Who Did Jesus Ask, “What Is Your Name?”

  Who Did Jesus Ask,
“What Is Your Name?”

Mark Sandford

In the story of the man possessed by Legion, in Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30, we read: “Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’” Who was Jesus asking, the man or the demon?

Since the answer was, “My name is Legion,” it might seem surprising that I would even raise this question. "Of course," you might say, “It was the demon.” But I'll get straight to the point; Jesus was asking the man. In the phrase, "Jesus asked him," the Greek word for “him” is autos. In Luke 8:30, autos is masculine, matching the masculine spelling of the Greek word for "man," anthropos, while the Greek word for "demon," daimonia, is neuter. So, clearly, when Jesus asked "him," "What is your name?", "him" was the man, not the demon. Linguistically, it is impossible that Jesus was asking the demon. 

In Mark 5:9, the Greek word is "spirit" (pneuma) instead of "demon" (daimonia). Although its spelling is neuter,  pneuma can sometimes indicate a masculine spirit, depending on the context. But in this context, pneuma is the same spirit mentioned in Luke 8:30, so it must harmonize with the neuter daimonia in that verse. Furthermore, the masculine spelling of autos is the same as in Luke 8:30, and again, it matches the masculine spelling of anthropos. 

Since Jesus asked the man for his name, could it be that the man was the one who replied, even though the answer was, "My name is Legion"? This might make sense if, in his demonically induced confusion, he no longer knew who he was. However, what comes next is an explanation for the answer: "for we [the demons] are many," immediately followed by a request by the same demons to be sent into a herd of pigs. Therefore, it is more likely that the demon (that is, the head demon over the "many") was the one who answered. (And that helps explain why many readers think Jesus asked the demon for its name.)

So, if Jesus asked the man for his name, why would the demon answer? The answer is simple: the man was possessed. The demon had usurped his identity. 

It makes sense then that Jesus asked the man for his name. This was the first step toward helping him distinguish his identity from that of the demon. And it was the first step toward restoring his dignity; Jesus politely addressed him as a fellow human being. And by focusing on the man instead of the demon, He bestowed upon him a sense of importance that eclipsed Legion's lofty status as leader of a host of demons! Can you imagine how healing the man must have felt after having been looked upon for so long as a local freak show? Since his mind was still under demonic control, he might not have been aware at the moment of the dignity bestowed upon him. But after being delivered, he would have felt quite honored. 

By contrast, what sense would it make for Jesus to ask the demon to use the man's mouth to proclaim its own name, and thus, its own identity? If the demon's frantic displays had stripped the man of his dignity, what sense would it make to offer it yet another opportunity to do so, especially in front of gawking onlookers? Jesus' caring approach drew their attention away from the demon and onto the man, modeling to them a new and loving way of relating to him. He continued to draw attention to the man by silencing the demon and urging him to spread the news of his deliverance (Luke 8:39 and Mark 5:19). How healing that must have been for him as well! He who had forgotten who he was, was now commissioned to proclaim his true identity, offering an entire community the chance to walk beside him as he lived it out. 

Why would Jesus ask a demon for information anyway? That would imply the right to refuse to answer. Jesus would never ask a demon for anything; He would command it! But He didn’t even do that. In biblical Greek, there are seven words translated, “command.” In Mark 5 and Luke 8, none of these are used. And no wonder! Surely, God incarnate would have no need for a demon to inform him of anything.

Nowhere else in the gospels did Jesus ever ask or even command demons to speak. He always commanded them to be silent. Why? Because demons may share true information, but at the wrong time. For instance, in Mark 1:34b (NAS), Jesus “cast out many demons, and He was not permitting the demons to speak because they knew who He was.” Apparently, it was not yet time for people to know He was the Son of God.

When demons do speak, they subtly twist the truth. In Acts 16:16b (NAS), a slave girl with a spirit of divination followed Paul and his companions, crying out: “These men are bondservants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming a way to be saved.” Notice that she said “a” way (implying one among many), not “the” way (meaning the only way) to be saved. And notice that like Jesus, St. Paul commanded her demon to be silent (verse 18).

Many deliverance ministers say that since they can’t hear the Holy Spirit clearly enough, they need to ask demons for information. What a deception! If they can’t hear God, how will they hear Him tell them a demon is subtly twisting the truth? 

Some argue that asking demons for information has borne some good fruit. If so, that doesn’t mean this practice is God’s first choice. What it does reveal is God’s infinite grace. Out of kindness to the one being delivered, He may be willing to prod a demon into submission despite the exorcist’s faulty approach. The downside is that the demon may surmise that if it must be expelled, it might as well take advantage of the opportunity this method provides to produce some bad fruit along with the good. The bad fruit is that the demon will be allowed to torment and humiliate its host in front of others while showing off its horseplay at its host’s expense.

As I stated earlier, this method may also provide a demon with an opportunity to subtly twist the truth. For instance, it may give you false information that sounds true. More than a few times, persons delivered through this method have told me their demon had identified itself as a high-ranking principality or even Satan himself. They had bought into the absurd notion that a general over an entire army of darkness would sideline his war effort to concentrate on one little soldier. Often, these persons had come away feeling prideful that they were the chosen prey of a spirit of such high rank. That’s a badge of honor that’s hard to let go of! By inducing the vice of pride, the demon may have subtly secured for itself a foothold through which to continue to influence its host. And the deliverance minister may have been blinded to this possibility if he, too, felt flattered that he had been privileged to expel a demon of such eminence.

Another way a demon may mislead is to give information that is only partly true. For instance, it may tell you it had gained entrance to its host when she used a Ouija board. Then it may dutifully leave when you cast it out, tricking you into thinking your work is done. But it may later return because it neglected to inform you that its host also practiced spell-casting and hasn’t repented of that. (If you had asked God instead, He could have provided the missing information.)

In some cases, a person delivered through this method has been able to prevent the demon from returning. He has chosen to persevere in resisting evil through repentance and spiritual growth, even without the information the demon has cleverly withheld. But what an unnecessary struggle that has turned out to be! Asking the Holy Spirit for the needed information would have brought freedom so much more quickly and easily.

As I have said, by asking the man who he was, Jesus diverted the community’s fascination away from the demon and modeled to them a new and loving way of relating to the man. He would no longer be a freak show, but a fellow human being to be treated with respect. Thus, Jesus healed not only the man, but the man's relationship with them. In contrast to this healing approach, it's hard to imagine that asking the demon to take control of the man’s mouth and vocal cords and use him like a ventriloquist speaking through a puppet could be a “healing” experience! I have counseled persons who have told me that when this method was used on them, it was, in fact, traumatizing and embarrassing.

Just as troubling is that demons were given a stage they didn’t deserve on which to flaunt their antics. Interviewing demons guarantees them an audience. It instills a mentality in God’s people that inclines them to expect (and may even tempt them to perversely enjoy) a demonic spectacle and to view demons with a sense of awe. It seduces onlookers into becoming more enthralled with the demons' flamboyant stage act than the Holy Spirit’s gentle touch. Have you ever witnessed an exorcist interviewing a demon? What do you remember the most? The contorted grimaces, guttural speech, and frightening shrieks, or the peaceful countenance afterward? Although such deliverance may at least be preferable to remaining demonized, it is far from optimal!

Through more than four decades of doing inner healing and deliverance, I have never found it necessary to turn to a demon for help. I see no reason why we should ever need to. The Holy Spirit has provided us with the gift of discernment of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10). Ask Him what you need to know about demons; He is a much more reliable source than the demons themselves. If you can’t hear Him, perhaps you’re just experiencing an occasional moment when the Holy Spirit chooses to be silent. He has His timing. He will tell you what you need to know when you need to know it, every step of the way.

Most of all, understand that deliverance isn’t primarily about chasing demons. It’s about healing persons. Ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to conduct deliverance in a way that neither traumatizes people nor provides a stage and megaphone for demons. Above all, ask Him for the sensitivity to make deliverance a healing experience for those being freed from demonic torment.

 © Mark Sandford 2025