Peace in the Place of Pigs
Devotions for Growing Christians
Peace in the Place of Pigs
Mark 5:11-13 - A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank and were drowned.
Read Mark 5:1-20.
Wow! What a story! Did this event actually take place? Who ever heard of hundreds of pigs stampeding into a lake and drowning? Is this an exaggerated account made up by the early Christians in their desire to "remake" Jesus into a miracle worker? No! We believe that this event actually did occur - just like every other event recorded in the Bible! However, many Bible-believing Christians have questions about this rather confusing miracle.
The "How did it happen?" questions about this miracle are easy to answer. On the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee there are many steep slopes where a stampeding herd of pigs could easily rush headlong into the sea and drown. The Bible says that these pigs were possessed by demons, so that’s why a herd of pigs would stampede to their deaths.
It's the "Why did it happen?" questions that are much harder to answer. Why did the Lord grant the demons their request? Why did the Lord allow a whole herd of pigs to perish? Doesn't God care about pigs? And what about the ethics of destroying a private business enterprise?
Refuting the Critics
Knowing the background and appreciating the teaching of this miracle will provide some answers to these questions. Critics of the Bible doubt that this miracle took place because they question the historical accuracy of Scripture. They propose that all the miracles of Jesus were invented by the early Christians to make their new religion more "supernatural"! We, however, believe that the Lord Jesus healed this 1st century demon-possessed man exactly as the text describes.
Actually, the part about the pigs lends authenticity to the account. If this miracle never happened, it's unlikely that the early Christians would invent a story about their loving "hero" Jesus causing a lot of innocent animals to drown! And, as the skeptics say, if the demon-possessed man's problems were really only psychological, and he was just “thought” to be demon-possession by medically-ignorant people, then why would they ever come up with the idea of hundreds of pigs running into the sea?
This story could easily have been shown to be false - but there’s not even a shred of evidence that questions or challenges the historicity of this miracle. In fact, even the 1st century rabbinic literature (obviously not "pro-Jesus") did not question the authenticity of the record of Jesus' miracles - including the drowning of the pigs.
So the miracle actually happened - and maybe "stumping the skeptics" was one reason why God ordained that this miracle would take place! God is not opposed to seeing critics of His Word struggle in their unsuccessful attempts to explain away miracles in the Bible!
Another reason for the "why" of this miracle is that pigs and people were not a happy mix in Jewish culture. God's Law clearly declared that swine were unclean animals. The herdsmen may have been Jewish people who were involved in some kind of black market pig farming on the far side of the Sea of Galilee.
This miracle took place in a less-populated, out-of-the-way area. The land of the Gadarenes was essentially a Gentile area. It was part of the Decapolis, a confederation of ten Greco-Roman cities of the time. What were these people doing raising pigs in this region? We may not know all the details about the background, but the Lord may have been telling these pig farmers - in no uncertain terms! - that they were involved in an unlawful occupation. It's interesting that the owners of the hog business did not find fault with what the Lord did. Perhaps they realized their guilt in running an illegal enterprise.
Teaching about Demons
Another reason why God planned this seemingly bizarre miracle was to teach us truths about the unpleasant, but real, world of demonic activity. Regardless of what skeptics may say, demons are not figments of 1st century imagination. They are unseen, but very real. They are fallen spirit beings, and they are evil. From this miracle we learn that they desire to have bodies, and they can possess the bodies of people or animals. In fact, this miracle reveals that more than one demon at a time can possess the body of a person. This account is the worst case of demon-possession described in the Bible, because a legion of demons possessed one individual person. In the Roman army, a legion was comprised of as many as six thousand men!
Furthermore, we see that a person possessed by demons is capable of supernatural destructive strength, and can exhibit extreme social dysfunction and severe mental problems - including suicidal tendencies. This man lived in the cave tombs cut into the rocky hillside, and did physical harm to himself. Demons can influence and control the thoughts, actions, and even the voice of the person they possess. It is quite possible that some (not all) cases of schizophrenia and multiple personalities are caused by demonic activity.
In the case of this man in Mark 5, the demons are called "unclean." This means that these particular demons caused unusually impure talk and action. In Mark 9:14-29 we read of a "deaf and dumb spirit” that caused a boy to be mute, and to suffer from seizures. Luke 13:11-13 gives the account of a woman who had a physical handicap caused by an evil spirit. So demons can differ in character, and they can cause different physical and psychological problems. Verse 10 implies that demons inhabit certain geographical areas, either by assignment or desire, so such things as "haunted houses" and occult locations are not just fairy tales or imagination.
The good news is that demons, although fallen, are still subject to their Creator. As spirit beings that were created by God, demons are under God's control, and are only allowed limited evil activities. It appears that some demons are already confined to the "Abyss" (see Luke 8:31 and Jude 6), and that the demonic world knows that it’s only a matter of time before their ultimate doom is carried out. (See Matthew 25:41 and Revelation 12:12.)
Because demons are part of God's creation, even in their fallen state they recognized Jesus for who He is - "the Son of the Most High God" (v7). Not only did they recognize Jesus as God, but they had to respond to His authority by answering His questions and obeying His commands!
The Worth of Mankind
In addition to all this information on demons in this miracle, we also have the wonderful teaching about the great worth of humans. This miracle clearly teaches that, in God's eyes, people are more important than animals! It's not that God doesn't appreciate or care about the animals He has created, but the value of people is far greater! Why? Because man and woman were "created in the image of God" (Genesis 1:26). This miracle teaches us that one dysfunctional an, a social outcast, was more important to the Lord than a large herd of pigs. So don't ever think that anyone is "too far gone" for salvation! The immense value of every fallen and far-off human soul is certainly taught in this miracle.
What a wonderful change the Lord brought about in this man's life! Here was a person who lived in the most extreme degradation, sleeping in tomb caves, running around naked and wild, his mind and speech filled with impurities, and his behavior dominated by lewd and violent actions. Now, suddenly he is sitting quietly, clothed and in his right mind! What an amazing change!
Only God can bring about such a cure. And God can bring that kind of change to anyone, because He loves people, and every soul is of great worth in His sight. 2 Peter 3:9 says that God "is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
At this point, we all need to ask ourselves a few questions. Would my concern for this poor man have been the same as our Lord's - or would I have bypassed that cemetery as quickly as possible because of the violent man living in the tombs? Would I have been willing to see the money I had invested in agricultural stock disappear, if it meant the salvation and restoration of the soul of one “social misfit”? Or would I have protected my pigs and my investment instead?
Our honest answers to these questions may be an indication of how far short we come in our concern for the salvation of every human being. Oh, sure, we interact and witness to "nice" people (people like us). And we give some money towards foreign missions. But we shy away from getting too involved with “undesirable types." But sometimes it's hard to remember that those people are every bit as valuable to God as we are! This miracle teaches us how much we need to acknowledge and confess our unbiblical bias in this area.
Dismissing the Lord
Another clear teaching of this miracle is that the Lord will not stay where He's not wanted. The people of the area "begged Him to leave their region" - and He did (v17)! Imagine the situation. The Lord had subdued and completely changed a man that they couldn't control, even with shackles and chains! You would think that these people would have thanked Jesus and welcomed Him into their city. But the Lord had disrupted their way of life. They couldn't handle it, and they didn't want His intrusion. The Lord left when they asked Him to leave, because God will not force Himself into anyone's life when He's rejected.
This is still true today. The Lord loves people, and He can bring healing and happiness to anyone who responds to His grace - but He will not force people to come to Him.
This lesson applies not only to unbelievers who don't want God intruding into their lives - it applies to Christians as well. There are many believers who are thankful for their salvation, and that they’re eventually going to Heaven, but right now they don't appreciate the Lord's interference in their lives. Unfortunately, these people want the Lord to leave them alone rather than disrupt their self-indulgent lifestyle.
Well, guess what? The Lord does take "NO" for an answer! Be warned about asking the Lord to leave you alone. The consequences for you and your family may be just as disastrous as removing the steering wheel from your car, because it’s getting in the way of your comfort in the driver's seat!
Lessons for Evangelism
Finally, we learn something about evangelism from this miracle. When the restored man wanted to accompany Jesus back to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the Lord wouldn’t let him come along. He told His new follower to remain at home and tell his own people about the great things the Lord had done for him!
And God says the same thing to us today. Do we want to follow the Lord and serve him? Then we must be willing to start at home and share what the Lord has done in our lives. No, it's not as exciting to evangelize in our own little corner of the world. Our human natures are not naturally humble. We want to be noticed. We like the idea of serving God in a prominent position. Some of us may even seek an important role and glitzy locale! But Jesus asks us to follow Him on the path of humility. He wants us to start by serving Him right where we are!
Furthermore, isn't it interesting that the Lord wasn't worried about the theological mistakes this man might make as he witnessed? Think of the "seminary training" this man would have received if he had been allowed to join the Lord's company! The lesson here is obvious. Theological training is good, but it is not required to be a good witness. What is a witness asked to do in a court of law? A good witness simply tells what he or she has seen or experienced. So let's just follow the Lord's directions and tell people about the great things God has done in our own lives!
The healed man's testimony was effective. When Jesus returned again to the area of the Decapolis, He was readily received. In Mark 7:31, when the Lord's returned to this region, the people brought a deaf and dumb man to Him for healing. And in response to the Lord's miracle they even said, "He has done all things well!" Were some of them the same people who had asked Him to leave? Perhaps. If so, what a change in attitude!
We, too, can confidently expect to see real change in people when we share the great things the Lord has done for us!
- Dave Reid