What the Bible says
“My name is Legion: for we are many.”
Mark 5:9 (KJV)
“And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.”
Mark 5:13 (KJV)
“Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.”
Mark 5:19 (KJV)
The man no one could help
He lived among the tombs, crying and cutting himself with stones. Chains could not hold him. When Jesus stepped out of the boat, this man ran to him. The spirits inside called themselves Legion, because they were many.
Who destroyed the herd?
The demons asked to enter the swine, and Jesus allowed it. It was the unclean spirits, not Jesus, who drove the herd down the slope. What they did to the pigs in a moment is what they had been doing to the man for years. Everyone could now see what he had been freed from.
What one person is worth
The townspeople found the man sitting, clothed and in his right mind — and they were afraid, and asked Jesus to leave. They counted the pigs. Jesus counted the man. He sent him home to tell everyone how great things the Lord had done. No one is too far gone, too broken or too lost for Jesus to cross the sea for.
Common questions
Did Jesus kill the pigs?
Mark says the unclean spirits entered the swine and the herd ran into the sea. Jesus permitted it, but it was the demons that destroyed them.
How many pigs were there?
Mark 5:13 says they were about two thousand.