Have you been doing so?

 Mark 5:14 – 20

 

“The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened.  And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.   And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs.   And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.   As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.  And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”  And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”

 

If you were the herdsman, and you see a miracle as they have, you’re going to tell others, that is the way we are wired.  Now it seems the whole region showed up to see if what the herdsman was saying is true.  If it happened today CNN would be there giving us an account of what had been reported, and they would have all the experts telling us that Legion clothed and in his right mind was not a miracle, and then they would take an hour to tell how unpopular Jesus was and a Jew that hated pigs and was only there to destroy, not do good.

 

Have you ever been told to stop begging?  Well, Jesus did not do so, when the unclean spirits begged Jesus to allow them to enter the herd of about 2000 pigs, He did.  As stated in the last paper, pigs must be smarter than people for they chose death over having a demon living in them.  Note:  I’ve often warned my two grandsons to not be taken in by a young lady's outer beauty but to look for the beauty of the soul in the lady.

 

Back to begging, the people of the area were much more at peace living with or around demons, but they begged Jesus to leave, because He had authority over the demons, and Jesus does not force them to change their minds, He complies.  

 

The last beggar was Legion, the name the demons gave him, we do not know his name, but we do know that he is now clothed and in his right mind.  What was he begging for? He wanted to be with Jesus, and Jesus said no. “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”  “And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”

 

The sad news is Jesus has told each of us the same thing, go tell how much Jesus has done for you, have you been busy doing so? 

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice