The Meaning of Matthew 8:34 Explained

Matthew 8:34

KJV: 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.

YLT: And lo, all the city came forth to meet Jesus, and having seen him, they called on him that he might depart from their borders.

Darby: And behold, the whole city went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to go away out of their coasts.

ASV: And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart from their borders.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Matthew 8:34 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 8:28-34 - An Unwelcome Visitor
The demon spirit seems still to tenant the lives of human beings. To what else can we attribute the paroxysms of passion, the awful cruelties and inhumanities of men? There is only one devil, but many demons; only one prince of the power of darkness, but many emissaries. Take heed, lest you open the door of your nature to the spirit of evil and he possess you. Watch and pray, and trust the keeping of your soul to the hands of Christ. He is stronger than the strong man.
Notice that the demon is set upon destruction. If he may not destroy the souls of men, he will destroy swine. This is the mark of evil. It is always destructive; whereas the Spirit of God is constructive and builds up from the ruins of Satan's work a new heaven and a new earth, both in the soul and in the universe.
All the city besought Jesus to depart, because men count their gains more valuable than His presence. The same spirit rules in the commercial world of today. Let us beware. What shall it profit to gain the world, if we lose our souls? [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 8

1  Jesus cleanses the leper;
5  heals the centurion's servant,
14  Peter's mother in law,
16  and many others;
18  shows the cost of following him;
23  stills the storm on the sea;
28  drives the demons out of two men possessed;
31  and tells them to go into the pigs

Greek Commentary for Matthew 8:34

That he would depart [οπως μεταβηι]
The whole city was excited over the destruction of the hogs and begged Jesus to leave, forgetful of the healing of the demoniacs in their concern over the loss of property. They cared more for hogs than for human souls, as often happens today. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 8:34

Matthew 28:9 Jesus met them [Ιησους υπηντησεν αυταις]
Came suddenly face to face Cf. Matthew 8:34; Matthew 24:1-6. Probably the lost portion of Mark‘s Gospel contained the story of this meeting with Jesus which changed their fears into joy and peace. His greeting was the ordinary “Hail” They fell at his feet and held them in reverence while they worshipped him. Jesus allowed this act of worship though he forbade eager handling of his body by Mary Magdalene (John 20:17). It was a great moment of faith and cheer. [source]
Mark 5:15 They come to Jesus [ερχονται προς τον Ιησουν]
Vivid present. To Jesus as the cause of it all, “to meet Jesus” (εις υπαντησιν Ιησου — eis hupantēsin Iēsou Matthew 8:34). [source]
Luke 6:24 Consolation [παράκλησις]
From παρά , to the side of, and καλέω , to call or summon. Literally, a calling to one's side to help; and therefore entreaty, passing on into the sense of exhortation, and thence into that of consolatory exhortation; and so coming round to mean that which one is summoned to give to a suppliant - consolation. Thus it embodies the call for help, and the response to the call. Its use corresponds with that of the kindred verb παρακαλέω , to exhort or console. In its original sense of calling for aid the noun appears in the New Testament only in 2 Corinthians 8:4: with much entreaty. The verb appears frequently in this sense, rendered beseech, pray (Matthew 8:34; Matthew 14:36; Mark 1:40; Mark 5:12, etc.). In the sense of consolation or comfort the noun occurs in Luke 2:25; Luke 6:24; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 7:4; Philemon 1:7. The verb, in Matthew 2:18; Matthew 5:4:; Luke 16:25; 2 Corinthians 1:4. In some instances, however, the meaning wavers between console and exhort. In the sense of exhortation or counsel, the noun may be found in Acts 13:15; Romans 12:8; Hebrews 13:22. The verb, in Acts 2:40; Acts 11:23; Acts 14:22; Romans 12:8; Titus 2:15. Neither the noun nor the verb appear in the writings of John, but the kindred word παράκλητος the Paraclete, Comforter, or Advocate, is peculiar to him. On this word, see on John 14:16. It should be noted, however, that the word comfort goes deeper than its popular conception of soothing. It is from the later Latin confortare, to make strong. Thus Wycliffe renders Luke 1:80, “the child waxed, and was comforted in spirit” (A. V., waxed strong )and Tyndale, Luke 22:43, “there appeared an angel from heaven comforting him” (A. V., strengthening )The comfort which Christ gives is not always soothing. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is to convince of sin and ofjudgment. Underlying the word is the sense of a wise counsel or admonition which rouses and braces the moral nature and encourages and strengthens it to do and to endure. When, therefore, Christ says “they that mourn shall be comforted,” he speaks in recognition of the fact that all sorrow is the outcome of sin, and that true comfort is given, not only in pardon for the past, but in strength to fight and resist and overcome sin. The atmosphere of the word, in short, is not the atmosphere of the sick-chamber, but the tonic breath of the open world, of moral struggle and victory; the atmosphere for him that climbs and toils and fights. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 8:34 mean?

And behold all the city went out to meet - Jesus having seen Him they begged [Him] that He would depart from the region of them
καὶ ἰδοὺ πᾶσα πόλις ἐξῆλθεν εἰς ὑπάντησιν τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν παρεκάλεσαν ὅπως μεταβῇ ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρίων αὐτῶν

ἰδοὺ  behold 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἰδού  
Sense: behold, see, lo.
πόλις  city 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: πόλις  
Sense: a city.
ἐξῆλθεν  went  out 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐξέρχομαι 
Sense: to go or come forth of.
ὑπάντησιν  meet 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ὑπάντησις  
Sense: to go to meet.
τῷ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦ  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
ἰδόντες  having  seen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
παρεκάλεσαν  they  begged  [Him] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: παρακαλέω  
Sense: to call to one’s side, call for, summon.
ὅπως  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅπως  
Sense: how, that.
μεταβῇ  He  would  depart 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: μεταβαίνω  
Sense: to pass over from one place to another, to remove, depart.
ὁρίων  region 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: ὅριον  
Sense: boundaries.
αὐτῶν  of  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.