Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought Him to depart from them… And it came to pass that when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him. Luke 8:37,40
Our text paints two very different pictures. In the first, the people are upset at the destruction of the herd of swine, so upset that they begged the Lord Jesus to go away. They were afraid of Him, and their approach to dealing with that fear was to send Him away. In essence, they wanted nothing to do with Him, and they made their feelings very clear. The second picture in our text is of the very same people in the same country, and they are all waiting eagerly to welcome the Lord Jesus. When He arrives, they greet Him warmly and rejoice at His presence. Obviously, there is a middle picture. Something dramatic happened between their initial rejection and their eventual welcome to change their attitude so completely. The difference was a single man and his message.
In we read the intervening verses, we find the man from whom the Lord Jesus cast the legion of demons begging to be allowed to join Jesus’ band of followers. But Jesus had a better idea. He told the man to stay home and to let everybody know what had happened to him. The man did exactly that. He convinced his neighbours that the value of a saved soul is worth more than two thousand pigs. He proved before them that he was miraculously changed, and for the better. They could not deny his story nor challenge his message. That man was like those Christians whose testimony to people around them convinces those people that the Lord Jesus can and does perform personal miracles of transformation. We have only to think of Peter Orasuk for an example of such a transformation. The power of God’s saving grace is that which will speak loudly to souls of their own need for the miracle of salvation. But all of us who have been transformed by salvation can use our experience to reach those around us.
The message that the healed demoniac delivered would have been preached with great passion. This man was overwhelmed with thankfulness for what he had received, and he gladly told others about it. I am sure he was filled with joy and with excitement as he related his story. And he would be filled with praise as he would speak of the One Who had healed him. The wonder of his healing would be expressed to his listeners, and they could not help but be moved by his message. So maybe we need some more passion when we share our testimony. If people knew we were excited about our salvation, they might take more notice of it.
The healed man had another great tool in his preaching kit: the direction of the Lord Jesus. He had been told to stay and share his story. He did that. He did not add to his experience or seek to get the people involved in activities or rituals. No, he simply obeyed the Lord and told his story. That’s what we are to do with the Gospel, simply and truthfully declare what the Lord Jesus has done.
How can we tell what difference our testimony will make to those who hear us tell it with passion and honesty? -Jim MacIntosh