A PORTRAIT OF JESUS
– Reaching the Unreachable
“Return home and tell how much God has done
for you.” Luke 8:39
The
Decapolis while located in and along side Israel it was filled with paganism
in Jesus day. It was greatly influenced by Greece. Jesus did not steer clear of the area, but
visited it on at least two occasions mentioned in Scripture. The story of Jesus
visit to the Decapolis in Luke 8 and Mark 5
has always puzzled me. You all know the story of the man possessed by a legion
(6,000) of demons and how Jesus reached and healed him. The legions asked to be cast into the herd of
pigs grazing on the hillside and when Jesus complied, the pigs ran over a cliff
and into the sea and drowned. The people
begged Jesus to leave their country for they were seized with fear. Fear of what I ask myself? Why would a people
choose pigs over the healing of a man? I just don’t get it, but what is most intriguing
about this story is that when the man who had been healed begged to go with Jesus,
He tells him, “no,” that he is to stay and tell his story to all around
him. Mark 5:20 tells us that “He went away and began to proclaim in
the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him;
and all men marveled.”
What
are the lessons for us in this story?
First, Jesus did not stay in his comfort zone, but sought out even those
in pagan regions. The message of Christ
is not just for those who are sympathetic or who already understand it, it is
for everyone. Secondly, evil can be reckoned
with and overcome through the power of Christ. Jesus not only took care of
healing this man from a legion of demons, they were cast into the unclean
animals grazing nearby and they too were destroyed. Lastly, once healing takes place, we must
share our story with others, not isolate ourselves and remain with those we are
comfortable with. Jesus’ words are
simple yet profound, “Go, tell how much God has done for you.” Sometime later, when Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die, he travels again through the Decapolis, through this very territory where this man had
been left to share his story. Here Jesus
was met by a crowd of believers. I suspect
these were those who heard this man’s story and became believers. In this land where the pagans begged Jesus to
depart from them, this man, with his simple testimony, made an impact for
Christ and so can we.
D. Mathewson