“Jesus … 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.’”
Mark 5:19
British Baptist minister Charles Spurgeon, 1834-1892:
“The case of the man here referred to is … extraordinary…. This poor wretch being possessed with a legion of evil spirits had been driven to something worse than madness…. Jesus Christ passed by; He said to the devils, ‘Come out of him.’ The man was healed in a moment; he fell down at Jesus’ feet…. Out of gratitude … he said, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go….’ ‘No,’ said Christ, ‘… if you would show your gratitude, go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you.’…
“[H]ere is Christmas day come round again…. We are going home to see our friends, and here is the story some of us have to tell:… Tell [your friends] how you were once a lost and abandoned sinner, how the Lord met with you…. [I]t must be a story of free grace. It is not, ‘Tell your friends how great things you have done yourself.’… I hope, when you are telling the story, … that they will be led by the Spirit to desire the same mercy themselves… God grant a blessing for His name’s sake!”
“The case of the man here referred to is … extraordinary…. This poor wretch being possessed with a legion of evil spirits had been driven to something worse than madness…. Jesus Christ passed by; He said to the devils, ‘Come out of him.’ The man was healed in a moment; he fell down at Jesus’ feet…. Out of gratitude … he said, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go….’ ‘No,’ said Christ, ‘… if you would show your gratitude, go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you.’…
“[H]ere is Christmas day come round again…. We are going home to see our friends, and here is the story some of us have to tell:… Tell [your friends] how you were once a lost and abandoned sinner, how the Lord met with you…. [I]t must be a story of free grace. It is not, ‘Tell your friends how great things you have done yourself.’… I hope, when you are telling the story, … that they will be led by the Spirit to desire the same mercy themselves… God grant a blessing for His name’s sake!”
Scripture Focus
Mark 5:1-20
Insight
“Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns;/ let men their songs employ.” (Isaac Watts, 1719)
Bible In A Year
- Nahum 1-3
- Proverbs 24
- Revelation 3-5