‘And they that fed them fled and told it in the city and in the country, and they came to see what it was that had happened. And they come to Jesus and see the one who was possessed with devils sitting, clothed and in his right mind, even he who had the legion, and they were afraid. And those who saw it declared to them how it befell him who was possessed with devils and concerning the pigs. And they began to beg him to depart from their borders.'
We can compare this with John 4 when the Samaritans were in a similar position. Someone arrived telling them strange things about this man. But what a contrast in response. They too went out to see for themselves. But the Samaritans had welcomed Him with open arms. They had pleaded with Him to stay.
But when these heard the strange story, and came to find what had happened, they saw the infamous madman, of whom they were probably in some awe, sitting there wholly well and in his right mind and they were afraid. Who was this Jewish prophet who could do such things? Possibly they actually believed what the Doctors of the Law had pretended to believe, that He must be satanically possessed (for they had no Scriptures to show them otherwise). For clearly He had strange unearthly powers, and He might well use them to their harm. They knew that Jews had no love for the Gentiles, especially Jewish religious teachers.
Then they learned what had happened, and how the pigs had been destroyed. This was surely proof that He meant them no good. So they pleaded with Him to leave them alone and go. They wanted no Jewish exorcists here, especially those who used their gifts to destroy their livelihood. It was a mixture of suspicion and fear, tinged with anger and upset at what they had lost.
We commentators can easily write off the loss for it was not ours. But for the man or community who lost the pigs it was a grave loss, and an expensive one. In theory one man might be said to be worth a few thousand pigs, (although in those days that might have been questionable), but practise was a different matter. Yet they did not dare do anything for they were not sure what else Jesus could do. That is why, in the end, they wanted Him to go. They could not risk the consequences of Him staying. But nor dare they use violence against Him. Thus they pleaded with Him instead. And so for the sake of a herd of pigs they lost their chance of the word of life.
The large number of pigs suggests either that their owner was very wealthy or that the herd was a joint one having a number of different owners. It may even have been one being maintained so as to provision the Roman soldiers in the area. We may presume that Jesus knew that its loss would not devastate lives.
‘Clothed and in his right mind.' This may mean ‘decently clothed' rather than in dirty rags, or it may even mean he had gone about almost naked (compare Luke 8:27, and see above).