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We remain with the story of the miraculous healing
of a demoniac as we look at the reaction of people to Jesus. Have you
ever known someone, perhaps at a distance, who is simply a thorn in
the flesh of the community in which they live? Maybe a bully, or perhaps
someone unpredictable and dangerous. Someone who turns up and spoils
every party, ruins every conversation, breaks up every gathering. A
person of whom others say, "Here comes trouble!" Imagine one day Jesus
coming along and completely turning them around. The bully suddenly
becomes the defender of the weak; the violent person becomes patient
and conciliatory; the party-pooper makes the party swing; the views
of the conversation-killer are sought, and no gathering is complete
without that person who once ended a good evening just by turning up.
What would be your reaction? I imagine you would be amazed, and pleased.
When Jesus did this in Gadara, The people began
to plead with Jesus to leave the region (v.17). Why was this?
Not me Jesus, Not Now
In John's gospel we read:
For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only (only begotten) Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John
3:16)
However, the passage goes on to read:
This is the verdict: Light has come into the
world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds were
evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into
the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (3:19)
Light had come to Gadara with a demonstration of power and authority. Light had shown the reason for the demon-possessed man's behaviour; Light had put the demons to shame; Light had shone into the man's heart and Light that had found him amongst the dead and out of his mind had left him among the living and in his right mind. But that same light proved a threat to others still living in darkness and hiding their shame and so they begged Jesus to leave. Isaiah prophesied of such people:
You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
You will be ever seeing but never perceiving;
For this people's heart has become calloused;
They hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, understand with their
hearts and turn, and I would heal them (Is.6:9-10)
Hearing, understanding and turning, what a challenge these are to proud men and women who are too fond of their sin and too proud perhaps of their supposed status to confess their sin and be healed.
Life Looks Like This
Consider, however, the reaction of the healed man:
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man
who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let
him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord
has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went
away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for
him. And all the people were amazed (Mark 5:19-20)
There are many ideas about what marks the converted life. Here we have two marks of the true believer. (1) The true believer wants to be with Jesus. Like this man he wants to be where Jesus is, go where Jesus goes. (2) The true believer tells of the mercies of God, readily and willingly. Wherever she goes there is a sense of Jesus and a story to tell. Everyone who truly knows the Lord has a story to tell and in the telling some will be amazed. Is your greatest ambition to be with Jesus? Are you seeking more of him? Does his story come readily to your lips in your daily conversation? May you amaze someone this week with the simple message of grace and of God's mercy as you tell what he has done in your life.
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