For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. Lechler, while calling attention to Bengel's acute remark on this verse-that Luke in the Acts never uses the word 'demons' х daimonia (G1140)] when speaking of the possessed, while in his Gospel he uses it oftener than the other evangelists-demurs very properly to Bengel's inference from this-namely, that the power of possession had waxed weaker since the death of Christ. Lechler's own observation is worth noticing-how remarkable it is that in the Acts possession does not occur among the Israelities, but only in pagan territories-as in Ephesus (Acts 19:12) - or in the boundary between Judaism and paganism, as in the country of Samaria. Perhaps the reason of this was, that as the rage of Satan was in this particular form naturally roused first in the Jewish territory, where Christ came to disturb his reign, and the triumphs of Christ over him were already sufficiently displayed there, so now, when the Gospel was marching into his pagan territories, it was natural that his rage should be transferred there, and a fitting thing that its signal triumphs over him there also should in this history be recorded.