Imagine going on the road with Jesus! From hearing His parables, witnessing His miracles, enjoying His fellowship - it would be awesome! Both men and women were given this privilege to travel with Him. When you go with Jesus, you never know what adventures await!
I just read the concluding words of John 20:30&31 and 21:25. Yep. It would have amazing walking with the visible Savior. It can be amazing walking with the reigning Lord today. Most of the time, even Christians don 't seek that walk regularly. Why don 't we?
ReplyDeleteI think the people who came and saw the man cleansed of all those demons have a very common response to what people can feel today. They witness something amazing happen by the power of God, and get a little freaked out by it. Sure, it is amazing, but it is a little too freaky for their taste. Thanks but no thanks Jesus. We see you healed that man, but you also killed our pigs. So get on out of here.
ReplyDeleteThat's a similar feeling, I believe, to "A little religion is fine, but let's not get carried away." It's one thing to get the goosebumps and warm fuzzies of faith; it's another to make a serious commitment of discipleship to follow the Lord. Looks like the formerly demon-possessed man was ready, though - he wanted to go with Jesus! Though that wasn't the Lord's plan, fortunately He gave the man other work to do!
DeleteI've always wondered why at the house of Jairus, Jesus ordered the parents of the healed child to not tell anyone what had happened.
ReplyDeleteConnie
I've heard three theories...
Delete1. If word got out that Jesus was raising the dead, the crowds would swell to such proportions that He literally wouldn't get anything else down except for miraculous healings. Jesus wanted to keep it quiet to preserve His mission of preaching and proclamation.
2. If word got around that Jesus was doing resurrections, it would have pushed the timetable up for Him to be confronted by the religious authorities and face execution a lot sooner. He wanted to follow His Father's plan and schedule to continue teaching and preaching until the time was right at Passover in Jerusalem.
3. Some believe (I do not) that Jesus was using "reverse psychology" when He told people to keep hush-hush about the miracles. By doing that - telling them to be quiet - He was guaranteeing that they would want to spread the news all the more because everybody likes sharing a secret. While it's possibly true that this would be the effect, I always think it is a dangerous road to go down to believe that Jesus said one thing, but really meant another.