“Jesus, Just Go!” – MARK 5:11-17

Brash does not even begin to describe it.

A wonder of astounding significance had occurred in their midst and they responded by telling Jesus He might just want to leave (5:17). In one respect, who could really blame them. Sure He had driven the unclean spirits out of the man who they could not subdue, saving him from self-mutilation and isolation from his family and community (5:15).

But, at what cost? They lost their pigs.

Not just a couple either, this was a “great herd” (5:11) of about 2000 (5:13) swine. Now they all were dead and floating in the sea. Talk about an ecological tragedy of biblical proportions!

Maybe we could pause for just a moment and examine the herd of 2000 swine. Why were people raising pigs in Palestine, anyway? Gadara was the capital of the Roman province of Peraea, so the area was a Gentile region. Still, Jesus went there so there must have been Jews there, since Jesus came to the lost sheep of Israel.

Would Jesus have been justified in destroying a whole herd of swine if they belonged to wayward Jews?

It would seem to have been a sin to have wantonly destroyed the property and livelihood of “innocent” Gentiles. Maybe the folks should have all pitched in and bought new pigs for the owners because of the miracle and the saved man. They apparently did not. It is a hard question to answer with certainty.

Maybe one of the lessons is to count the cost of assimilating into the world.

The bigger problem is the reaction of the community. When faced with a spiritual triumph and a secular defeat, they focused on the secular defeat. Salvation is free, but it costs you everything … all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. Instead of rejoicing with the man who was saved from the demons, they dwelt on the property loss.

The price was too high, and Jesus had to go away.

Through all of the clutter that arises from this series of momentous event, let’s not lose this point. The impact of Jesus on one person will not be limited to just that one person. The cost of discipleship often reaches out from us and affects others, so Jesus might draw them to Himself. Sometimes we need a radical departure from the world (losing our swine herd) that comes at a tremendous cost. Every time, we need the cleansing power of Jesus. Far too often, the latter is never achieved because of the former.

And Jesus is told to just go away.