“And as He was getting in the boat, the man who been possessed with demons begged Him that he might be with Him.” (Mark 5:18 ESV)
I love this story, it so clearly describes the utter soul destruction that comes with sin. Sin deviates and separates, it’s incredibly painful and terribly lonely. The part that really gets me though, is that Jesus sees the demoniac from across the sea. Most people would avoid a man like him, possessed by many, known by none. Not Jesus. Nope, Jesus jumped in a boat, sailed overnight and through a tempest to meet the demoniac on his turf. The Legion within this pour soul saw Jesus coming from a mile away and called the Son of God out as holy His feet hit the sand. Jesus wasn’t dissuaded. He speaks to the demons, sent them into a nearby herd of unclean pigs, and climbed back in the boat to return to the other side of the sea. The demoniac’s healing was Jesus’ sole agenda on that excursion.
Jesus demonstrated such fierce affection for the demoniac. We are reminded, He sees us while we are still far off and He comes running to our rescue. It’s the prodigal parable, but really the theme of God rescuing man dates back much further. Last night our young adults group was going over the first few chapters of Exodus and we all marveled again over God’s great love for His children.
“The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in empt. I have heard them crying out because of their slaved drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them form the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”” (Exodus 3:7-8 NLT)
The Lord saw His people, heard their cries, was concerned and came to their rescue. The same God who was concerned about the Isrealite slaves was concerned about the demoniac man and God’s compassion moved Him to action. It still does. Our compassionate God is still crossing seas and leaders and cultures and labels to grab hold of our hearts.
The thing that strikes me on this read through of the demoniac’s story is Jesus’ instruction to stay. I have pity for the formerly demon-possessed. All he wanted was a fresh start, a closer walk with this mysterious man from across the waters that healed him with a singular sentence. I picture my kids as littles, you know when they still want to be with me wherever I went? I’d be ready to leave the house for something dull like a staff meeting or a dentist appointment and they’d wrap themselves around my thigh and beg not be left behind. The former demoniac demonstrates this same level of desire: “Please don’t leave me!! I wanna be with you forever!!”
If we keep reading, we see that Jesus had a specific plan for the man:
“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19 ESV)
If the man had left with Jeuss, his story of demon possession and exorcism would be reduced to a fairytale, a ghost story that local kids would tell in the town’s cemetery. His flesh and blood testimony would become a myth that no one really put stock in. If he stayed, however, the people of the region would over and over be confronted with the reality of his wholeness. They would see this dispossessed man at the market and in the synagogue and going about business as sane individual again. Charles Spurgeon wrote of the healed demoniac: “He would be a standing sermon wherever he went.”
Jesus had very specific instructions for the demoniac: stay and tell. If we pull out a bit, we realize that oftentimes Jesus gives set direction to the people He heals. Stay and tell. Go and tell. Serve faithfully. Tell no one. What are Jesus instruction to us? The thing is, Jesus has instructions because He’s thinking Kingdom, we have objections because we’re thinking us.
The truth is, sometimes the thing Jesus asks us to do is the hardest thing we can do. For the demoniac, and maybe for us, staying is tough. Remaining when we want to bolt, trying when we are ready to quit, continuing to engage in relationship when we would rather stonewall, remaining loving when it isn’t reciprocated, praying when we don’t see results, giving when we don’t have much, believing when doubt is large. Jesus asked the demoniac to stay. Sometimes the hardest thing is the rightest thing.
Lord, thank You for seeing us from across the waters. When we consider the lengths You’ve gone to to rescue us, we are overwhelmed by Your fierce love for us. Thank You for speaking into our story, for continuing to restore us to original design. Only You can accomplish these miracles. May our gratitude be measured in obedience as we walk out Your next instructions, even if their hard. Amen.