supernatural
Legion
λεγεών
In the New Testament, Legion is the name given to a demon or group of demons that possessed a man in the region of the Gerasenes (Mrk.5.9; Luke 8:30).
- verses
- 2
- first named
- Mark 5:9
- last named
- Mark 5:13
Description
Legion in the text
Legion is the name given to a demon or group of demons mentioned in the accounts of Jesus' ministry in the region of the Gerasenes, as recorded in Mrk.5.1-20 and Luke 8:26-39.
In both accounts, Jesus encounters a man who is possessed by demons. When Jesus asks the demon its name, the response is "Legion," for many demons had entered the man (Mrk.5.9; Luke 8:30). The name "Legion" is derived from the Roman military term for a unit of 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers, emphasizing the large number of demons possessing the man.
The demon-possessed man is described as living among the tombs, crying out, and cutting himself with stones. He had extraordinary strength, breaking chains and shackles used to restrain him. The demons begged Jesus not to send them out of the area and requested to enter a nearby herd of pigs. Jesus granted their request, and the demons entered the pigs, causing the herd to rush down a steep bank into the sea and drown.
The use of the name "Legion" highlights the severity of the man's possession and the immense power and control the demons had over him. It also demonstrates Jesus' authority over the spiritual realm, as He commanded the demons to leave the man, and they obeyed.
The deliverance of the demon-possessed man served as a powerful testimony to the surrounding region. The man, now clothed and in his right mind, began to proclaim what Jesus had done for him, spreading the message of Jesus' power and compassion.
The account of Legion emphasizes Jesus' power over evil spirits and His ability to bring healing and restoration to those oppressed by demonic forces. It also foreshadows Jesus' ultimate victory over Satan and the forces of darkness through His death and resurrection.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
Stands in the same events as
- Jesus3 events
The pattern
Where Legion is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
2 verses across 2 of 66 books; 64 write the name nowhere. Named in Mark (1) and Luke (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 2, across 2 books.
Onward
Where this page goes
Nothing in the graph stands one hop from this entity yet. These are the best-connected entities of the same type, so the page still ends somewhere. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Sources