Matthew 8:31 (WEB)

Passage

The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”

Nearby Context

Matthew 8:29 Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

Matthew 8:30 Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them.

Matthew 8:31 The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”

Matthew 8:32 He said to them, “Go!” They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water.

Matthew 8:33 Those who fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "demons", "begged", "saying", "cast", "permit", "away", "herd", and "pigs". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "demons" and "begged", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "Now there was a herd of many..." into verse 32's "He said to them Go They came...", so "demons" and "begged" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "demons" and "begged" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.