Hijacked humanity: A postcolonial reading of Luke 8:26–39

Abstract

In this article, we argue that Luke’s portrayal of Jesus’ temptation by Satan (Luke 4:5–7) presents Satan as the figurehead for imperial oppression on the culture of all humanity, not merely the Jewish culture that was dominated by the Greco-Roman forces. We therefore exegete the story of the Gerasene Demoniac in Luke 8:26–39 as the model of a postcolonial story. First, we connect the man’s poverty and possession by demons named after an army battalion to Leo Perdue’s definition of colonial occupation. Second, we link the man’s inability to speak for himself and the demonic ventriloquism to the imperialistic repression of language. Third, we discuss the inhumane living conditions of the man as the proof of dehumanization. Each one of these situations is reversed by Jesus in this pericope with ample textual and linguistic evidence. In addition, the people who witness this miraculous transformation and fearfully oust Jesus can be described as “native collaborators” with the colonial masters (demons). Finally, just as Jesus’ ministry begins with Satan’s imperialistic statement of ownership, it ends with a linguistic and theological connection to the intended human culture of Eden. On the cross, Jesus states that upon death he will be in παραδείσῳ (Luke 23:43). Luke 4:5–7 and 23:43 provide the contextual bookends for the story of the demoniac’s exorcism. Jesus begins with an understanding of the colonial occupation and moves toward a renaissance of the native culture.