We have here a miracle of destruction which is paralleled only by Our Lord’s cursing of the fig tree in Holy Week. Why, then, did he allow the destruction of the herd? Most of the animals were being kept until they were ready to be slaughtered for food and so the principal loss was the economic one which their owner would incur.

Against that loss, however, must be set two factors. The first concerns the man who had been possessed and who was now cured, for as he watched the swine stampede he had dramatic evidence, unforgettably imprinted on his mind, of the fearful evil from which Jesus had delivered him. And secondly, it was necessary that he should know that, because Jesus forthwith dispatched him to be his missionary among the people to the east of the Lake. Thus it was through him that Jesus was able to prepare the way for his own later extended visit to the district when, we read, he was well-received (Mark 7:31-37).