When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.
When Jesus was performing miracles on earth, people's reaction to the miracles was not quite what most expected. One would think that when Jesus released demons from the two people who were possessed and set them free, people should have been happy. However, when the whole town came to meet Jesus, they all wanted Jesus to leave the place as soon as possible. The town's people heard from those who were tending the pigs and were worried. If Jesus' releasing two demons lead to the death of all those pigs, had He performed more miracles, wouldn't all their roofs have disappeared? So they begged Jesus to leave immediately, without knowing why Lord did what He did.
According to Jewish law at that time, pigs were unclean animals. Jews were forbidden to raise pigs. Those who were raising pigs in those places were against God's will, even against God's laws. That's why when Jesus heard demons' begging to be released into pigs, He didn't hesitated saying, "Go!" Lord knew that those raising pigs were doing so against God's will. That's why He allowed this to happen.
But the townspeople desired money more than spiritual salvation and God's will. So much that they wanted Jesus to leave. Can you and I really welcome Jesus' work? We pray that Lord works in our lives. When Lord really starts His work, the first thing He do is to cleanse. All that are unclean will be dealt with by Jesus. They will be removed by Jesus. We can't just ask grace and healing. God will first rid of obstacles and sins in our hearts so that His grace can pour down from His throne and into our lives.
May God open our eyes to see that His way is higher than our ways, and His will is higher than our wills. Let our eyes not focused on the limited wealth on earth, but purely on God's will and God's work. Our hearts will then rejoice.
Prayer with Pastor Tong Liu
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.