A minor inquiry compared to God’s mercy

In Mark 5:19 NIV, Jesus tells a healed man to “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

This verse spoke to me and the command to “go home and tell” became the title of one of my devotional blogs.

Before this verse, Jesus had rebuked the demon spirits who tormented the man, and sent them into a herd of pigs. These pigs then ran down a hill and drowned themselves.

He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. (Mark 5:13 NIV)

Although I understand that Jesus came to perform miracles like this one (The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Matthew 11:5 NIV), I always questioned why the pigs drowned.

I know the demons thought Jesus may be coming to torment them before their time. (Matthew 8:29 NIV)

I know the demons asked permission to enter the pigs.

So why did Jesus let the demons enter the pigs and why then did they plunge into the water and drown?

In my studies, I discovered that the demons likely asked to be sent into the pigs because they didn’t want to roam the world without any habitation. But they couldn’t have known that the pigs would run into the sea and die.

Jesus, on the other hand, would have known what was about to happen. He may have allowed the demons to enter the pigs, knowing that their fate was sealed and they were headed for their final judgment either way.

We are still left with the question of whether the demons drowned the pigs or whether the pigs went crazy with the demon possession and drowned themselves. Either way, nothing is a surprise to Jesus.

In the end, after all my study, I am still left with questions. But they are minor inquiries compared to the understanding of God’s compassion and mercy for man. I can rest in the knowledge that although I don’t have all the answers, I can trust in the One who does.

And I can continue to “go home and tell” my experiences of God’s love.