The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
Mark 4:13-17 NLT
They were used to him - the demon-possessed man who wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. They'd rounded up a posse every now and then to capture him and try to chain him up - to no avail. Then Jesus came and set him free. As I was reading through this passage, I noticed something I'd not caught before. The people weren't afraid until AFTER they saw the man sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane. You would think they would have been thrilled that he had been delivered. No...
They were so NOT thrilled that they begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone. We've all expressed surprise at their reaction and yet, I wonder, how many of us do something similar? Do we get so comfortable with the "pet" sins that we don't want Jesus messing with them?
Prayer:
Father,
Forgive us for the times we post No Trespassing signs in areas of our lives and hearts that need to be changed and can only be changed by You. Help us to freely surrender all we are to You. Be all You are in us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
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