They were a bunch of pigs!

In Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5: 1-20, Luke 8:26-39 we read about the man who is possessed by demons or unclean spirits. The town is called Kursi in the country of the Gerasenes and is located just east of the Sea of Galilee and is directly opposite Capernaum where Jesus and the Disciples sailed from. We know by reading those verses that there was a herd of pigs there. And what do pigs like to eat? Garbage! Now have you ever seen a pig eating your garbage or somebody else's garbage? We also know they were by a steep bank so it is quite possible they were at the town dump. Another question to ask is why was the man there in the first place? The reason is because it is the town dump and that is where everybody gets rid of their unwanted stuff and in this case that includes crazy people. So Jesus shows up where the normal and the sane do not and in this instance, it is a place that is dirty and stinky. Now unlike people, the demons recognized Jesus for who HE is and already know they have to leave the man they are possessing and they know there are only two ways this can go. #1. They can be cast out and destroyed or they can choose option #2. and take over the herd of pigs. There is speculation that there could have been a 3rd option and that would have been to heal the demons themselves as they could have been fallen angels. However, not only is that not in those verses, it is not something I have ever read either. So they beg Jesus to let them invade the pigs setting the man free for the first time in a long time. So now the herd which is about 2000 in number supposedly turn and runs down the embankment and into the Lake being killed instantly. Now the disciples being who they were dropped their jaws at the sight of this (I would most likely do the same) because they are seeing more and more that Jesus has power over the demons. But I should point out that it also shows what the devil does and that is that he destroys. The demons were torturing the poor man they had invaded and they can cause all manners of destruction. Where we know that not only does Jesus save people, he can heal & restore also. Something to think about is that Jesus never allows a demon to leave one person and enter another. Demons were always cast out and the only times they were allowed to enter flesh is when they went into the pigs.

Now the next big questions is, why did the townspeople ask Jesus to leave? Imagine for a moment you had all your money invested in Cattle and they were all killed, therefore making your investment null and void. Wouldn't you be mad? Well speculation is that's what this was. The townspeople had their money invested in the pigs and lost it all when they drowned in the lake.


As always thanks to John Ferret for the photo and George O. Wood of The Assembly of God Church for the inspiration for this article.