Monday, December 10, 2012

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Monday, December 10, 2012       I Healed a Demon-Possessed Man       

Page 117-118         Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39

At the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, it was believed that evil, or monsters, came out of the sea. The Jews believed that any contact with the demon-possessed person encountered by Jesus would make them unclean, as would contact with pigs and cemeteries. Accordingly, everything encountered in this incident, from the perspective of the Jews, was evil and unclean. When Jesus exercised his authority over the demons (the forces of evil) and gave them permission to enter into the pigs, he was sending the evil back to the sea from whence it had come.

Many people do not like this story because it seems unfair to the owners of the pigs, notwithstanding the fact that the man, the human being, was set free. While I can understand that concern, I am more focused on the symbolism of Christ setting free all humanity from the forces of evil, from sin and death.

Three insights in this incident should not be lost in our concern for the pigs or herd owners. First, the demons knew Jesus and submitted to his authority. Knowing about Jesus, and even respecting Jesus’ authority, is not the same as entering into a saving relationship with Jesus. Secondly, the response of the people reminds me of the lament of a university chaplain over his failure to get more students to attend chapel services. His colleague replied to him that the students were too smart to attend chapel. They knew if they started attending services they would have to change the way they were living. The people pleading for Jesus to leave them weren’t focused on the pigs. The people around Ten Towns knew if Jesus stayed with them they would have to change the way they were living.

The third insight is about the man Jesus set free. As Jesus prepared to leave, the newly freed man wants to go with him. Jesus bids him to stay with his family ““and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:39).

Do you notice what happened? Jesus told the man to tell what God had done for him. The man went about telling what Jesus had done for him. For two thousand years, the church has struggled to find a way to describe the truth of God in Christ. The man did not allow himself to get bogged down in trying to understand fully how God and Jesus were one and the same. He just testified to what he knew Jesus had done for him.

That’s all I need to remember: “Tell them everything God has done for you.”

Sē’lah

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What word or phrase in today’s reading attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

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The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Tuesday, December 11, 2012      I Healed the Sick and Raised the Dead  

Page 118-120         Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56