Mark 5:1-20
Now they head into Gentile territory for the first time,
to “the other side.”
We remember at the close of the previous chapter Jesus
and His disciples had all entered small boats to cross over the sea of Galilee
to the other side, which would be the region of the Gadarenes, which was a
region of Gentiles and Jews who had not remained pure in their religion.
In the first case, we may marvel that Jesus would even go
this “God-forsaken place,” but it serves to remind us no place on earth is ‘God-forsaken.’
God has an interest in all peoples in all places. There
are no places which God has forsaken - only places that have forsaken God.
The region of the Gadarenes is one of those places. What
they found there was quite startling. What they had to go through to get there
was also quite startling, as we remember the storm that raged in an attempt to
keep Jesus and His men from coming here in the first place. Jesus calmed the
storm.
They found a man, (Matthew’s Gospel reveals there were
two men,) inside whom a storm raged as well. They found a man who was clearly
demon-possessed, and it seems he was well-known locally for his possession.
They had done, or could do nothing for this man. Their only solution was to
attempt to keep him chained and shackled away from the rest of the people who
lived there. But the chains and shackles could not hold him, and so he was a
constant danger to anyone who lived in that region.
Was this man, (or these men,) the reason Jesus came? Was
Jesus so concerned about this man’s quality of life, (which we would have to
say was less than zero,) that He was willing to go through hell and high water
to reach him?
This story tells us much about the ministry of Christ,
and our ministry as well. He never gives up on anyone, even one possessed by a
legion of demons. He has power over all demons, and can and will save ANY lost
person who is willing to be saved. Will we go the ‘the other side’ with Jesus?
-Pastor Bill
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