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, and this is easily proven grammatically. In these verses, the Greek word translated, “him,” is autos. Depending on the spelling, autos can be masculine, feminine, or neuter. Demons are genderless, so for them, autos is neuter and is translated, “it.” But in both verses, the spelling of autos is masculine, so Jesus was asking “him,” “What is your name?” Linguistically, it is impossible that Jesus was asking the demon.

That being said, you might still assume that although Jesus asked the man his name, the demon is the one who answered. But again, this would be false. In Mark 5:9, “He [autos] replied, ‘My name is Legion.’” Here again, autos is masculine. So, it was not only the man who was asked; it was also the man who answered.

Some have argued it is still a possible that Legion answered because the names of a few of the most high-ranking demons — “Satan” and “Beelzebub” in the Bible and “Asmodeus” in the Apocryphal book of Tobit — have a masculine spelling and are referred to as “he” or “him” (even though they, too, are genderless). However, the spelling of “legion,” a word borrowed from Latin, is not masculine but feminine, as is often true of Latin words for collections of things (in this case, demons). Furthermore, “Legion” isn’t even a proper name like “Satan.” Nor is it even a title, like “Commander” of a legion. In fact, the word, “legion,” doesn’t describe an individual at all; it is a descriptive term for a group of soldiers. So, “Legion” is less a name than a number, as is reflected in the answer to Jesus’ question: “My name is Legion, for we are many.” If St. Mark meant for autos to refer to Legion, he would have had to find a way to explicitly explain that this is so.

So, if “he” who answered Jesus was the man, the obvious question is, why would he call himself “Legion”? The answer is simple: he was fully possessed. The commanding demon and its legion of soldiers had so usurped his identity that he no longer knew where he ended and they began.

Although we need no more proofs that Jesus asked the man for his name, I will share several. For instance, consider this: if the demon had stolen the man’s identity, would it make any sense for Jesus to ask it to use his mouth to proclaim its own name, and thus, its own identity? In contrast, by asking the man for his name, Jesus not only distinguished the man’s identity from that of the demon but also restored his dignity by addressing him as a fellow human being. Can you imagine how healing this must have felt after having been looked upon for so long as a local freak show?

Consider also, how could asking the demon for its name benefit onlookers? Its frantic displays had long obscured the fact that this man was one of their own. What sense would it make to offer it yet another opportunity to do so? By asking the man for his name, Jesus drew the crowd’s attention to the man’s identity, not that of the demon. Jesus continued to draw attention to the man by silencing the demons and then urging the man to proclaim his healing to others (Luke 8:39 and Mark 5:19). How healing that must have been as well! He who had forgotten his own name was now commissioned to proclaim his true identity repeatedly, offering an entire community the chance to walk beside him as he lived that 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” (as well as pumathanomai, meaning to “demand” as a superior). 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 when a demon is subtly twisting the truth?

Some argue that asking demons for information has borne some good fruit. Maybe so, but 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 it might as well make its exit now while it can still 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.

And, as I have said, it may also subtly twist the truth. For instance, a demon 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 find a way back into 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.

Or a demon may give information that is only partly true. It may tell you it gained entrance to its host when she used a Ouija board. Then it may dutifully leave her 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 spellcasting and hasn’t repented of that (if you had asked God instead, He would have provided the missing information.)

In some cases, the person delivered has been able to prevent the demon from returning, because he chose to persevere in resisting evil through repentance and spiritual growth. 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.

Unlike demons that falsely boast of a high rank, “Legion” was indeed more preeminent than most. Even so, Jesus’ first step toward healing the man was to bypass the demon and ask the man what his own name was. In so doing, He reassured him of his high value, imbuing that with more importance than the high status of his tormentor. Since the man’s mind was still under the demon’s control, he might not have been aware of the dignity Jesus was bestowing upon him. But after being delivered, he would have felt quite honored that Jesus had recognized him for whom he truly was.

Asking the man for his own name also served to divert the community’s fascination away from the demon and model to them a new and loving way of relating to him. As I have said, he would no longer be a freak show, but a fellow human being to be honored. Thus, Jesus healed not only the man, but his relationship with them.

In contrast to this healing approach, what sense would it make for Jesus to ask the demon to take control of the man’s mouth and vocal cords and use him like a ventriloquist speaking through a puppet? It’s hard to imagine how this 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 are given a stage they don’t deserve, on which to flaunt their antics. This method of deliverance guarantees demons 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 demon’s 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 do this. 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. 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