Mark 5:1-14 – Jesus heals the demon-possessed man.
We read three requests in this story. Three different times we read the phrase “begging for Jesus”.
First, demons were begging that they could be far from Jesus – “they begged him earnestly…” v.10.
Second, the people of that town were begging that Jesus could be far from them – “they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region…” v.17.
Third, the healed man was begging that he could be close to Jesus and walk with him – “begged him that he might be with him…” v.18.
Surprisingly, Jesus said ‘yes’ to the first two, and ‘no’ to the third one.
The demons could not stand the person of Jesus – so they wanted to go away from Jesus.
The people of that town could not submit to the priorities of Jesus (life for Jesus is more valuable than profit), so they wanted Jesus to go away from them.
The healed man could not imagine life without the presence of Jesus – so he was sent away by Jesus.
Jesus granted the requests of the demons and the people. He gave them what they wanted – to be far from him.
The common denominator in the Devil and in those without Jesus is that they both want the same thing: they do not want to be where Jesus is. Jesus grants their requests. And they will end up where Jesus is not: in Hell.
Jesus did not give the healed man what he wanted. He wanted to be present with Jesus. But Jesus gave him what he couldn’t even imagine: to represent Him. He was given the honor to be an ambassador for the Kingdom of God and to represent the King of Kings.
Instead of being present with Jesus, he is empowered to respresent Jesus.
This slave to the Kingdom of Darkness is elevated to become the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Light.
He who was controlled by a Legion of Demons is now empowered by the Holy Spirit.
He who could only utter uncontrollable screams, now can proclaim the miracles of God.
He was not only freed, but he was empowered and sent. He was not only restored but he was elevated to an honorable position he could never have.
Two takeaways:
- Jesus will never force himself on those who do not wish to be close to him. If you don’t want Jesus to be close to you or to interfere with your interests, rest assured, he will grant your request. Jesus will stay as far from you as far you want him to be. He will be far from you in your life and also in your death. You’ll get what you wished for.
- Jesus will always send out those who wish to be close to him. If you wish to be close to Jesus, you will always be elevated to be in the honorable role of representing His Kingdom. You’ll get what you can’t even imagine.
Be considerate what you pray for.
Your desire to be close to Jesus will always lead you in a mission for Jesus.
If your prayer is to be close to Jesus, he might send you back to those who chained you before, who were far from you and might suffered losses because of you.
“He went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” V.20