Mark 5:1-20 (Read it here)
What a great passage… Particularly the last verse, verse 20. It reads: “And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.”
Here is a guy who could not be bound because of the many evil spirits living in him. He was living in a graveyard. He had ripped off any shackles and chains other people had used to try and subdue him with. All day and night he tortured himself – cutting himself with stones. He was a mess. He was possessed by many evil spirits.
HOWEVER! When he saw Jesus from afar (v6) – he ran to him and worshiped Him. That’s crazy!
Did the thought ever occur to you that this was quite possibly the very first time this man had ever laid eyes on Jesus? If this man was living in the graveyard, ostracized by everyone, then it’s highly likely no one had ever told him about what Jesus was teaching or who Jesus claimed himself to be. He probably hadn’t heard that Jesus was performing miracles of healing and freedom.
But something in this man knew.
Something in this man knew Jesus. Something knew his power, his authority, and his might. Something in this man revered Jesus and acknowledged his royalty. I believe that the evil spirits knew Jesus. They also knew they were subject to him and were following protocol that they had observed and practiced millions of times in Heaven.
When in the presence of the King, you bow down and worship. See Phil 2:9-10.
Why don’t I follow the same protocol?
Why do I sometimes have difficulty doing what demons do naturally?
OUCH! That stung just writing it.
Jesus delivered him. Jesus freed him. Here was a man who had a brief encounter with Christ and was freed from a lifetime and lifestyle of bondage and harm. Jesus changed him. Jesus changed me. Jesus can change anyone who submits to him.
When Jesus and the disciples were about to leave. The man begged to go with them. (v18)
How often do I do the exact same thing? When I have a life-impacting encounter with the Lord, how quickly I want to just tarry there and stay in his presence. But that’s not what we’re to do.
Jesus would not let him go with them.
v20 says “And he [the formerly demon-possessed man] departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.”
He told his story and all marveled.
That’s it. It’s that simple. That’s all we have to do. Proclaim all that Jesus has done for us. I tell my story. You tell your story.
No person can argue, refute, or deny what one man had experienced.
We don’t have to be gifted orators or preachers or evangelists. We simply have to tell our own story. I can’t tell yours. You can’t tell mine. We are the only ones who can tell our own story.
Tell your story.
Running after Papa…