"Why did Jesus have to cast demons into pigs?"
Matthew 8:28-32 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, the two demon-possessed men met him coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him saying, "If you cast us out, send us away in the herd of pigs." And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters.
In these verses were are told that Jesus cures two men of demonic possession by casting the demons into a herd of pigs that proceed to run into the sea and drown. Why did Jesus need to use the pigs? Why did the demons seemingly want to inhabit the pigs? Could Jesus have cured the two men without causing the pigs to kill themselves? What happened to the demons after the pigs died? Did they "die" as well?
Christian Answers:
- Bible Hub: Matthew 8:32 Commentaries
- Got Questions?: Why did Jesus allow the demons to enter the herd of pigs?
- Bible.org: The Demons And The Pigs
Secular Answers:
Referenced Verses:
Matthew 8:28, Matthew 8:29, Matthew 8:30, Matthew 8:31, Matthew 8:32