This morning I read the account of Jesus casting demons into a herd of pigs. It was recorded by a first-century Jewish tax collector and it reveals something amazing and perplexing about Jesus.
When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
The thing that struck me this morning about this story wasn't the exorcism or the gory scene of dozens of pigs splatting, splashing and drowning in the water. What struck me was what happened next. The very next verse says,
Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.
That's it? He sailed all the way across the Sea of Galilee and then turns right around and sails back because the pig farmer asked him to? Wouldn't you expect him to press a little? Shouldn't he explain how the loss of their pig rancher's herd is less important than the salvation of these men? After all, he went there to preach, right? His leaving means there are lots of people in that region who won't hear the gospel because the pig farmer told him to go. This isn't exactly "setting his face like flint" to bring his message to the Gadarenes.
Is Jesus really so passive that he abandons his crusade the first time he meets with a disapproving audience? Or is he really so cavalier with the souls of people as to give up on reaching them so quickly? What about his rights? Shouldn't he be allowed to speak and let the marketplace of ideas decide whether he's the messiah or a swine-hating Jew out to destroy the local economy?
Jesus, apparently, rejected all of those aphorisms and simply sailed back home.
Maybe he knew the outcome. Either by divine revelation or common sense, maybe he could tell that his message wouldn't be well received and to deliver it would be a waste of time. Or maybe the whole exercise was to make a point about the antithetical nature of capitalism and gospel community, or Jews versus Gentiles, or those rich in wealth versus poor in spirit. We don't know.
What we do know is that Jesus, in wisdom, humility, courage and faithfulness, made a decision to honor someone's request to their own detriment and others'. Jesus was willing to be rejected. He was willing to take "no" for an answer, even when doing so affected others unfairly. And he was willing to do so without bitterness or slander.
What do you think of that? Does that sound like the Jesus you know? Does it sound like Christians you know? What more can we learn from this story?
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