If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine

Ottheinreich Bible, c. 1425-30. Folio 18v (Matthew 8)

 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

- Matthew 8:28-34

On Saturday, we read that when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then his disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.  My study bible comments that the demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God, and they are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment.  Although their malice is so great, they can't do anything against the explicit will of God, and so therefore can only enter the swine at the command of Christ.  It notes that the immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men were protected by God; if it were not so, they would have perished under the demonic influence.  My study bible adds that moreover, this reinforces that swineherding wasn't a lawful occupation for the Jews, showing instead that the value of human beings is incomparable, their salvation worth all sacrifices. 

Some commentaries remark that these people must be Gentiles, non-Jews, as their raising of swine seem to indicate.  But the text, according to my study bible and many Fathers, seems to indicate that, on the contrary, these are Jews raising swine for marketing to Gentile populations, and doing so contrary to the Mosaic Law.  One indication of this is their preference for Jesus to leave them -- they begged Him to depart from their region.   This is done after they've seen the miraculous cure of the demon-possessed men.  The people here prefer their income from the swine, and are dismayed at what has happened, rather than joyful for the healing of the men.  What this indicates is not simply their material mindset, and not merely that their priorities are in the wrong place.  The fact that they care nothing for the Law given through Moses is coupled with their lack of care for the lives of these men, indicating that in fact these are people who care nothing for real justice.  They are fundamentally unjust in their outlook -- meaning they are unrighteous in a number of ways.  If it's going to cost them money, a loss of stock or inventory, they don't care at all and do not rejoice at the healing of the men.  Their fundamentally wrong-headed outlook renders them less than righteous or just, because their priorities are in the wrong place.  They are those who worship mammon rather than God (6:24).  Jesus' preaching in the Sermon on the Mount has addressed this concern and inward disposition in our lives; here the Gospel tells us a story that expresses such a problem and its outcome.  Jesus is rejected because He heals.  The swine, in the eyes of the Jews, are unclean animals, but these townspeople don't care.  They care about the income.  Moreover, if we look closely at the text, we may observe also that they are simply used to living with these demon-possessed men the way they are; this is something "normal" for their world.  It shows a disordered social construct, a world where priorities are out of whack, and true natural relations between people need restoration.  These violent, demon-possessed men do not dwell among the living but among the dead, midst the tombs.  They are exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  This is a disordered and unnatural (in the sense that what is truly natural is God's will for us) violence that lives among them, and counts for "normal."  It is what the townspeople and swineherds are used to, what they live with, their static state.  So let us take a look at what passes for "norms" here:  the unlawful breeding of unclean animals for the money, a repulsion to what happens when Jesus heals the men and the animals are destroyed (thus a loss of income source, however outside of the law), and their set of values -- such as it is -- means they beg Jesus to leave, apparently without caring at all for the healing of these extremely violent men.  It is, in some sense, a picture of our world, no matter how disordered it may seem in the text.  Violence is normal, no sacrifice is too great when it comes to wealth (even the sacrifice of any form of true health or real justice or righteousness), and that which would shake up the world and put it in right order -- a healed state --  is simply desired to be cast aside, gotten rid of, so that they beg Jesus to leave.  In fact, they can think of nothing else.  Imagine, in our world, forces that would prefer war and violence over peace as it may bring them income, a violence that results in great injustice and disorder and all sorts of human ailments, and can only see healing and the peace it would bring as a woeful loss of income.  This priority of mammon over God gives us a fundamental picture of disorder and injustice, as it is a willingness to forego the righteousness of God if it is going to change things and ask us to look for a better way to make our lives, our living, our way of life.  Is it so strange to us, or can we think of examples that might seem even just a little similar?  Perhaps we could think of relations in a family, in a neighborhood or town, or even on a greater scale.  Where does our picture of righteousness come into play?  Is a little violence acceptable?  What would we be willing to give up for peace and healing?  What takes top priority when it comes to human well-being?  Is righteousness worth our sacrifice or adjustment, even repentance?