The Famous Case of the Devilled Ham
Pig farmers probably weren’t too popular among the Jews, pigs being ‘unclean’ and all. But it appears to have been a profitable line of work, judging by the townpeople’s reaction: “The people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region” (Mark 5:17Mark 5:17
English: World English Bible - WEB
17 They began to beg him to depart from their region.
WP-Bible plugin). they were in agreement with “Legion”, an apparently large group of evil spirits, who also didn’t want to leave the area. (Mark 5:10Mark 5:10
English: World English Bible - WEB
10 He begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
WP-Bible plugin). Of course,the possessed man, once freed from his possession, begged Jesus to allow him to leave the region with Him – no wonder: the town seemed to prefer evil spirits over Jesus Christ Himself!
Tow thousand profitable pigs died that day. One man was freed from demon possession. Do you even need to consider for one second which was of greater value?
| Pigs | Man |
|---|---|
| 2,000 in the herd (Mark 5:13Mark 5:13 English: World English Bible - WEB 13 At once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea. WP-Bible plugin) |
No longer a threat to the townspeople |
| Unclean, prohibited for Jews | Returned to his family (Mark 5:19Mark 5:19 English: World English Bible - WEB 19 He didn’t allow him, but said to him, “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.” WP-Bible plugin) |
| Probably the source of prosperity for the town | Told others of God’s mercy |
But there’s more to consider. Therer were lots of evil spirits rising from the cliff where the pigs died, and lots of townspeople who prefered them over the protective hand of God. Given the choice, would you prefer to profit now from doing what is wrong, or would you prefer to do without for a little while in order to have eternal life?