Luke 8:26-39 Pigs Aren’t the Point
Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 8. This morning we are going to look at verses 26-39 and that’s on page 865 in the pew Bibles.
Last week we examined in the verses previous to these Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. And now Jesus and His disciples have arrived on the far side of the Lake in the region of the Gerasenes.
Again, we’ll get a chance to see the principles that we have been examining over the last few weeks put to work. I’m not going to give any more introduction than that, let’s just jump into it.
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Let’s pray.
So this is a very significant event in the Gospel record so far, do you know why? I’ll tell you right off, it has nothing to do with the pigs.
In order for us to fully understand the meaning of any given text of Scripture, we have to explore its meaning to its original audience because the Bible can never mean what it never meant. If we skip over this part we will never understand the true meaning of any part of Scripture.
The first thing we need to understand is where this event takes place. Luke calls it the region of the Gerasenes, a region on the shores of the Sea of Galilee near what is called, “the Decapolis,” which means ten cities. What makes this significant is that it is not a predominantly Jewish area. The people living here were a mix of Jewish, Syrian, and Greeks. There was also a great deal of pig farming. Mark records around two thousand pigs drowned in this account. Also at least one demon possessed man, Matthew records two but Luke only pays attention to one, living among the tombs the place of the dead.
So what is significant about those details?
First, and most simply, this was Jesus’ contact with the Gentile world. Remember that a Gentile is anyone who is not Jewish, Greeks and Syrians are not Jewish, and those Jews who chose to live among them would be looked down on by the rest of the Jewish world.
For a Jew to associate with a Gentile would make them unclean. To have contact with pigs would make them unclean. To have contact with dead bodies would make them unclean.
So here comes Jesus, pulling up to shore near the tombs, near a huge herd of pigs, in a Gentile country and He is confronted by a man with an unclean spirit. A naked man. And seeing a naked man also made them unclean…
This man who was plagued by demons, who could not be bound, for a long time, it says, he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but lived among the tombs. This guy was about as bad off as you could get.
Do you remember the first gift in the storm from last week? It was the reminder of our powerlessness.
This poor man was utterly powerless. The disciples felt it in the face of the storm on the sea, this man felt it every minute of every day.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.
Even demons believe that Jesus is the Son of God, what they don’t do is repent and ask for forgiveness.
30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
Now we don’t know how many demons were present in this account, we do know that a Roman Legion had as many as six thousand soldiers in it, and Mark records this Legion going into around two thousand pigs so I think that it is safe to say that there were a lot.
But even so, thousands of demons were forced to bow down at the feet of Jesus the Almighty. And this reminds us of the second gift the Disciples were given out on the lake, the reminder of Jesus’ almightiness, here we see it in action again.
John Calvin said, “The whole of Satan’s kingdom is subject to the authority of Christ.”
And now… The pigs… This is the part where, Alistair Begg said, the home Bible studies get totally derailed.
The legion of demons begged Jesus not to command them to depart into the abyss. This may be a reference to the bottomless pit described in Revelation 9:11 and 20:3, some scholars confidently claim that they mean Hell which, I think, is based on a poor understanding of what Hell is, but that is a discussion for another time.
32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
The legion of demons recognizes Jesus’ power over them and their inability to operate without His permission and so they beg Him to let them enter the herd of pigs. This is where the home Bible study goes off the rails.
What does Jesus have against pigs? I had a pet pig and I loved it. I once had a German Shepherd that everybody thought was possessed. Can demons still possess animals? Was Kudjo based on a true story?
Believe it or not, the pigs have very little to do with the point of this account.
Wise scholars like JJ vanOosterzee say this: “Why the demons desire to go into the swine is a question which we, so far as we are concerned, can answer only with a confession of the entire incompetence of our intelligence on this mysterious ground.”
John Calvin wrote, “While the reason of it is not known by us with certainty, it is proper for us to behold with reverence, and to adore with devout humility, the hidden judgment of God.”
The truth is, the question of the pigs is not even worth considering if it means that we take our eyes of the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
Here is where the formerly demon possessed man received the third gift, the gift of worship. He had been cleansed by the Lord Jesus, clothed by the Disciples and sat at His feet in reverence.
But where the newly cleansed man worshipped Jesus and wanted to stay with Him, the people of the surrounding country wanted nothing to do with Jesus and wanted Him out of there. This, sadly, still happens today.
37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
It’s impossible to know why the people rejected Jesus there. They must have known the man, they must have known the state he was in before but it didn’t seem to matter. Were they afraid of losing more pigs? Maybe they were just content with the way things were and they didn’t want anybody stirring up any more trouble.
What’s curious to me is that Jesus granted the request of the legion of demons, He granted the request of the people who rejected Him and left the region, the only person’s request that he didn’t grant was the one who trusted in Him.
He just asked to go with Him so that he could be with Him, can you blame Him?
Do you hear echoes of this in your own life?
I was talking with a friend this week about wanting the Lord to come back so we wouldn’t have to deal with all of the junk of this fallen world but we were reminded that every day that the Father waits to send Jesus back for His church is a kindness not a curse, it’s another day that millions of people can come to faith in Jesus and be saved.
38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
If Jesus had taken the man back to Galilee with Him there would be no one to declare what had happened to him, no one declaring what God had done through Jesus. He left Him there as a witness the same reason that we are left here, to be His witnesses, to declare how much God has done for us.
“In the person of one man Christ exhibited to us a proof of His grace, which is extended to all mankind. Though we are not tortured by the devil, yet he holds us as his slaves till the Son of God delivers us from his tyranny. Naked, torn, disfigured, we wander about till He restores us to soundness of mind. It remains that, in magnifying His grace we testify our gratitude.” –Calvin Amen.
