Mark 5:14-17 14And the herdsmen fled them and reported in the city and in the country. And they came to see what had happened. 15And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16And those who had seen it described to them it had happened to the demon-possessed man and about the pigs. 17And they began to beg Jesus to go away from their region.
Two different reactions to Jesus are given at the end of this story. Both reactions bear witness to Jesus in opposite ways. Verses 14-17 focus on the reaction of the herdsmen and the rest of the Gerasene people to the healing of the man. The herdsman watching the pigs witnessed the results of the healing and ran and told the people of the city what had happened. Nothing specifically negative is said about the herdsmen until verse 17 when they join the community in begging Jesus to leave. They represent the type of people who see miracles but are too caught up in their own affairs and do not put their faith in Jesus. They were more concerned about their pigs than their neighbor.
Their reaction was more than simply greed at the loss of their pigs, which would be a big economic setback for the community. Everyone could go out and see what happened to the famous man from the crypt. Every neighborhood has its scary house that children tell stories about. Nothing short of a divine miracle could have changed the crazy man filled with uncontrollable demonic powers.
The people of the city heard the testimony of the herdsmen and had the same plea as the man before Jesus cast out the demons: please leave us alone. They liked the demons better than they liked the changed man. The herdsmen and the people of the area were just as bad off spiritually because of their hostility towards Jesus as the demon-possessed man before he met Jesus. What causes people to run away from Jesus rather than to him? When their hearts have been deceived by Satan (Legion) and things of this world (a herd of pigs), they would rather dwell in the darkness of their ignorance, fleshly living, and unbelief than come out to the Light of the world.
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