“And when (Jesus) had come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might be with Him. 19. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but said unto him, Go home to your friends and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and has had compassion on you.”
The incident referred to in the text pertains to the encounter that Jesus had with the man who was demon possessed and ran naked and wild among the tombs. After Jesus had rid the man of the demons, it was natural that he would want to follow Jesus, but Jesus did not tell him to follow Him as He did to His disciples. Rather, He told the man to go back to his home and share with others the miracle that he had experienced. Because of what happened to the man, he was given the responsibility of sharing it. This is a good lesson for us. We need to share with others what Jesus did, and is still doing, for us. Jesus told the man to go home to his friends. Can you imagine the surprise of the man’s friends when they saw him “clothed and in his right mind.” They would obviously be curious about what had happened to return him to sanity. The last time they saw the man he was out of control, now he was changed. We have heard many stories about people who lived wild lives and were changed by the gospel, and about how surprised the people who knew him were. They noticed the change in him and wondered what had happened. It might be that you did not live a “wild” life before you were saved, but Jesus has done a work in your life, and He wants you to tell people about what He did for you. We are not told how the man’s friends reacted to his new life, but I imagine that, among other things, they wanted to know what happened to bring about this change. Whether the change is dramatic, as in the case of the demoniac, or undramatic, the reason for the change in our lives needs to be shared. Jesus told the man to tell his friends “what great things the Lord had done for (him).” Surely, Jesus has done something in your life that needs to be told. The “great things” that Jesus does for us might not be as dramatic as this story, or the experience of Paul, but He wants us to share them with others. You might not have a sensational story to tell, but you do have a story. Jesus told the man that He “had compassion on (Him).” Many people do not understand that God is compassionate. They have majored on the stories in the Old Testament of how God brought judgment and wrath on those who disobeyed Him. These stories are real, but they are not the full story. The full story is that God is compassionate towards us. God’s wrath is not meant to replace His compassion. The whole story of the Bible is how God loved the world so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to save people from their sins. We need to share the positive story about the compassion that God has for people. One of the best ways that we can share His compassion is to be compassionate towards others in our own lives. Just as Jesus demonstrated the compassion of God, we can demonstrate it as well. Jesus has done a work in your life that He wants you to share. Go to people and tell them about what Jesus has done for you, that He loves them and has compassion for them. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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