“However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, ‘Go home to your
friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he
has had compassion on you.’”
Jesus had just healed a man in the country of the Gadarenes
who had been possessed by a legion of demons.
This man had been tortured by these demons night and day. The locals were well aware of his condition
and had tried unsuccessfully to bind the man, keep him under control, for their
own sake and perhaps for his. Jesus
dispossessed this man of the demons, sent the demons into the herd of about
2,000 swine, and then the swine ran violently into the sea and drowned. The man was so thankful, so grateful, he
wanted to be with Jesus and go where Jesus went. He just wanted to be with Jesus. He flat out begged. But Jesus’ answer to the man was to go tell
his friends what happened.
Such a miracle. Such
a relief. But only the healed man was
thankful. The locals were afraid of
Jesus. They were afraid of how He healed
the man possessed of devils. But there
must have been more than fear that prompted them to ask Jesus to leave. Maybe it was the lost profits on the pigs that
motivated them to reject Jesus. Maybe
they were an evil people and did not want Jesus to correct their sins. Whatever the reason, they asked Jesus to
depart from their region.
If I had been in the boat with Jesus and saw the evilness of
the locals and the desperate begging of the healed man, I would have asked
Jesus ‘should we not bring him with us, disciple him, get him out of this bad
environment?’ “Sometimes we have a hard
time understanding the ways of God. The people of the city made an evil
request: they began to plead with Him to depart from their region, and Jesus
answered their prayer. The man who had been demon possessed made a godly
request: that he might be with Him, and Jesus said “no” to that prayer.” (David
Guzik)
Jesus is wise beyond our understanding. Jesus knew the general consensus was to fear
him. But we see the wisdom of Christ,
who immediately put this healed man to work.
“Christ would not suffer him to go with him, lest it should savour of
ostentation, and to let him know that he could both protect and instruct him at
a distance. And besides, he had other work for him to do; he must go home to
his friends, and tell them what great things the Lord had done for him, the
Lord Jesus had done; that Christ might be honoured, and his neighbours and
friends might be edified, and invited to believe in Christ. He must take
particular notice rather of Christ’s pity than of his power, for that is it
which especially he glories in; he must tell them what compassion the Lord had
had on him in his misery. The man, in a
transport of joy, proclaimed, all the country over, what great things Jesus had
done for him, v. 20. This is a debt we owe both to Christ and to our brethren,
that he may be glorified and they edified.”
(Matthew Henry)
“THAT is a striking name for a man, "he that had been
possessed with the devil." It would stick to him as long as he lived, and
it would be a standing sermon wherever he went. He would be asked to tell the
story of what he used to be, and how the change came about. What a story for
any man to tell! There are some people
who could tell a story very like this man's, a story of slavery to Satan, and
deliverance by the power of Christ. If you can tell such a story, do not keep
it to yourself. If Jesus has done great things for thee, be ever ready to speak
of it, till all men shall know what Christ can do. I think that great sinners
who have been saved are specially called upon to publish the good news, the
gospel of the grace of God.” (Charles
Spurgeon)
“The people wanted Christ to go away from them; the man whom
he had cured wanted to go wherever he might go. To which class do you belong,
my dear friend?” (Charles Spurgeon)
There may be some reason you do not want Christ to come your
way. We pray that the Holy Spirit
convince you of your need to have Christ near you. If He does come near you and you feel your
conscience pricked, do not ask Him to go away!
If you ask Jesus to leave, He just might, then you are on your own, and
He may never come again.
We praise God if you are of the class that longs to be with
Jesus, to go wherever he might go. Time
with Jesus is important, it is necessary to spend time in prayer and in Bible
study. Jesus showed us as much during
His ministry on earth. But Jesus also
shows us it is important for you to go and tell others. Tell others of His compassion for you. Both are important. Make sure you spend time with God and His
Word before you go out in your daily work, school, or wherever you go. Are you desperate for God to use you for His
glory? Then ask Him and look for it to
happen. Sometimes where you least expect it.
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
