Luke 8:30

8:30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him.

Luke 8:38

8:38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,

Luke 9:1

The Sending of the Twelve Apostles

9:1 After Jesus called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure 10  diseases,

Luke 10:17

10:17 Then 11  the seventy-two 12  returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to 13  us in your name!” 14 

Luke 11:20

11:20 But if I cast out demons by the finger 15  of God, then the kingdom of God 16  has already overtaken 17  you.

tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to pick up the sequence of the narrative prior to the parenthetical note by the author.

tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

sn The name Legion means “thousands,” a word taken from a Latin term for a large group of soldiers. The term not only suggests a multiple possession, but also adds a military feel to the account. This is a true battle.

tn Grk “be,” that is, “remain.” In this context that would involve accompanying Jesus as he went on his way.

tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn An aorist participle preceding an aorist main verb may indicate either contemporaneous (simultaneous) action (“When he called… he gave”) or antecedent (prior) action (“After he called… he gave”). The participle συγκαλεσάμενος (sunkalesameno") has been translated here as indicating antecedent action.

tc Some mss add ἀποστόλους (apostolou", “apostles”; א C* L Θ Ψ 070 0291 Ë13 33 579 892 1241 1424 2542 pc lat) or μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ (maqhta" autou, “his disciples”; C3 al it) here, but such clarifying notes are clearly secondary.

10 sn Note how Luke distinguishes between exorcisms (authority over all demons) and diseases here.

11 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

12 tc See the tc note on the number “seventy-two” in Luke 10:1.

13 tn Or “the demons obey”; see L&N 36.18.

14 tn The prepositional phrase “in your name” indicates the sphere of authority for the messengers’ work of exorcism.

15 sn The finger of God is a figurative reference to God’s power (L&N 76.3). This phrase was used of God’s activity during the Exodus (Exod 8:19).

16 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

17 tn The phrase ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (efqasen efJuma") is important. Does it mean merely “approach” (which would be reflected in a translation like “has come near to you”) or actually “come upon” (as in the translation given above, “has already overtaken you,” which has the added connotation of suddenness)? The issue here is like the one in 10:9 (see note there on the phrase “come on”). Is the arrival of the kingdom merely anticipated or already in process? Two factors favor arrival over anticipation here. First, the prepositional phrase “upon you” suggests arrival (Dan 4:24, 28 Theodotion). Second, the following illustration in vv. 21-23 looks at the healing as portraying Satan being overrun. So the presence of God’s authority has arrived. See also L&N 13.123 for the translation of φθάνω (fqanw) as “to happen to already, to come upon, to come upon already.”