Living in the Image of God M02S12
Through interactions with a man freed from demons, Christ conveys a message that a recipient of favor is called to testify publicly to share appreciation with others. The man showed appreciation by requesting to follow Jesus physically. However, Jesus sent him home instead, with instruction to testify among his people regarding what God had done for him. Public testimony conveys appreciation to the benefactor and shares positive message to others regarding favor and appreciation, thus inspiring them to do more likewise and initiating the long-term benefits of human service.
We discuss Christ interactions with a man freed from demons (Mark 5:1–20) to understand that public testimony regarding appreciation is important to God. He wants a recipient of favor to testify publicly to share his or her appreciation with others. The man freed from demons regained control of himself and wanted to follow Jesus physically. However, Jesus sent him home instead, with instruction to testify among his people regarding what God had done for him.
Testifying among his people was an opportunity to share the message of what God had done for him and present himself as an example of God’s favor provided to a human being through his son Jesus. As we discuss previously in Understanding Appreciation, a favor by another human person is a favor from God because he positions and empowers others to represent him in human interactions: whereby every person could function as the channel for God’s favor to another. Therefore, lessons learned from Christ interactions with a recipient of direct favor from God provide a basis for understanding God’s expectations of recipients of human favor.
Furthermore, as we discuss in Understanding Appreciation, a public testimony regarding appreciation conveys gratitude to the benefactor and shares positive message to others regarding a benefit received, the human provider of the benefit, and an understanding that God positioned and empowered the benefactor to perform the favor. Such a message inspires the benefactor and others to do more likewise, thus initiating and propagating the long-term benefits of human service. Therefore, testimony regarding appreciation is important to God as a key aspect of his purpose for human interactions and relationships.
Demon-Possessed Man
A man possessed by demons came to meet Jesus as he arrived in the region of the Gerasenes on one side of the lake of Galilee. The man had great physical strength and could break free from any kind of physical restraint. He lived by himself in the cemetery. He was too strong for society and had broken free from society control [Mark 5:4]: “For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.”
Absolute Control by Demons
The demons showed absolute control over the man and spoke through him as they wished. They spoke to Jesus through the man’s voice to announce their presence [Mark 5:7]: “He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!’” They recognized Jesus will drive them out from the man and sought to negotiate their fate.
The voice was that of the man but the words showed that it was the demons that spoke. They made the man do what they wanted and speak what they wanted. The man was merely a vessel for the demons. They had absolute control over his thought, action, and words.
Man Regains Control of Himself
Jesus expelled the demons from the man and sent them into a herd of pigs feeding on a nearby hillside. The pigs ran into the lake and were drowned. The man regained control of himself, recognized Jesus, and stayed quiet with him: “When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid” [Mark 5:15].
Jesus Sends Man Home
The man requested to follow Jesus as he prepared to leave. In appreciation, he wanted to follow Jesus physically. But Jesus sent him home to testify among his people: to share with the people his appreciation regarding what God had done for him: “Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you’” [Mark 5:19].
Jesus asked the man to go home and give testimony of his experience, thus conveying a message that testimony regarding appreciation is important to God. As we discuss in Understanding Appreciation, a public testimony regarding appreciation conveys gratitude to the benefactor and shares positive message to others regarding the benefit received, the human provider of the benefit, and an understanding that God positioned and empowered the benefactor. Such a message can inspire the benefactor and others to do more likewise, thus initiating and propagating the long-term benefits of human service. Therefore, testimony regarding appreciation is important to God as a key aspect of his purpose for human interactions and relationships.
Summary of What We Learned
Through interactions with a man freed from demons, Christ conveys a message that a recipient of favor is called to testify publicly to share appreciation with others. The man showed appreciation by requesting to follow Jesus physically. However, Jesus sent him home instead, with instruction to testify among his people regarding what God had done for him.
Public testimony conveys appreciation to the benefactor and shares positive message to others regarding favor and appreciation, thus inspiring them to do more likewise and initiating the long-term benefits of human service.