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Mark

Mark 
Day 
Day 113

1 Peter 4:9 "Be hospitable to one another without grumbling."

Day 113 – Mark 5

THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SWINEHERDS

A herd of swine that is 2000 strong would not be considered small, and would certainly require hiring swineherds to look after the animals. The swineherds would make sure that the pigs would be safe as they foraged for food.

The swineherds had never come across this phenomenon before! How could they explain to the owners that the entire herd of 2000 pigs had jumped to their death over the cliff? How would they be able to explain the presence of the wild, demon-possessed man at the scene of the death of the herd of swine?

“So those who fed the swine fled; and they told it
in the city and in the country. And they went out to see
what it was that had happened.”
MARK 5:14

1. Fleeing the scene

What alternative could they have considered? Should they have spoken to Jesus to ask for an explanation? The swineherds probably reacted out of amazement and fear more than anything else.

2. In the city and in the country

The phenomenon they had just witness must have been most astonishing, to say the least. They could not refrain from telling all they met about what they had seen. They spoke about it in the country. They spoke about it in the city.

3. All were intrigued

The story the swineherd told must have been deemed “a tall one”. No matter how they explained it, the story seemed too incredible to be true. Those who heard the story of how the herd of swine jumped to their death felt that they had to come to the hillside to check out the details.

MEETING UP WITH JESUS

The people of Gadara went up the mountain side. They would not normally have chosen to walk this way, for fear of the wild man who was possessed by demons. But the story told by the swineherd just had to be checked out!

“Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one
who had been possessed and had the legion,
sitting and clothed and in his right mind.
And they were afraid.”
MARK 5:15

One would imagine that they would be glad that the demon-possessed man was now healed. He was sitting quietly and was now fully clothed. He was obviously in his right mind too!

Instead of joy, there came a terrible sense of fear that gripped their hearts. Their lack of comprehension of what had happened contributed to the arising of this fear.