“When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. ” Luke 8:34-37 NIV
In this story, Jesus had just cast out many demons (a legion’s worth – thousands) from a man in Gerasenes. The demons went into a herd of pigs who then ran off a cliff into the Sea of Galilee.
This was a region where Gentiles lived (i.e. non-Jews) and this may have been the most extraordinary miracle the people there had ever seen. The important point here is that Jesus went to the Gentiles – a people who the Jews considered to be unclean and sinful. Jesus saw them as people who needed healing and deliverance, just like any other person on the planet. This was perhaps a foreshadowing of God’s mission to reach the Gentiles with the Gospel message through future missionaries, such as the Apostle Paul and others.
Jesus’ healing of the demonized man was certainly extraordinary – the one who used to cut himself, cry out and attack people who came near him was suddenly transformed into a peaceful person in his right mind.
On the flip side, a profitable herd of pigs was just drowned in the sea, and this no doubt caused quite a stir among the owners, as pigs were a delicacy for the Gentiles. The fear of further economic loss was probably a motivator for the people to want Jesus to stop working there.
The scripture simply says that the people overcome with fear, and they asked Jesus to leave and He did.
Fear can be a powerful force, one that can paralyze and literally take the breath away from us. When we allow it to control our actions it can have devastating effects – life-changing in some cases. In a time when crowds of people were following Jesus all over the region and wanting him to heal them, these people asked him to leave. Who knows what miracles were not performed in Gerasenes because Jesus left?
I would think that had the people responded in faith and belief in Jesus, they would have been much better off.
As we think about our own lives today, do we see any evidence that we’re letting fear dictate our actions – perhaps even asking Jesus to stop working in our lives or around us because we’re afraid of the outcome?
My prayer for all of us today is that we won’t respond to Jesus’ work with fear but with faith!