Luke 8:32 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And he suffered them— The town of Gadara, near which this miracle was wrought, was a Grecian city: see Matthew 8:28.; and as there was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles in those towns which bordered upon Judea, many of the Jews who lived there complied in some things with the Gentile customs, and among others, very probably in eating swine's flesh; and if this was the case, part of these swine might belong to them, which, by their number, two thousand, seem to have been a common or town-herd. It was therefore a just punishment upon them, when Christ permitted the swine to be thus destroyed. And for the other inhabitants, it was nothing more than what often happens in common calamities, that all suffer alike, and was abundantly made up to them by a favour of infinitely greater importance. For though Christ did not stay to declare himself to them, yet he left the man he had cured to do it; ordering him to return home to his own house, and shew how great things God had done unto him; (Luke 8:39.) which accordingly he did. This must have been sufficient to acquaint the Gadarenes with his character as the Messiah, to which before they were strangers; and lead them to an inquiry into his doctrine; which was a very compassionate method to make himself known in a country, beyond the usual limits of his doing it, either in person or by his disciples, till after his ascension. Nor does it seem reasonable, or agreeable to our Saviour's conduct in other cases, to suppose that he crossed the sea in a stormy night privately, and returned back in the same manner, only to cure one demoniac, or two at the most; and to permit the destruction of two thousand swine, without any further view of doing serviceto the inhabitants of those parts of the country.