Can Jesus Mess with Your Pigs?

A Few Thoughts to Consider

How important are your pigs?

While this sounds like a strange question, Jesus has something to say on the matter. After Jesus calms the storm on the sea for his disciples and reveals their lack of faith, we see Jesus encounter a man with a demon. In some ways, these stories parallel. N.T. Wright says, “Jesus remains calm before this human storm, as he had before the wind and the waves on the lake. The same quiet authority will deal with the one as with the other.”^[1]

In Luke 8:26-39, Jesus encounters a demon-possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes. “It is the first exorcism that occurs in Gentile territory, since Gerasa is located east of the Jordan. It shows how Jesus’ ministry is expanding in scope.”^[2] The man, who had been living among tombs and was uncontrollable, is tormented by many demons called “Legion.” Howard Marshall notes, “The medical care of the time knew no other treatment for the mentally ill than to keep them under the strictest restraint, but this man had overcome all attempts to control him. He felt that he was driven by a mass of conflicting impulses and that he was possessed by as many demons as there were soldiers in a Roman legion (some 5,000 of them).”^[3]

Jesus commands the demons to leave the man, allowing them to enter a herd of pigs, which then rush into a lake and drown. “Pigs can typically swim, but not indefinitely, probably especially after plunging over a steep bank, presumably many on top of each other. In some Jewish traditions demons could be destroyed or could be bound under bodies of water.”^[4]

While the text does not explicitly state that the pigs were intended for sacrificial purposes in the worship of false gods, the region where this event took place (the Decapolis) was a predominantly Gentile area. Given the cultural context, some scholars suggest that the pigs may have been part of pagan practices or used for local consumption. Regardless, the key point of the story is what happens next. Luke 8:34-37 says:

³⁴ When the men who tended them saw what had happened, they ran off and reported it in the town and in the countryside. ³⁵ Then people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man the demons had departed from, sitting at Jesus’s feet, dressed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶ Meanwhile, the eyewitnesses reported to them how the demon-possessed man was delivered. ³⁷ Then all the people of the Gerasene region asked him to leave them, because they were gripped by great fear. So getting into the boat, he returned.

If these pigs were to be offered in pagan worship, as some have surmised, there is clear symbolism to the demons entering the pigs and being destroyed. However, the basic premise remains the same even if these pigs were raised strictly for agriculture. The people who reject Jesus are more concerned with the plight of their pigs than they are with the state of their hearts. As Pastor Jim Halbert notes, “We quench and grieve the Spirit when we resist His influence. When we don’t want him messing with our pigs, we are telling him to get back in his boat and leave.”[5]

A Meditation to PRAY

Praise | Lord, I praise you for your power and authority over all things, including the storms in our hearts and the forces that bind us. You are the God who brings freedom, healing, and transformation, no matter how deep our struggles run.

Release | I release the areas of my life that I’ve held back from you—the “pigs” I’ve been afraid to let go of. Help me surrender the habits, relationships, and thoughts that keep me from fully embracing your work in my life.

Ask | I ask for the courage to let you confront the parts of my heart that need change. Give me the strength to let go of what’s holding me back and the trust to believe that your way is always better, even when it disrupts my comfort.

Yield | I yield to your transforming power, Lord, letting go of anything that hinders my walk with you. I choose to stop sending you away and instead invite you to make me whole, no matter the cost.

A Challenge to Act Like Christ  

The local Gentile population wrestled with a similar discomfort the Jewish leaders had. They believed in a divine deity, but they did not want one who would confront their way of life and disrupt their economic plans. So, they rejected Jesus and sent him away. Reflecting on this story, Halbert asks this question: “What kind of transformation could happen in my life if I stopped telling him to get back in his boat so I can protect my pigs?”[6]

Pigs emerge in many forms, but they have one thing in common: They are those things we don’t want God to touch in our lives. These might include secret addictions, broken relationships, or destructive ways of thinking. Like the people of Gerasa, when Jesus comes and confronts these areas, we send Jesus back to the boat. We don’t mind the God who can calm the storms, but we reject the one who wants to change our lives.

Do you have some pigs in your life? If so, don’t push Jesus away. Allow him to confront those areas in your life you’d prefer he not touch.

*Unless you specify otherwise, comments and questions you ask may be featured in upcoming podcast episodes.

^[1]N. T. Wright, Luke for Everyone, vol. 4 of Accordance electronic ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 101.

^[2]Darrell L. Bock, Luke, eds. Terry C. Muck, The NIV Application Commentary. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 241.

^[3]I. Howard Marshall, Luke, eds. D. A Carson et al., New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 993.

^[4]John H. Walton and Craig S. Keener, eds. NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), paragraph 12153.

[5] Jim Halbert Sermon, “Jesus Will Mess with Your Pigs,” July 21, 2024.

[6] Jim Halbert Sermon, “Jesus Will Mess with Your Pigs,” July 21, 2024.