2000 drowned pigs caused quite a stir (Mark 5:1-8).  The Gentile farmers had lost a good income - and there was no insurance.  Also, the swine-herds had failed in their duty; they needed to blame someone - so Jesus was the obvious choice.  As the story went around the local towns, large crowds flocked to the hillside on the north eastern shore of Lake Galilee to see what had happened.  Some would have been angry at their commercial loss; but many others were just curious.  Nobody had ever heard of such a story before.

When they arrived at the 'scene of the crime', there was little appetite for salvaging pork carcases.  Thousands of half submerged pigs littering the coastline must have been quite a macabre sight.  But what attracted their attention far more was the man with the reputation for extreme violence.  He was now sitting quietly (not rampaging in a frenzy), dressed (instead of naked), and in his right mind (rather than distraught or wild).  Mark records their reaction to the scene as utter fear ... of Jesus!

You might have thought that compassion would overtake the crowd, and joy that the demonised man had been released from his terrors.  But they were not interested in the man's future.  They were as self-centred as most worldlings.  They were scared for their own.  If Jesus could have such a massive life-changing effect on a deranged man and a one hundred score of swine could be simultaneously destroyed, then what might happen if He decided to take an interest in one of them?  As Jesus clearly had so much authority over people and the natural world, He might try to change their lives too.  So, they begged Him to leave them alone by going away from their area.

Why should Jesus produce that reaction?  Clearly, He was more powerful than the distraught man.  He was more powerful than 2000 pigs, and more powerful than the Devil himself.  And He still is.  Those who resist Christ get used to coping with an evil world, but believe they are in control.  This is really sad, because they are not.  When Jesus proves that He is the Master, He challenges every other authority to submit to Him.  That is why even nice people want Him to go away, because they want to be in command of their own lives.  Their reaction demonstrates that they love darkness rather than light (John 3:19).  This may help you to pray for your colleague or neighbour; they are simply scared of having to submit to the Lord.  They may even want you to go away too.  But do not fail to tell them the truth.  That is our responsibility to live out and to speak out.  Those who do believe will be so grateful that you were not intimidated.