Demon pride?
One theory I have read is that just as being possessed by this legion of demons made the man insane, screaming and bruising himself with stones, so it also drove the pigs mad, like animals that have been infected with rabies. The man could perhaps resist them enough to keep himself alive and enough to come towards Jesus, but the pigs could not. They also may have been running to the water in an effort to escape phsyical torment, as they might if they were set upon by a swarm of hornets. Pigs can usually swim, so that may have been what they did when they were attacked by insects or predators that didn’t like the water.
What leads you to think this? Jesus had just exerted authority over a legion of demons. He sent them away and resuced their victim. Why should he be afraid of a mob?
No… Not according to Sacred Scriptures…
Collateral damage. Undesired but necessary in order to demonstrate a point.
While that is a possibility, it’s not the only one. It’s also possible the herd was the collective swine of the whole village and that while all the villagers received some financial loss none were bankrupted over it. A third possibility is that the swineherd was owned by a wealthy landowner for whom the loss was a minor inconvenience. A forth possibility was that those were wild swine.
Jesus did not come to drive the Romans out of Israel: he came to save both groups from their real enemy Satan. He ate dinner with a Tax Collector (Zacchaeus), accepted another Tax Collector as His disciple (Matthew), healed a Pagan Woman, praised the faith of a Roman Centurion, and asked God to forgive the legionaries who crucified Him (and one of them - Longinus - became a Saint). Later on he asked a Roman Citizen and Collaborator to follow him (Paul), and told his rock Peter to eat “unclean” animals.
You are assuming they had an owner.
I agree. ‘Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt.’ - Cardinal Newman
Why does it seem out of place? There are dozens of mentions in the New Testament of driving out demons, who sometimes talk. Why should it be a metaphor? Why do you find it incredible? (I take it that’s what you mean, that YOU are incredulous of it.) What, more incredible than the resurrection of the dead? or a virgin giving birth? Or a stormy sea becoming smooth with one word from our Lord? etc. etc.
Hello Petergee. Yes I was going to write that it seemed incredulous TO ME but I thought that was a bit redundant.
I like to think of it as Jesus delivering this wretched man living in catacombs and tombs from a horde of demons, and then giving him purpose by telling him to spread the gospel of how Jesus had delivered him. Certainly the very public loss of a herd of swine would have provided testament to the fact that this man was indeed delivered. One other thought to consider. This guy was frequently chained up and sent to live among the tombs of the town, rather than be treated with compassion. It is a bit sad that the pigs were likely treated with greater care than he was.