Now
there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water. Those who fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
Matthew 8:30-34
Matthew 8 [27.] The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Matthew 8 [28.] When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way. Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”
Matthew 8 [32.] He said to them, “Go!”
They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water. Those who fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
Matthew 9 [1.] He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.”
Meaning:
After calming the storm, Jesus landed on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in Gentile territory. Two men possessed by demons met him, coming out of the tombs, and the demons cried out, “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:28-29). These verses tell how Jesus freed the men, what happened to the pigs, and how the townspeople responded.
- “A herd of many pigs”
Under the law of Moses pigs were unclean: “The pig, because he has a split hoof, and is cloven-footed, but doesn’t chew the cud, he is unclean to you” (Leviticus 11:7). The presence of a large herd shows that this was a largely Gentile region of the Decapolis. Mark says the herd numbered “about two thousand” (Mark 5:13).
- “The demons begged him”
The demons knew who Jesus was and feared him. They could not resist his authority; they could only plead. James writes, “The demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). Their request to enter the pigs shows their destructive nature. Even when forced to leave the men, they sought to destroy something else.
- “He said to them, ‘Go!’”
With a single word Jesus drove out the demons. In the storm he had commanded the wind and the sea (Matthew 8:23-27); now he commands the powers of darkness. The Son of God came “that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
Jesus allowed the demons to enter the pigs. The stampede down the cliff gave visible proof that the men had been truly delivered, and it revealed the kind of destruction the demons had intended for them. The loss of the herd was real, but Jesus valued two human lives far more than many animals. As he asked elsewhere, “For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:36).
- “All the city came out to meet Jesus”
The herdsmen ran to town and reported everything. One might expect the people to rejoice that the fierce men who terrorized the road were now free. Instead they “begged that he would depart from their borders.” Mark notes that they saw the man “sitting, clothed, and in his right mind… and they were afraid” (Mark 5:15). They were frightened by Jesus’ power and perhaps worried about further economic loss. They preferred their pigs to the presence of the Savior.
Jesus respected their request and left. Yet he did not leave them without a witness. Mark tells that he sent one of the freed men home with the words, “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).
The Significance of Matthew 8:30-34
- Christ’s power over evil
These verses show that no spiritual power can stand against Jesus. Believers need not live in fear of evil, because Christ has triumphed over it. Paul writes that God, through the cross, disarmed “the principalities and the powers” (Colossians 2:15).
- Choosing Jesus over possessions
The townspeople asked Jesus to leave because his presence was costly and disturbing. It is still possible to value comfort, property or routine more than Christ. These verses challenge us to welcome Jesus even when his work upsets our plans.
Cross-References:
Mark 5:13: "The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea." Mark’s account.
1 John 3:8: "To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil." Christ’s victory over evil.
Mark 5:17: "They began to beg him to depart from their region." The same response in Mark.
Conclusion: In Matthew 8:30-34 Jesus commands the demons to leave two possessed men, and they rush into a herd of pigs that plunges into the sea. The deliverance reveals Jesus’ authority over evil and the value he places on human lives. Yet the people of the town, alarmed and counting their loss, beg him to leave. The passage invites us to rejoice in Christ’s victory and to welcome him rather than send him away.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible