40 DAYS in the GOSPEL Sample

DISRUPTIVE

There is a weird paradox in our passage today. Jesus performs a powerful act of exorcism on a man who had been given up on by all those who knew him. His behavior was so uncontrollable that the best they could do was try to restrain him with chains. Jesus commands the demons to leave the man, and two very different reactions occur in response to this act of deliverance.

The people who lived around there just want Jesus to keep moving on to the next town! It’s a little shocking at first, but as I think more about it, I have a harder time blaming them. At least, before they knew what to expect from the naked man raving around the cemetery and cutting himself with stones. Now that Jesus had intervened, a whole herd of pigs had run right to their death, and a man whom they had learned to chain up and avoid would now have to be invited over for after-synagogue lunch. Who knew what else might blow up next?

While the townspeople are trying hard to chase Jesus off, the man who had been freed is working on Jesus to let him come along. Ultimately, neither will get what they want, but they will get what they need. Jesus is moving on to the next town, but He is leaving the newly delivered man with them. He will be a constant reminder that the Kingdom of Heaven had visited their town, and things would never be the same. Similarly, the man does not get to stay with Jesus. But considering what Jesus has done for him, and his new task of telling others, here is the reality: Jesus will never again be far from him.

The gospel can be disruptive to our lives. As we grow in spiritual maturity, we begin to see the large parts of our lives that need disruption. We too easily learn to be okay with chaining up broken parts of our hearts and just moving on. Also, especially when we are new in the faith, we spend a lot of time telling Jesus what would be good for us. Thanks be to God that He does not take our well-meaning suggestions but instead points us toward real life and freedom.

PRAY ABOUT IT: Are there situations and circumstances in your life where you know you are just trying to be okay with surviving? How about hopes and wishes that you have brought to God many times without seeing what you wanted? Spend time in prayer today asking God to simply have His way in your life. Thank Him for loving you too much to always give you your way.