Matthew 8
BolesMatthew 8:1-4
SECTION FOUR
THE
Matthew 8:1 to 18:35
- GROUP OF PROVING JESUS'
AND HIS
Matthew 8:1 to 9:34
Immediately after stating the principles and the laws of the kingdom of heaven, Matthew records ten miracles which were wrought by Jesus; these did not all occur at this time, but they are recorded here by Matthew in accordance with his general plan of massing his facts. He has just recorded the “Sermon on the Mount” as a specimen of the teachings of Jesus, and now he gives us a group of his miracles; the sermon shows that he taught as one having authority, and the miracles show that he acted as one having authority. These miracles show not only the authority of Jesus, but they illustrate the truth that he taught.
Jesus Heals a Leper
1, 2 And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him.—“When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him”; they had been attracted and astonished by his teachings. One of the multitude was “a leper”; for thousands of years the lepers in the East had formed a distinct class; they married among themselves, and so perpetuated this fatal disease. Its name is derived from Lepis, a scale, because it shows itself in dry, thin scales or scabs, which are white in some instances. (Exodus 4:6; Numbers 12:10; Numbers 2 inks 5:2 7.) There are two kinds of leprosy; one has been considered incurable; the miserable wretches afflicted with this kind of leprosy were clothed in shrouds, as if already dead, while they were separated from other people. Leprosy has been considered a type of sin. This poor leper came to Jesus and “worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” This was a sublime expression of faith in the divine power of Jesus; the very act of his coming to Jesus proved his faith in Jesus. In the case of lepers the word is always “cleansed,” not “healed.” The cleansing implied a cure, and meant a new life for the afflicted one.
Mark says “kneeling down to him” (Mark 1:40), while Luke says “he fell on his face” (Luke 5:12), while Matthew expresses it “worshipped him”; he paid Jesus respect offered to superiors, and perhaps recognized him as a prophet of God. It was a pathetic appeal that he made to Jesus in this prostrated position, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean”; this may have expressed a doubt of Jesus’ willingness to cleanse him.
3, 4 And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him.—Jesus, moved with compassion for the unfortunate man, put out his hand, and “touched him.” None besides Jesus would dare touch a leper; he alone was safe from the pollution of the contact; this “touch” of Jesus strengthened the faith of the man and Jesus accompanied the touch with the words, “I will; be thou made clean.” Then a marvelous change came over the man; his body was transformed and he became a cleansed man. It has been a mooted question as to whether all who received bodily healing from Jesus also received spiritual cleansing; in many instances such was not the case, but in others they may have received spiritual blessings. Whether this leper received any spiritual blessing cannot be determined from the context.
And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest.—Jesus laid upon him two commands; first he strictly charged him to “tell no man,” and second he should show himself to the priest. His testimony of Jesus’ cleansing him was of small value until he had the priest’s certificate of cure, as many would not believe his testimony; again his conduct might interfere with Jesus’ work. Jesus could not give all of his time to bodily healing; he has a greater work to do. He was to show himself to the priest, “and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” The law specified “the gift” (Leviticus 14:1-32) , Jesus respected the ceremony of the law until it had all been fulfilled (Matthew 5:17). The testimony would be proof to the priest that God had cured his leprosy; the ceremonial cleansing followed the curative cleansing. (Leviticus 14:3-4.) This is the first instance that we have recorded that Jesus prohibited anyone from speaking of his power to cleanse; Matthew records frequent prohibitions. Sometimes Jesus reversed this course and commanded men to go and tell what he had done for them. (Mark 5:19-20.)
Matthew 8:5-13
Jesus and the Centurion
5, 6 And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion.—This miracle is recorded also by Luke. (Luke 8:1-10.) Jesus came to Capernaum;this was his home city and was located near the Sea of Galilee. “There came unto him a centurion”; he did not come in person, but by friends who brought his message. Luke says, “And when he heard comcerning Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews.” (Luke 7:3.) It was a common way of expressing what one did through another as though that one did it himself. “A centurion” was a Roman military officer, captain of a hundred soldiers; this centurion was probably the chief officer of the Roman forces in Capernaum which was on the great commercial route between Assyria and Egypt.
[We are said to do what we do through others; we frequently say we went to others for help when we only sent to them for help. This is a very common style of speaking. The centurion went to Jesus and besought him through the elders. This shows that each writer told the facts in his own way and style, and that there was no effort at telling the same tale. The apparent diversities add assurance to the statement, for there is real agreement.]
Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy.—This seems to have been the centurion’s personal servant, a confidential attendant, like a private secretary. Luke says that he “was dear unto him”; there was a very close relation between the centurion and this servant; he was very much concerned about his servant as he was “sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.” “Palsy” is a contraction of paralysis; the term “palsy” or “paralysis” is used by the ancients in a much wider sense than we now use it; the term then included what we now call tetanus, catalepsy, cramps, and other fearful maladies. He was “grievously tormented,” which means that he was in that stage of palsy when the patient suffers great agony;Luke says that he was at the point of death.
7-9 He saith unto him, I will come and heal him.—Jesus, at the request of the messengers at once stated that he would heal the centurion’s servant; he said, “I will come,” with much emphasis on “I.” It seems that Jesus started back with the messengers to the House of the afflicted servant, but before he arrived at the house the centurion had learned that Jesus was coming and sent a fresh deputation of “friends” who said, on his behalf, what Matthew here reports as said by himself. He said, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.” Luke puts it, “Lord, trouble not thyself,” for I am not worthy that you should enter my house; he indicated great politeness as well as profound humility; he did not think himself worthy to come to Jesus in person, neither did he think that he was worthy for Jesus to come into his house. This centurion knew the custom or law of the Jews that they would not go into the house of a Gentile, hence this centurion so expressed himself. He did not think it necessary for Jesus to come to his house in order to heal his servant he thought that Jesus could heal the servant without subjecting himself to the violation of Jewish custom or law.
For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers.—The centurion made a very plausible argument which showed his faith in Jesus. His argument was that he was a man under authority as well as Jesus; the centurion compared Jesus’ position with his own. Jesus had authority over disease; the centurion also had authority over soldiers. As the centurion had only to say to a soldier “go” and he went, so Jesus had only to say to disease “go” and it would obey him. Some state the argument another way; since the centurion who was under authority to his superior officers could still say to the soldiers under him “go” and “come,” so Jesus who was under no authority could command the power of life and death. At any rate, the argument of the centurion evinced strong faith; Jesus recognized this faith.
10 And when Jesus heard it, he marvelled.—The faith of this centurion stood out so clearly amidst the prevailing unbelief of the Jews; only twice do we read that Jesus “marvelled” and this was only over “two things”: one at the unbelief of his fellow citizens at Nazareth (Mark 6:6) and one at the faith of this Roman officer. The centurion’s faith was great; it was based on facts that he had learned about Jesus; it overcame great obstacles. It was unselfish; it was a faith that worked; it was faith in God and in his Son. Jesus said to those present, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” There is a similar case of great faith on the part of the heathen recorded in Matthew 15:22-28. This is a wonderful statement of Jesus; he was greatly impressed with such faith in a Roman centurion, a Gentile, that he declared he had not seen such faith in Israel among the Jews. The place and the people where he had a right to expect great faith, he found only unbelief, and where even the Jews did not expect to find anything good, Jesus found “so great faith.”
11, 12 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.—The faith of this Gentile officer suggested to him the future calling and conversion of the Gentiles; this was in God’s great plan of salvation. In a similar expression Luke adds “and from the north and south.” (Luke 13:29.) The meaning is that Gentiles from all parts of the world shall come and “sit down,” that is, shall be placed at a table “with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.” This expression is drawn from the custom of the recumbent position in which the orientals ate their meals; it was customary among all nations to represent the joys of heaven under the notion of a banquet or feast. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were representative believers of the Jewish race; they were the patriarchs of the Jewish race. “In the kingdom of heaven” we have another repetition made by Jesus to the institution or church which he came to establish. However, some think that here he had reference to the “kingdom of glory” (Matthew 26:29; Luke 16:22; Revelation 19:9); others think that he had reference only to the church.
But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness.—The “sons of the kingdom” were the Jews; they were heirs of the kingdom according to the promise; to them it was first offered, and it was because they rejected it that they were to “be cast forth into the outer darkness.” While the Jews rejected Christ as their Messiah, the Gentiles would accept him as their Savior; this prophecy of Jesus has literally been fulfilled. These Jews were “sons of the kingdom” as the wicked are “sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2), and “children of obedience” (1 Peter 1:14) and “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3.) “Outer darkness” is an expression which denotes “the blackness of darkness.” (Jude 1:13; 2 Peter 2:17.) It is described as a place where “there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth,” while at the same time others, Gentiles, shall be enjoying a feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “The weeping and the gnashing” represent intense suffering; they shall weep because they have lost their favor with God, and shall gnash their teeth because others have obtained it.
[Jesus came and introduced his mission by declaring, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” All the powers of earth and hell cannot hinder a man that is sensible of his own poverty of spirit, and his need of help from without to preserve his spiritual life, from praying to a spiritual being, real or imaginary, for help. The centurion, an officer in the Roman army, came and pleaded for mercy from Jesus in behalf of his servant sick of the palsy. When Jesus heard his pleading and saw his faith he was constrained to say, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” He then added that the Gentiles should come in and enjoy the blessings of God with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and that the Jews would be cast into outer darkness because of their rejection. The promise was that Jesus came to call and bless the Gentiles, and many of these would hear the call of God, while the Jews would refuse him. He heard of this Gentile and answered his prayer by healing the servant.]
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way.—Some think that this indicates that the centurion in person came out to meet Jesus, but this does not prove it. (See 1 Samuel 25:40-41.) Jesus added “as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” The centurion’s faith was great and his blessings should be commensurate with his faith. This centurion believed that Jesus could heal his servant by speaking the word and without going to the servant; as was his faith so was the blessing to him and to his servant. We are to understand from this that Jesus did not go to the house of the servant and that the centurion returned to his house and found that “the servant was healed in that hour.” The healing of the servant was instantaneous and perfect; Luke adds that the centurion “returning to the house, found the servant whole.” (Luke 7:10).
Matthew 8:14-17
Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law
and Heals many with Demons
14, 15 And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying sick of a fever.—This miracle is also recorded by Mark (1:29-31) and Luke (4:38, 39);both Mark and Luke give a fuller record than does Matthew. Mark tells us that this was the house of Simon and Andrew, his brother; he also records that James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, were present. This miracle was a domestic scene—a miracle in the very home of his earliest disciples, and in the presence of two more. The original home of Peter was in Bethsaida, which was a suburb of Capernaum; it may have been there that the miracle was performed. (See John 1:45; Mark 1 29.) “His wife’s mother” shows that Peter was a married man, and that his mother-in-law was living with him; we cannot tell from this whether Peter’s wife was living at this time. She was “lying sick of a fever”; she was confined to bed with a fever; Luke says “a great fever” and that her friends “besought him for her.” They did this as soon as he entered the house according to Mark.
And he touched her hand, and the fever left her.—Jesus usually made some visible sign suitable to the miracle which he wrought. Luke says, “He stood over her, and rebuked the fever”; Mark says, “He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up”; these were all significant actions. The result was that “the fever left her.” She was healed immediately and was able at once to minister unto Jesus. It was evident that the miraculous cure came from Jesus and that it was a complete cure. The proof of the completeness of the cure was that she arose and ministered unto Jesus. Her service probably consisted in supplying food and any other needed attention. A severe fever always leaves a person very weak, but the miraculous healing of Jesus was so complete that the patient was given normal strength at once.
16, 17 And when even was come, they brought unto him many possessed with demons.—Jesus had healed Peter’s wife’s mother on the Sabbath day, but as it was noised abroad, the Jews brought their sick to him “when even was come”; that is, when the Sabbath had ended. The Jewish day was reckoned as beginning and ending at sunset; so they came the moment the Sabbath was past and brought “many possessed with demons.” Matthew had already mentioned that Jesus healed all the demoniacs that were brought to him during this circuit of Galilee. (Matthew 4:24.) Those possessed with demons had evil spirits; the evil spirits had taken possession of them; they were prepared in heart for the reception of the demons; oftentimes they were torn and afflicted because of the demon. Jesus “cast out the spirits with a word”; he commanded and the demons obeyed. The possession of demons in that age was very peculiar; we are not told how wicked spirits gain possession of people, neither are we told the condition of mind or body which exposed one to the possession of demons. One thing we are certain of and that is they obeyed the command of Jesus; they sometimes recognized his authority and feared him. Jesus had power over the unseen realm.
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah. —The quotation from Isaiah is found in Isaiah 53:4. In the events that took place here in casting out the evil spirits and in healing “all that were sick,” Jesus fulfilled the prophecy which said, “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases.” Jesus took away the infirmities and the diseases by healing them; the context shows that this is the meaning of this prophecy. Isaiah did not merely mean that Jesus cured all of the bodily and mental diseases, but that he finally suffered for the sins of the world. In his miracles of healing, Jesus seems to have participated in the sufferings of the afflicted, bearing a deep sympathy for those who were suffering. “Infirmities” and “diseases” may mean the same thing; some make “infirmities” refer to chronic disability, while “diseases” include violent disorders of the body. Jesus took upon himself and thus took away from us, all the distresses produced by sin. He bore the sickness of men on his heart and his healing of them with his strong hand fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah.
Matthew 8:18-22
Jesus and the Scribe
18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him.—Matthew does not follow any chronological order. When Jesus saw the great multitude, he gave “commandment to depart unto the other side”; he was on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, but now he gives commandment to go to the east side. It seems that the multitude was too great and he withdrew from it; it was an easy method of escape by going to the east side. The miracles of Jesus had greatly impressed the people; they were astonished more at his miracles than they were at his teachings. The excitement of the hour attracted so many that it was impossible to handle such a multitude and do them good; again Jesus’ work could be done more in private than in the midst of an excited multitude. By withdrawing from the multitude, he would have only those present who sought him.
19, 20 And there came a scribe, and said unto him.—“A scribe” was one who copied the law; he was one who was supposed to know the law since he had copied it. There was a class of teachers of the law known as “the scribes”; so one of them either followed Jesus across the Sea of Galilee or came to him after he crossed “unto the other side.” Matthew records the interview with this scribe as though most of Jesus’ followers were men of private station and men of humble life, but here was one of the teachers, a Rabbi, who had come to him. He expressed a noble desire; he said, “I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” Disciples usually accompanied their teacher; they followed their teacher about and learned from him. Their teaching then was not in houses as are our schools today; the teacher frequently strolled through the country and his disciples “followed him.” Some think that this scribe was influenced by a prospect of temporal advantage in Jesus’ kingdom; he had witnessed the wonderful miracles that Jesus wrought, and perhaps was attracted more by these than anything else;hence Jesus tested his motives.
Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests.—This was a severe test to the faith of this scribe; the foxes have their dens and the birds have their nests, that is, a place of shelter; “nests” as used here does not mean the place where the birds brood, but a place to roost under some shelter. While the foxes and birds have their homes or places of rest, “the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” That is, Jesus had no place on earth that he could recline his head and call it “his own”; this implied that he had no secure or fixed place of abode; Jesus uses here the title “Son of man”; he frequently referred to himself by this title. It recognized his human birth, and his human nature;. but it also implied that he had a dignity exclusively his own. He is the distinguished Son of man to whom there can be no second of like rank; he became the Son of man by being truly the Son of God. Jesus here suggested to this scribe that to follow him entailed many hardships and much suffering. We are not told whether this scribe successfully stood the test; some suggest that his motives were impure and therefore he turned back from following Jesus.
21, 22 And another of the disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.—Some think that this man was one of the twelve; they think that it was James or John and that Zebedee was the father who was to be buried; but this is a mere guess as there is nothing in the context to indicate who this disciple was. Luke does not call him a disciple; he was a disciple only in a large sense of the word, as the scribe may have been. At any rate, he asked that he might be permitted to go and bury his father before following Jesus. It was considered a sacred filial duty to take care of aged parents and to bury them; but the language “first to go and bury my father” intimates, as does the next verse, that the burying was now to be done; whereas Jesus was just leaving that region, and if the disciple accompanied him he could not perform that service, so think some that this is its meaning. It is suggested by some that there is a play on the word “dead”; that the man who was to be buried was physically dead, but those who were to bury him were dead in another sense. At least, Jesus teaches that one must not let anything come between him and following Jesus.
We see here extremes meeting in Jesus; he is merciful and sympathetic toward those who are afflicted and at the same time he commands with the authority of an autocrat when he says, “Follow me,” and let nothing interfere with your following me. Some observe that this was a critical time of decision for this disciple; he was in actual danger of burying himself while burying his father. Luke records the case of a third who volunteered to accompany Jesus. (Luke 9:61-62.)
Matthew 8:23-27
Jesus Calms the Storm at Sea
23-27 And when he was entered into a boat, his disciples followed him.—The boat into which he entered was either the boat that had carried him and his disciples to the other side or another boat which was waiting to carry him away. The scene and miracle which is here related is also narrated by Mark (Mark 4:35-41), and by Luke (Luke 8:22-25); Mark gives a fuller account than Matthew, and Luke’s account of it is briefer than Matthew’s. Mark connects this miracle chronologically with what had just been recorded before. After a long weary day of varied labors Jesus, followed by his disciples, “entered into a boat”; some think that is possibly belonged to Peter or the sons of Zebedee.
And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea.—The Greek indicates an “earthquake”; such a commotion of the elements described here corresponds to an earthquake. Mark and Luke call it a furious storm, a hurricane, the Sea of Galilee is subject to sudden and violent storms. The violent tempests are accounted for by the fact that the Sea of Galilee is about six hundred feet lower than the ocean; the vast and naked plateaus which surround it have ravines and deep gorges converging into the sea; these act like gigantic funnels to draw down the cold wind from the mountains and thus disturb the sea. Jesus soon fell asleep in the boat after it left the shore. The waves of the water were higher than usual as they are described as covering the boat. Matthew brings into wide contrast the tempestuous sea with its wild waves raging around and over the boat and the perfect calmness and serenity of Jesus while asleep. Upon one occasion when David was in great danger he said, “I laid me down and slept; I awaked for Jehovah sustaineth me.” (Psalms 3:5.) The disciples of Jesus learned the lesson of perfect trust in God, for years later Peter, expecting any moment to be brought out for execution, slept in his dungeon so sweetly that the angel had to smite him on the side to awake him. (Acts 12:6-7.)
And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Save, Lord; we perish.—In their distress and anxiety for themselves and for Jesus they cry unto Jesus loud enough to wake him from the peaceful slumber into which he had fallen. Mark records their cry as “Teacher, carest thou not that we perish?” and Luke is still more concise in recording their earnest appeal to Jesus for help; his statement is, “Master, master, we perish.” It is likely that all of these forms of speech and expressions were used; some would use one expression snd some another. Matthew records the expression used by some of the disciples, while Mark and Luke record expressions used by others.
And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?—The disciples were with Jesus; why cannot they trust him? “0 ye of little faith” is the mild yet firm rebuke that Jesus gave them. They had seen that day many manifestations of his power, and yet they were afraid of a storm with Jesus in the boat. They had some faith, but their faith was not strong enough; the miracle which followed was to strengthen their faith in him as their Messiah. Jesus first rebuked his disciples, and then “rebuked the winds and the sea”; the result was “a great calm” immediately came upon the waters. Mark quotes the words of Jesus, “Peace, be still”; the wind ceased; the Greek indicates that it “grew weary, tired, and sank into a restful calm.” Another meaning of the Greek word as used by Mark is that he “muzzled” the sea like an ox and it became calm. The effect on his disciples was that they “marvelled”; they asked each other, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” The terrific storm had been brought so suddenly to a calm at the command of Jesus that they were astonished at the wind and the sea obeying him.
Jesus had power over the material world as well as over the spiritual world; his power had been manifested over the spiritual realm by casting out demons; it was now manifested by his commanding the tempest and the mighty waters. The inconceivable wonder of arresting a hurricane was a new revelation of Jesus’ power even to his disciples, and their faith was strengthened in him.
Matthew 8:28-34
Jesus Heals the man Possessed with Demons
28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes.—Matthew is not clear in giving the geography of the tours of Jesus; “the other side” usually means the east side of the Sea of Galilee; probably Jesus was going from Capernaum to “the other side” when the storm arose, and they continued on the journey to the “country of the Gadarenes,” arriving there in the early morning. This scene is recorded both by Mark (Mark 5:1-17) and Luke (Luke 8:26-37.) The main difference in these three narratives is that Matthew speaks of two demoniacs, while Mark and Luke speak of but one. There is a similar incident in the account of the healing of the blind near Jericho Matthew (Matthew 20:30-34) speaks of two, while Mark (Mark 10:46-52) and Luke (Luke 18:35-43) speak of but one. No special importance is attached to these differences. The country of the “Gadarenes” was on the east side of the Jordan, and a little to the south the exact location cannot be determined. Sometimes the historian speaks of the “Gerasenes” and “Gadarenes” and “Gadara.” When he arrived in that country, “there met him two possessed with demons”; these came out of the tombs and were very fierce, “so that no man could pass by that way.” They were dangerous.
Mark and Luke mention but one, and probably the one that they mention was the more ferocious of the two, and they direct attention to the most dangerous one. Some of the ancient tombs were like caves and other places of abode, hence one would be well sheltered in the tombs; this was a very suitable place of resort for demoniacs. The case of these two demoniacs is closely allied to the wild raving insanity known in every insane asylum. It was dangerous for one to come in contact with such characters.
29-34 And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, thou Son of God?—Some think the meaning of the question here is what have we in common? or what have we do do with each other? The evil spirits in these two men recognized Jesus as the “Son of God”; they recognized his authority and power; they feared him. “Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder.” (James 2:19.) The evil spirit in a soothsayer following “after Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of salvation.” (Acts 16:17.) The demons in these two men were disturbed over the presence of Jesus and asked, “Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” Jesus had commanded the unclean spirits to come out of these men. (Mark 5:8.) They seemed to apprehend that Jesus crossed the lake for the purpose of afflicting or annoying them by depriving them of their power over their unhappy victims. They asked if Jesus had come to torment them “before the time”; that is, before the day of judgment. (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6.) In Mark we have the record that Jesus asked the man his name and the reply was “Legion; for we are many.” A Roman legion numbered 6,000, but it came to mean, as with us, a large number, a host. The demons asked Jesus not to send them out of the country; Luke says, “into the abyss,” the place of evil spirits; their request seems to be to send them anywhere, anywhere but to perdition.
Now there was afar off from them a herd of many swine feeding.—Mark says there were at the foot of the mountain a herd of many swine feeding, about two thousand (Mark 5:13), and when they besought Jesus to send them into the herd of swine, Jesus “said unto them, Go.” At the command of Jesus the demons left the men “and went into the swine.” “Swine” was considered an unclean animal among the Jews. When the evil spirits entered the swine, “the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea and perished in the waters.” As there was a “legion” of them in one of the men, there were enough to furnish several for every one of the swine, though there were about two thousand of them. The swine “were choked” or suffocated, drowned. How demons could enter into swine we are not told, but it is no more of a mystery than the connections of the demands with the mind and body of a man. Jesus came to save man, not property; hence, he places a higher value upon the men who were saved than he did the herd of swine. The people of that country, instigated by the owners of the herd, besought Jesus to leave the country.
Thus the devil played upon the cupidity of these people to induce them to ask Jesus to leave them forever—and he did. We do not read that Jesus ever returned to that people. Some of the richer citizens were owners of the swine and it is through their influence that the people besought Jesus to leave them. This miracle impressed all with the power of Jesus, even over the spirit world.