Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Return and Declare how much God has done for You

Luke 8:34-39 (ESV)
When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. [35] Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. [36] And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. [37] Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. [38] The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, [39] "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

The reaction different people have to Jesus and his miracles, and Jesus reaction to them is always a bit puzzling to me. One has to wonder why these people send Jesus away. You would think they would be amazed, thankful, and receptive. Instead they send him away. And the man wants to follow Jesus. I think I would want that too, if I were him. But no, Jesus sends him back to witness to the people, the people who had rejected Jesus. He tells him to “return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” This is telling, Jesus here is the one who drove out the demons, and he says it was God. In reality Jesus is claiming to be God. It is jesus, it is God who died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. This is quite an awesome thing to contemplate.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amazing thought, indeed.

Sue J

Reblogged on The Compendium of Christian Blogs
www.compendum.wordpress.com
[COMPENDIUM: Pastor Erickson has been reading and commenting on the Book of Luke in the New Testament. There are a few stories that he has on his blog about Jesus healing people. I am posting a couple but please read the others, too, on his blog.]