Mark 5:18-20

Passage

As Jesus abided by the wishes of the townsfolk, the man who had been possessed begged Jesus to be allowed to go with Him.  Jesus tells the man that he cannot follow Jesus.  Instead, the man is charged with telling anyone who would listen just what God had done for him and how merciful God had been.  The man did go away, proclaiming in the Decapolis all about Jesus.  All those who heard him were amazed.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The man begs to be able to follow Jesus.  The formerly demon-possessed man knows a good thing when he sees it.  I don’t mean that as a slam; actually it is a compliment.  He knows how the townsfolk treated him in the past.  He knows what Jesus did for him.  Given the choice between the two, he’d rather be with Jesus.  I can’t say as I blame him.

What was this man giving up by offering to come with Jesus?  Are you surprised that Jesus doesn’t let him come?  What can you learn from this point about the proper way to respond to Jesus when He does something unexpected in your life?

Second Thought:

Jesus gives the formerly demon-possessed man a mission.  Jesus tells him to become an apostle – although admittedly such a title is not officially given in this text.  The word apostle simply means “one who is sent out on a specific mission by an authority.”  Clearly this man becomes an apostle.  He is sent out by Jesus.  In one day he went from being out of his mind under demon possession to being sent out by Christ on a mission from God.  That’s a really neat change!

What can you learn from these words about God’s plan for people?  What does this passage have to say about us being flexible and open to the hand of God?

Third Thought:

The man went into the region of the Decapolis (Ten Cities) and proclaimed Jesus.  The Decapolis was a largely Gentile area.  We’ll actually hear more about it in a few chapters.  The Decapolis is the region where the feeding of the 4,000 occurs.  What is interesting is that Jesus sends this man out and what ends up happening is this man’s testimony helps to prepare the way for Jesus when Jesus comes back into the area of the Decapolis.  It might seem unfortunate that this man cannot go with Jesus, but it appears that he embraces God’s calling.  That’s actually a really awesome point.

Have you ever gotten upset at times when God doesn’t make something possible that you really want to do?  Have you ever had the experience of having to do something you didn’t really want to do but then having it turn out really well in the end?  What can this teach us about being humble before God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 5:21-24