The Pig Herder

"Nothing will hold him down...nothing!" I scream.

 "Place these shackles on his feet, cuff his hands!" My cousin cried out to me!

"No, he only busts them! He's a lunatic, a madman! Leave him to the graves!!! Lets get out of here!" I wail.

        Before he could turn on me, I ran with the others, back to my pigs. I wanted them protected from this insane man. I arrive, labored and fatigued. I had spent hours chasing this demented man away from my animals. 

I am a pig herder.

The man with the fits, and bursts of energy is running around. Left to to no food or water. Just his raves. 

He screams and yells and is heard for miles! He beats on his own body in disgust! He tortures is skin with broken rock, cutting and thrashing..bleeding.

I am frightened, and keep watch. I won't fall asleep. My cousin and I are the only ones left who will sit out here and watch our herd.

A boat approaches.

A group of men are aboard...

One stands out more than the others. Is he the captain? I feel uneasy over these visitors. Are they here to take this deranged man away? I hope they do. He scares me so. 

They step out of the boat. 

No one speaks, they only stare. The place reeks of corpse and mud. The flies are persistent, and the tombs are large. Endless stone, and rubble lie in heaps. Herds of pigs and their filth.

 

The man, of unsound mind, is sitting, slowly rocking on the path. He sees them land. He stands and begins to run to them!

"What do want of me, Jesus, Son of God??? PLEASE! Don't hurt me! Don't torment me!" He shrieks!

The men with Jesus looked stunned. This lunatic knows who Jesus is? How? He has never met him. And why would he think Jesus wanted to hurt him? The disciples wonder.

"Come out evil spirit!" Jesus says with authority. 

"What is your name?"

 "I am Legion, the man says, for WE are many!"

The disciples gasp! Legion? We? But there is only one...

 "Please! the man yells, if you must make us leave, give us the bodies of the pigs to live in! We don't want to die!"

"You may go to the pigs, he said, as if they needed His permission.

Suddenly my herd, grazing nearby, begin to stampede! 2000 of my pigs start running and trampling over themselves, and in utter panic, they leapt over the side of the cliffs, deep into the sea! 

I am stunned, shocked!!

I run! I run into my town to tell the others to come out and see what has just taken place...

We come back towards Jesus and his men. 

Who is he? What has he done to my animals?

Then I looked.

The man. The lunatic, the raging, insane man was now, normal.

I, and the others, could not believe our eyes! He sat on the ground, clothed and fully alert. He even spoke in a usual tone.

He wasn't yelling or cutting himself. He was sitting, politely and looking up at this Man Jesus.

Suddenly I was afraid, struck with a fear I had never known.

Murmurs in the crowds. Relatives wailing over the loss of the pigs. I, in utter shock and disbelief. I began to tremble.

"Please, I spoke aloud. I beg you! Leave out region of Gerasenes!"

Jesus looked softly, into my eyes, and back to the man again.

The man now stood up, and pleaded with Jesus, "Take me with you!! I want to follow you, wherever you go!"

"No, Jesus replied. I cant let you go where I go. Stay here, and bring word back to your family. Tell them what the Lord has done for you. How the Lord had sympathy and mercy upon you."

The man placed his hands over his healed face and body. 

He turned and walked away.

He headed home to his town of Decapolis.  

I heard about him in later years, how once he arrived there, to his city,  he spoke about Jesus and the miracle he had performed that day. The townsfolk were marveled and amazed at the sight of him and all he had to say.

Taken from Mark 5:1-20