Back to the gospel of Mark tonight…
Mark 5:1-20 (NIV)
1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” 8For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”
9Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man — and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Read this passage and see if you find anything interesting.
Did you catch it?
Here we have Jesus, healing a demon-possessed man… a person with a very obvious and serious need. In the process, Jesus casts out the demons into a herd of pigs, who throw themselves into a lake and drown.
As you might imagine, the people are amazed at what Jesus has done, and the man is overwhelmed with gratitude. You’d think this would result in everyone wanting more of Jesus… for Him to stay, teach, and perform more miracles… right?
That’s the interesting part to me… the answer is a resounding no.
Check out verse 17. “The people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.”
Apparently, the people were more concerned about their financial well-being (after all, the herd of pigs was surely someone’s livelihood, maybe multiple people’s) than the amazing things Jesus could do in their lives. They preferred their security over their spiritual well-being.
Sad, isn’t it?
Are we really all that different, though? How do we respond when Jesus does something amazing? With increased faith, gratitude, and commitment?
Maybe for a time. But when the normalcy of life sets back in, we question things again. We decide we’d rather do things on our own, rather than trusting God’s divine provision. We turn to our plans instead of God’s. The mountaintop experiences fade so quickly.
What is it about this aspect of our human existence? Why is faith so fleeting sometimes? How do we go about growing our faith and trust in God so that we can see lives of sustained faith?
As much as I’d like to, I still don’t have answers to these questions.
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