Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. - Mark 5:19

Devotion:

In Mark 5, there is an incredible story of Jesus healing a demon-possessed man. The Bible tells us the man had been isolated from his community, he was unclothed, he was hurting himself, and he was always crying out. There was something else interesting about this man; he wasn’t Jewish. He lived in the Decapolis, which was a non-Jewish (or Gentile) region. But for some reason, Jesus came to the area on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where this man was living amongst the tombs. Mark tells us Jesus healed the man, gave him clothes, and had compassion on him.

For anyone who has been devastated by sin and healed by Jesus, we understand why the demon-possessed man did what he did next. The story tells us the man begged Jesus to allow him to come on the boat with him, to go wherever Jesus was going. I can imagine that man being so thankful for being set free he just wants to follow Jesus with all he has, thanking him every moment for what Jesus did for him.

But Jesus does something peculiar. He doesn’t allow the man to get on the boat with him. Instead, in Mark 5:19, Jesus says this:

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Verse 20 tells us this man, who had just been healed by Jesus, did exactly what Jesus told him to do. He went away and began to proclaim all throughout the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him.

Faithfulness is trusting Jesus. We have faith in what he says, in who he is, and we demonstrate our trust in him by doing what he says. We show we love him by keeping his commands. It is hard to proclaim we have faith (or trust) when we refuse to do what he says. As Jesus says, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord if you do not do what I say?” This demon-possessed man could have argued with Jesus; he could have continued to beg him to come on the boat, to fulfill his own desires. But instead, the man did what Jesus told him to do. He went home and told everyone about the mercy of this man named Jesus.

God works through our faithfulness. It is the greatest commodity we can imagine. God did something great with this man’s faithfulness. You see, the next time Jesus came to the Decapolis, he wasn’t greeted by one man on the shores; Jesus was greeted by thousands! In Mark 8, we see the story: everyone there knew of this man who could heal, who could set them free, who could command the waves of the sea, and who could redeem the unredeemable. Jesus was able to teach and minister to thousands, including his miracle of feeding the 4,000, because one man demonstrated faith in Jesus by doing exactly what Jesus told him to do; he went and told everyone about what Jesus had done for him. His faithfulness was used by God to prepare the hearts of thousands to receive Jesus.

What may God do with your faith? What may he do when you tell your story? You may not be possessed by a demon, but you were once lost to sin. You were isolated, in despair, crying out for help, and Jesus in his love showed you mercy, just like he showed me. Go and tell your friends and family about his great mercy, then watch what Jesus does with your faithfulness! 

Blake Bastin
Pastor, Ministry & Operations

Resources

• Listen to Faithfulness sermon from Pastor Marq Youngblood
• Watch stories from the Stories of Life Transformation channel on Crossings Resources
• Watch So What, Facts or Faith? with Pastor Matt Cartwright

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