“Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.”
Mark 5:16-17
Does it strike you as odd that the townspeople pleaded with Jesus to leave? They didn’t want Him around because they couldn’t handle His authority and power. It seems Jesus was too amazing for them.
Sometimes it’s easier to stay the way we are. We’re comfortable—life may not be perfect, but it’s livable; it may be fragmented, but it’s familiar. We don’t want to change and give up what’s dear to us. “The plain fact is that Christ is a kind of plague to the human race. There is something in all of us that cries out at times: ‘What a relief it would be if I could just go ahead and live without having that Figure rise before [me]! Why can’t He leave me alone?’ We are tormented partly because His presence makes us fully aware of our misery and bondage and partly because it threatens to take away from us those ills and obsessions that we cling to.” (Baptist pastor, William Self, 1932-2016).
The Gerasene people would have received Jesus warmly if He’d just let them be. But that’s not what Jesus does. He aims to save us from ourselves.
Sometimes it’s easier to stay the way we are. We’re comfortable—life may not be perfect, but it’s livable; it may be fragmented, but it’s familiar. We don’t want to change and give up what’s dear to us. “The plain fact is that Christ is a kind of plague to the human race. There is something in all of us that cries out at times: ‘What a relief it would be if I could just go ahead and live without having that Figure rise before [me]! Why can’t He leave me alone?’ We are tormented partly because His presence makes us fully aware of our misery and bondage and partly because it threatens to take away from us those ills and obsessions that we cling to.” (Baptist pastor, William Self, 1932-2016).
The Gerasene people would have received Jesus warmly if He’d just let them be. But that’s not what Jesus does. He aims to save us from ourselves.
Scripture Focus
Mark 5:1-20
Insight
Are you comfortable in Jesus’ presence? Or is there something you’re clinging to that makes His presence uncomfortable? Release it to Him today.
Bible In A Year
- Genesis 27-28
- Psalm 14
- Matthew 22