At
once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea. Those who fed them fled, and told it in the city and in the country. The people came to see what it was that had happened.
Mark 5:13-14
Mark 5 [9.] He asked him, “What is your name?” He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding. All the demons begged him, saying, “Send us into the pigs, that we may enter into them.”
Mark 5 [13.] At once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea. Those who fed them fled, and told it in the city and in the country. The people came to see what it was that had happened.
Mark 5 [15.] They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who saw it declared to them what happened to him who was possessed by demons, and about the pigs. They began to beg him to depart from their region.
Meaning:
Mark 5:13-14 describes the dramatic moment the legion of spirits left the man of the tombs. Jesus gave them permission to enter the herd of pigs, and the whole herd, about two thousand animals, rushed down the steep bank into the Sea of Galilee and drowned. The herdsmen ran to the town and the countryside with the news, and crowds came out to see what had happened. The scene shows both the destructive nature of evil and the far greater value Jesus places on one human life.
- “At Once Jesus Gave Them Permission”
The spirits could not move until Jesus allowed it. Whatever their number and strength, they were under his authority. Jesus’ permission was not approval of what they would do; it was a sovereign decision that served a greater purpose. Matthew records that Jesus simply said, “Go!” (Matthew 8:28-32). One word from him was enough to empty a man of an entire legion.
- Two Thousand Pigs
Mark alone gives the number, “about two thousand,” an enormous herd representing a great deal of wealth. Such herds were common in the Gentile Decapolis, where pork was eaten and pigs were used in pagan sacrifices, though they were unclean to Jews (Leviticus 11:7). The size of the herd matches the size of the “legion” and gave visible proof that the spirits had truly left the man. He and everyone else could see that he was free.
The rush into the sea is also significant. For Israel the deep waters often symbolized chaos and the powers opposed to God. Luke tells us the demons dreaded being sent “into the abyss” (Luke 8:31); their path ended in the depths all the same.
- Why Did Jesus Allow the Loss?
Many readers ask why Jesus let a herd be destroyed. The passage itself gives the answer: the spirits did what evil always does. They had been destroying the man, driving him to cut himself; given the chance, they destroyed the animals too. “To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The loss of the pigs reveals what the man had been spared.
It also reveals Jesus’ scale of values. He taught, “Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep!” (Matthew 12:12). One human being, made in God’s image, was worth more than two thousand pigs. Jesus asked, “what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life?” (Matthew 16:26).
- The News Spreads
The herdsmen fled and “told it in the city and in the country.” Their report was probably more about the loss of the pigs than the healing of the man. Soon “The people came to see what it was that had happened.” How they responded, with fear rather than faith, is the subject of the next verses (Mark 5:15-17).
The Significance of Mark 5:13-14
- People Matter More Than Profit
The townspeople counted the cost in pigs; Jesus counted the worth of a soul. Every generation is tempted to value money, property and convenience above people. Jesus warned, “You can’t serve both God and Mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Followers of Christ should be willing to bear cost so that others may be helped and set free.
- Evil Always Destroys
Sin and evil may promise freedom or pleasure, but they always end in destruction: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The rushing herd is a vivid warning. Yet the same verse goes on, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The man left standing on the shore, free and whole, shows the gift Jesus brings.
Cross-References:
Matthew 12:12: "Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day." Jesus values people above animals and property.
Matthew 16:26: "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?" A single life is worth more than the whole world.
1 John 3:8: "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil." The destruction of the herd shows the devil’s work; the man’s freedom shows Christ’s.
Luke 8:31: "They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss." The spirits feared the deep, yet their path ended there.
Conclusion: Mark 5:13-14 is a startling scene: two thousand pigs plunging into the sea and herdsmen running to spread the news. Behind it stands a simple truth. Evil destroys whatever it touches, but Jesus has authority over it and values one human life above any herd or fortune. The man freed that day is a picture of every believer whom Christ has delivered at great cost.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible