Matthew 8:30-34 - They pleaded with Him to leave their region

8:30,31

The demons knew they were in deep trouble and pleaded to be sent into the herd of pigs. The region where this was taking place  had a large Gentile population, and it is likely that the pigs belonged to Gentiles. So the question of “what were Jews doing with a herd of pigs” is possibly totally irrelevant because the Jews did not have a herd of pigs.

8:32-34

“Go!” The demons came out of the men and went into the pigs.The whole herd then proceeded to rush down the steep bank, into the lake and drowned. So Jesus giving the demons what they wanted did not do them a great deal of good. This clearly caused great consternation for those looking after the pigs, a great economic loss! Not to mention the unusual nature of the event. The whole town then came out to Jesus and pleaded with Him to leave. We often labour under the misapprehension that people will naturally like and want Jesus, if only we present Him in a nice enough light. This is utter nonsense. It is only the Spirit of God who can open a man’s eyes to the truth of who Jesus is.

Notice that Matthew does not mention the two men who had been set free. Matthew seems to be focusing on the reaction of people. So if we look at this chapter as a whole, we see that people considered outcasts (lepers and Gentiles) were freely accepted and demonstrated faith. Peter’s mother-in-law was healed. Then there was Jesus making clear the cost of following Him, it is no light decision. Now we have people outrightly rejecting Jesus. The reaction and response of people to Jesus is not a simple matter. There will be all sorts of reactions from all sorts of people.