The Miracles of Jesus Part 13: Casting Demons into a Herd of Pigs

Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39 Evil is no match for the Lord, but many people become comfortable with evil and are afraid of the Lord’s holiness.

Mar 20, 2023

man in brown and black camouflage shirt with white rope on his head — Photo by Mahdi Bafande on Unsplash

“When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬-‭34‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

“They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They *came to Jesus and *observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭20‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

“Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss. Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭26‬-‭39‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The next miracle that Jesus performs involves another case of demonic possession. After the storm is calmed, the disciples and Jesus arrive in the Decapolis (ten city) area on the eastern shore of the Sea. This is primarily a Gentile region, settled by Greeks and other non-Jewish groups. Called the country of the Gadarenes in Matthew and the Gerasenes in Mark and Luke (really the same place), Jesus is immediately approached by a demon-possessed man as He leaves the boat.

The Gospel of Matthew, intriguingly, identifies two possessed men, but this is not a contradiction of the accounts in Mark and Luke. The latter two did not refer to only one man, just to the fact that a demon-possessed man approached Jesus (a second man, as Matthew noted, was also likely there, just not mentioned in Mark and Luke). This reference explains the difference in the terms that are appropriate to use when you are discussing the synoptic Gospels.

The versions in Mark and Luke are mostly similar and much more detailed than Matthew. Concentrating on the Gospel of Mark, we find out the man has lived in the tombs area (Luke notes that he was unclothed for a long time) and seemed to have superhuman powers to break chains and shackles. He would scream day and night in the tombs and nearby mountains and gash himself with stones. I thought the photo I found for this devotional was rather uncanny and it was found doing a search on photo site Unsplash using the topic “demon”.

Once again, just like the man in the synagogue, the demon (or demons) recognize Jesus (they know who the Son of God is, unlike the Pharisees), making the man run up to Him and shout at Him, calling Him Jesus, Son of the most High God. They beg Jesus not to torment them. Interestingly, in Matthew, they ask if He is tormenting them before the time; commentators assume this is likely referring to the last confrontation between Jesus and the powers of evil, when they are consigned to eternal torment. Jesus commands the evil spirits to leave the man and asks him his name. He replies “My name is Legion, for we are many”. A legion, by the way, was a Roman unit of 3,000 to 6,000 men. The evil spirits said this to try and intimidate Jesus, but He was not having any of it and quickly worked to free the man from them.

Here’s a great description of this type of evil from David Guzik in the Luke version of this passage:

Demonic possession is when a demonic spirit resides in a human body, and at times will exhibit its own personality through the personality of the host body. Demonic possession is a reality today, though we must guard against either ignoring demonic activity or over-emphasizing supposed demonic activity.
We are not told specifically how a person becomes demon possessed, other than the inference that it must be by some sort of invitation, whether offered knowingly or not.
Superstition, fortunetelling, so-called harmless occult games and practices, spiritism, New Age deception, magic, drug taking and other things open doors of deception to the believer, and real demonic danger to the unbeliever.
People often get involved in the occult or demonic things because there is something there that seems to work. Unfortunately it is not something at work, but a someone at work – a demonic spirit.
We can say that demons want to inhabit bodies for the same reason why the vandal wants a spray can, or a violent man wants a gun – a body is a weapon that they can use in their attack against God. Demons also attack men because they hate the image of God in man, so they try to mar that image, by debasing man and making him grotesque.
Demons have the same goal in Christians (to wreck the image of God) but their tactics are restricted; in regard to Christians, demonic spirits were disarmed by Jesus’ work on the cross (Colossians 2:15), though they can both deceive and intimidate Christians, binding them with fear and unbelief.

I recall a certain movie that was released when I was a freshman in college in 1973 - “The Exorcist”. This popular horror film received critical acclaim and even won two Academy Awards. I refused to see it at the time it was released and actually had nightmares when friends told me about the movie, although I did view it a few years later and wished I had skipped it (it’s very disturbing movie). At the time, I was still a nominal believer (before my years in the wilderness) but I didn’t know that the power of demons was disarmed for believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit, so in my childish naïveté I feared being possessed (demons can deceive and intimidate Christians). To this day, I don’t like hearing the music “Tubular Bells” by Michael Oldfield, used as the theme music. I also recall playing with an Ouija board quite often in high school and college with other friends and always feeling uneasy at doing this and seeing the results, but peer pressure is a powerful thing.

As David Guzik says, demonic possession is a reality in our modern age, but we must guard against ignoring it AND over-emphasizing it. If we submit to childish superstitions or Hollywood excesses in our entertainment choices, then we can open the door to real evil.

Movie poster for the original theatrical release of “The Exorcist”

So back to our miracle. The demons plead with Jesus to not command them to go “into the country or the abyss”. A large herd of swine are grazing on a nearby mountain and the demons plead with Jesus to let them go into the pigs. They can’t act without His power and He permits them to enter the swine. The poor possessed pigs immediately charge down a hillside and drown themselves in the Sea, as their herdsmen watch in horror.

David Guzik has more to say about this result in his commentary for the Matthew version:

The fact that the demons immediately drove the swine to destruction helps explain why Jesus allowed the demons to enter the pigs – because He wanted everyone to know what the real intention of these demons was. They wanted to destroy the men just as they destroyed the pigs. Because men are made in the image of God, they could not have their way as easily with the men, but their intention was just the same – to kill and destroy.
Another reason why the devils were sent into the pigs was to conclusively show that they had been indeed cast out of the men.
Some protest that this was unfair to the owner of the pigs. “‘But the owners of the swine lost their property.’ Yes, and learn from this how small value temporal riches are in the estimation of God. He suffers them to be lost, sometimes to disengage us from them through mercy; sometimes out of justice, to punish us for having acquired or preserved them either by covetousness or injustice.” (Adam Clarke)

So how do the people in the region respond to the pig stampede and the amazing sight of the demon-possessed man now sitting down calmly, clothed and in his right mind? Do they recognize the supreme power of the Lord over this evil? Of course not! They are “gripped with a great fear” and ask Him to leave their shores; I imagine that the circumstances with the pigs were also not well-received. It’s interesting that they weren’t afraid when this poor guy was tearing up the cemetery and screaming night and day. But helping the possessed makes them fearful. This is a very important point from this passage - people can get used to evil but are aroused and unhappy when holiness and good come to them!

Jesus complies with their wishes and goes to the boat to depart. There are some Biblical commentators who believe that He came there strictly to help this man and destroy the demons and that the storm was an attempt by the forces of evil to stop Him. Jesus does return to the east side of the Sea but probably not to this place in particular. The dispossessed man begs Jesus to let him follow Him and become a disciple. Jesus tells him instead to go home to his people and tell them the great things that He has done for him. The man complies and the story spreads in the Decapolis area, probably explaining the big crowds that show up later in that same region in the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000.

Here’s a final short comment from the commentary on this passage in Mark by David Guzik:

Sometimes we have a hard time understanding the ways of God. The people of the city made an evil request: they began to plead with Him to depart from their region, and Jesus answered their prayer. The man who had been demon possessed made a godly request: that he might be with Him, and Jesus said no to that prayer.
Of course, this was because this man could be a light among the people of these Gentile cities in a way that Jesus and the disciples could not. But it was also to cure the man of any superstitions. He might have thought that he had to stay close to Jesus to keep the demons from coming back. “Perhaps, too, his prayer was not answered, lest his fear should have been thereby sanctioned. If he did fear, and I feel morally certain that he did, that the devils would return, then, of course, he longed to be with Christ. But Christ took that fear from him, and as good as says to him, ‘You do not need to be near me; I have so healed that you will never be sick again.’” (Charles Spurgeon)

So what can we learn from this miracle?

Casting demons into a herd of pigs: Jesus has the ultimate authority over evil and demons must have His permission to even enter into animals that immediately die. Demon possession is a real thing, but is likely rare and would not occur in a believer who is under the power of the Holy Spirit. We should not get so comfortable with evil surrounding us that we are fearful of holiness and good. Jesus wants us to tell others about His power and healing and to be without superstitions.

My next devotional examines the healing of a woman in the crowd who has suffered from bleeding. This miracle is documented in Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - Thank you for your power over evil and your compassion for those who suffer from evil and possession. Please keep me from evil and temptations in my life. Amen.

Commentary on Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.

The Miracle List:

Water to wine: Jesus can overcome time, He creates beauty and abundance, and He shares in our joy.
Healing of the official’s son: Jesus can overcome space (distance), He does not need to see the person He heals, He has infinite power, but He also wants us to believe without signs and wonders.
Casting out of the evil spirit in the synagogue: The authority of Jesus is recognized by the demons and He triumphs over evil and silences it.
Healing of Peter’s Mother-in-Law: Jesus does not need crowds to demonstrate His power and He has compassion about the needs of one person, even if those needs seem smaller and only worthy of a couple of verses of scripture.
Healing and casting out demons of many in Capernaum (at Peter’s house): Jesus has compassion on all who come to Him and has no conditions that He places on giving them His mercy. He can heal instantly with a light touch and again demonstrates authority over demons and silences them.
Miraculous catch of fish on the Sea of Galilee: Jesus demonstrates His powers over His creation, He once again brings abundance, and He teaches humble fishermen that their task of bringing souls to Him is the most important thing they can do. They must follow Him.
Cleansing of the Leper: Jesus is willing to heal us, is compassionate towards those who suffer and can instantly cure a dreadful and feared disease. We must have faith when circumstances seem hopeless.
Healing of the Centurion’s Servant: Jesus came so that anyone who believes on His name is saved, Jew or Gentile. One of the most humble and devout persons that He encounters during His ministry is a Roman Centurion who cares and loves a servant who is sick or paralyzed. Jesus has instant authority over this illness, again eliminating space (distance) as a barrier to healing; He also marvels at this man’s faith.
Healing of the paralytic passed through the roof: Jesus demonstrates His ultimate authority as the Son of God to forgive sins and to heal a condition that seems irreversible. He can sense and read the hearts and thoughts of others. He turns a major disruption into a lesson on forgiveness. The friends of the paralytic show tremendous faith in how they solve this problem.
Healing of the withered hand on the Sabbath: Jesus can instantaneously heal a chronic condition, restoring a hand to full function. The man he heals exhibits great faith in His ability to heal and obeys Him. Jesus also challenges the assumptions and rules that have taken the place of faith and wisdom in the hearts of the Pharisees and Scribes. His anger is righteous; their rage is murderous.
Jesus is filled with compassion for the suffering and grief of others. He has power over death and can restore us to joy and hope in the face of a hopeless situation. His endless grace and the power of His word are sufficient. We are to spring into action, serving Him and bringing His hope to the hopeless.
Jesus has the unlimited power to tame nature and He calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee instantly. His disciples, after seeing one miracle after another before this, are struck with memory loss when this crisis hits and forget that He is the Creator of the Universe and creation will obey Him. Jesus is there in the storms of life for those who believe on His name.
Casting demons into a herd of pigs: Jesus has the ultimate authority over evil and demons must have His permission to even enter into animals that immediately die. Demon possession is a real thing, but is likely rare and would not occur in a believer who is under the power of the Holy Spirit. We should not get so comfortable with evil surrounding us that we are fearful of holiness and good. Jesus wants us to tell others about His power and healing and to be without superstitions.