? The ESV says, “seized with great fear,” but it is a different verb than the word “seized” used in v.29. 

4. I’m sure I’m not the only preacher in the world who has beaten up these Gerasenes over the years for being such small-minded, ungrateful wretches, whose fear outweighed their compassion and who had the gall to beg Jesus to leave. Then, I think of Simon Peter in c.5, who, when he saw the great catch of fish after Jesus told him to drop his nets again, responded with, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” 

 

³⁸ ἐδεῖτο δὲ αὐτοῦ ὁ ἀνὴρ ἀφ' οὗ ἐξεληλύθει τὰ δαιμόνια εἶναι σὺν αὐτῷ: 

ἀπέλυσεν δὲ αὐτὸν λέγων,

Then the man out of whom the demons had gone to him was begging (bound?) to be with him; but he freed him saying, 

ἐδεῖτο: IMI 3s, δέομαι, 1) to want, lack  2) to desire, long for  3) to ask, beg  3a) the thing asked for  3b) to pray, make supplications   

ἐξεληλύθει: PluperfectAI 3s, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of 

εἶναι: PAInf, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

ἀπέλυσεν: AAI 3s, ἀπολύω, 1) to set free  2) to let go, dismiss, (to detain no longer) 

λέγων: PAPart nsm, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

1. greekbible.com has δέω (to bind tie, fasten) as the root of ἐδεῖτο, while thebible.org has δέομαι (to beg). To be honest, δέω has a lot more interesting possibility, but every major translation that I’ve seen goes with δέομαι. δέω and δέομαι certainly seem related. 

2. If it were δέω, it would imply that the rescued man was bound again (either by choice or custom) this time to Jesus who had rescued him. And that would work better with Jesus ‘freeing’ him to go home. 

3. However, the word δέομαι has appeared before in this story, through the mouth of the man, but with the voice of Legion (v.28). That too is an interesting juxtaposition. 

4. Depending on how one translates δέομαι, the word ἀπέλυσεν  can take on differing shades of either being “freed” or being “sent away.” If the man is bound to be with Jesus as his rescuer, then Jesus could be releasing him from that bond. If the man is begging to be with Jesus, then Jesus could be sending him. Either way, the man becomes quite the evangelist. 

 

 ³⁹ Ὑπόστρεφε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου, καὶ διηγοῦ ὅσα σοι ἐποίησεν ὁ θεός. καὶ 

ἀπῆλθεν καθ' ὅλην τὴν πόλιν κηρύσσων ὅσα ἐποίησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς. 

Go into your home, and describe that which God did for you.” And he went away to the whole city proclaiming that which Jesus did for him.  

Ὑπόστρεφε: PAImpv 2s, ὑποστρέφω, 1) to turn back  1a) to turn about  2) to return

διηγοῦ: PMImpv 2s, διηγέομαι, 1) to lead or carry a narration through to the end  2) set forth, recount, relate in full, describe 

ἐποίησεν: AAI 3s, ποιέω, 1) to make  

ἀπῆλθεν: AAI 3s, ἀπέρχομαι, 1) to go away, depart

κηρύσσων: PAPart nsm, κηρύσσω, 1) to be a herald, to officiate as a herald 

ἐποίησεν: AAI 3s, ποιέω, 1) to make 

1. Like many who had been rescued or healed in the Synoptics, one wonders if this man’s response was obedience or disobedience. Jesus sends him to tell “that which God did for you” and the man tells “that which Jesus did for him.” Does that difference point to disobedience or obedience? Is Luke’s language intended to show a difference between what the man was sent to say and what he said?  (Incidentally, Mk. 5:19-20 contrasts “the Lord” and “Jesus,” which may be more ambiguous. Matthew leaves it out.) 

 

Here are Luke’s uses of the verb ἐπερωτάω (from v.30), followed by his use of ἐρωτάω (from v.37). I can’t tell if they are essentially interchangeable or if they suggest certain dynamics of power in who is asking whom. 

ἐπερωτάω

Luk 2:46	...hearing them, and asking them questions.
Luk 3:10	And the people asked him, saying, What...
Luk 3:14	...the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying...
Luk 6:9	...Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing...
Luk 8:9	And his disciples asked him, saying, What...
Luk 8:30	And Jesus asked him, saying, What...
Luk 9:18	...with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom...
Luk 17:20	And when he was demanded of the Pharisees...
Luk 18:18	...a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good...
Luk 18:40	...was come near, he asked him,
Luk 20:21	And they asked him, saying, Master...
Luk 20:27	...any resurrection: and they asked him,
Luk 20:40	...they durst not ask him any question...
Luk 21:7	And they asked him, saying, Master...
Luk 22:64	...the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy...
Luk 23:6	...heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man...
Luk 23:9	Then he questioned with him in...

 

ἐρωτάω 

Luk 4:38	...great fever; and they besought him for her...
Luk 5:3	...was Simon's, and prayed him that he...
Luk 7:3	...of the Jews, beseeching him that he...
Luk 7:36	...of the Pharisees desired him that he...
Luk 8:37	...Gadarenes round about besought him to depart...
Luk 9:45	...and they feared to ask him of that...
Luk 11:37	...a certain Pharisee besought him to dine...
Luk 14:18	...and see it: I pray thee have me...
Luk 14:19	...to prove them: I pray thee have me...
Luk 14:32	...sendeth ambassadors, and desireth conditions of peace...
Luk 16:27	Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father...
Luk 19:31	...if any man ask you, Why do...
Luk 20:3	...unto them, I will also ask you one thing...
Luk 22:68	And if I also ask you, ye will...
Luk 23:3	And Pilate asked him, saying, Art...