It seems to be an amusing story of Jesus casting the unclean spirits into pigs who then run off a cliff into the ocean and drown. Let’s take a second look at some of the details.

First Jesus is in the act of casting out the unclean spirit. During the process Jesus asks the name of the unclean spirit and we learn it is Legion because there are many of them. In Roman times a legion would be about five thousand. That is a lot of unclean spirits.

Did you notice that the unclean spirits recognized Jesus immediately. They could not say His name because He has authority over them. Now the unclean spirits are cast into the pigs. There is an issue here. Why would good Jewish people be raising pigs?

In the area where they lived, the Greeks had migrated some time earlier. And now the intermingling of Greeks and Jews, and being under Roman control, has caused those with weak faith to turn against God. One of the teachings of the Jewish faith is that pigs are unclean. Unclean spirits being sent into an unclean animal. It is as if Jesus is purging not only the unclean spirit from the possessed man but also the purging the people in the area of their sin of falling away from the faith.

Jesus is preparing this area to receive Him once they have been cleansed of their sins and will turn back to God. We will see that later in the gospel. Perhaps the people recognized what was happening and realizing they were not ready to receive God in their midst asked Jesus to leave the area.

I think we experience God working in our lives the same way. When someone is sick in our community, we often have fundraisers to assist them with medical bills. Or if someone has been treated unfairly, we join together to right a wrong. It is the good and right thing to do. When we conform our lives to the will of God, unclean spirits are cast away. Lent will be here in a few weeks. Let us begin to prepare our hearts.

May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen