Scripture

Then the entire town came to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

Observation

Jesus and his disciples get into a boat to cross the lake. A storm erupts, and waves threaten to swamp the boat. Jesus is asleep, and the disciples wake Him up and plead with Him to save them.

Jesus quiets the storm and rebukes the disciples for their lack of faith.

On the other side of the lake, two men possessed by many demons meet Jesus. The demons manifest, screaming at Jesus. At their request, Jesus casts them out of the men and into some pigs. The whole herd plunges down the hillside and into the lake.

The entire town comes out to marvel at what has happened, but they ask Jesus to go away and leave them alone.

Application

The reaction of the towns people to the deliverance of these men is astounding

The two most possessed people, the most violently affected people that you can imagine, are freed by a simple command from Jesus. Yet the people beg Jesus to go away and leave them alone.

The disciples responded to the calming of the storm with reverence because the miracle revealed the truth about Jesus. In the case of the men set free, the response to the revelation is to tell Jesus to go away.

Was it the loss of their livelihood that sparked this rejection of Jesus? Or did the people discern that Jesus would want them to change in ways that they weren’t ready to?

There are many people who choose to be atheists or agnostics because they do not want the gospel to be true. They are happy in their ignorance and don’t want to come under the sovereignty of Christ.

Prayer

Lord, I pray for those people who reject you because they don’t want you to be Lord. Please open their eyes to see your glory. Amen.