Bible Discussion Thread

In Mark 5:16 why were the people also concerned for the swine of pigs?

In Mark 5:1-17, we read of the account of the demon-possessed man, who was released from that evil possession. In that release, the demons needed to be physically cast into other living creatures, or else they would roam free to possess others, & so Jesus had commanded them to leave the man & to possess the swine. Of course, the swine began to exhibit the strange behaviour that comes with demonic possession, & began their wild run which saw them eventually drown into the sea.

So the herders of the swine, witnessing all this, also ran off & reported this to the townsfolk. So they told them about how the demon-possessed man was freed & how their swine subsequently perished. So the people were not concerned about the swine - they simply listened to the account by the herders concerning the man & the swine. The herders, of course, would have had to break the bad news to the owners of the swine, as to why the whole herd perished. We're not told about their fate & whether they still had their jobs after all this.