Mark 5:18-20 “And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, 'Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.' And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”
This is an unusual account in two ways: First, a man wants to return with Christ, but is denied the opportunity. Also, so many people received warnings from Jesus not to say anything about what was done for them, but here Jesus tells this man to go proclaim it.
The words used here are literally translated “show and tell.” That was this man's ministry! It was simple
Of course the application we draw for ourselves is that this can be our ministry too! You don't have to be an evangelist, preacher, or a missionary. But each one of us can have a simple ministry like this one: go and report what Jesus has done in your life!
In case it isn't fresh in your memory, what happened here to this fellow prior to these verses is he met Jesus at the shore and was possessed by a whole legion of demons. People tried to chain him and bind him, but he was supernaturally strong. It says he gashed himself with stones and cried out night and day. Jesus casts the demons out of this man into a herd of pigs, which ran off a cliff.
It was a public ministry
The King James says he went away and “published” Jesus
This man preached to the public in Decapolis
It was a widespread ministry
Decapolis means “10 cities”
He proclaimed Jesus to that entire region
It was an effective ministry
The passage says that everyone was “amazed” or they “marveled”
His ministry was ordained by Jesus
Jesus was the one who sent him out
Think of the confidence he could go and start this work with!
But Jesus has done the same with us – we are commanded to make disciples of all nations
His ministry started at home
We have a tendency to want to be involved with all the big missions. We want to be the pastor of a church, an evangelist, or a missionary to an unreached country. But here, Jesus gave this man a simple ministry that started in his own home. We can all do that, can't we?
The Demoniac's ministry was very personal
What was the material for this ministry?
The great things the Lord had done
The Lord's mercy shown to him
Every Christian has this testimony!
We don't have to be on a team to do good. Jesus sent just this one man.
What great things is he to be proclaiming?
Deliverance from the demons
The man was occupied by so many demons that the leader's name was Legion
One of the parallel passages says that he was possessed for “a long time” - this did not happen over night. But Jesus prevailed.
His desire for Jesus – a love and devotion
That does not happen without God's intervention, so it is a great thing when the Lord puts a love in a man's heart for Him
His sanity was returned
It is a great thing for any man to get his mind back. He was a lunatic, but now here he is sitting at the feet of Jesus
Oftentimes a distressed mind is worse than physical impairment and pain
It says he screamed night and day in the tombs.Where is rest for a man like that?
He got a real revelation of who Jesus is
He got to go home instead of live in the tombs
It was a dark life, he lived in a graveyard! But he got to go back to his house and lay in his own bed.
He got to go back to his family/friends
Luke's parallel tells us that he was from the city. He had a life before he became oppressed. The Lord told him to go back to his family/friends.
He was given a zeal for Christ
He was able to serve the Lord without fear
He was willing to be distant from the Lord, indicating he wasn't overwhelmed with fear that they would come back
He was no longer a threat to himself
He was no longer a threat to society
The people could not pass by him because he was so fierce
He was no longer naked
What was the mercy that God had?
He was sought out by Christ
He was a lost, hopeless case who did not seek Jesus, but Christ came to him.
The entire trip was for this one man. After this one encounter he was sent away!
He was kept by the power of God from destroying himself before he ever met Christ
The Demoniac's ministry had a beginning
Some of you may feel that for whatever reason you have not been very used yet, but that can change
There can be a beginning of a new day of usefulness for you in the Kingdom as simple and effective as this one
Go home and tell about the great things God has done for you and the mercy that he has had on you!
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