<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 5;18-20<div><br></div><div><b>18. &nbsp;And as he </b>(Jesus) <b>was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.</b></div><div><b>19. &nbsp;But he refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”</b></div><div><b>20. &nbsp;And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Some might argue that the ten cities that made up the Decapolis were largely Gentile cities and that the demon possessed man was himself a Gentile. &nbsp;Therefore, Jesus refused him from coming along with the disciples because he was not a Jew. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Jesus came for the salvation of the world, not just the Jews. &nbsp;He was sending this man home to family and friends, because he had made&nbsp;him a minister with a message;&nbsp;<i>“What the Lord had done for him.”</i><span>&nbsp; &nbsp;Following with Jesus in the boat&nbsp;would amount to self-serving love, (indeed, we are to love and take comfort from our Lord Jesus).&nbsp;But,&nbsp;God’s purpose for all of us is to be witnesses to others, making disciples of others. &nbsp;Our calling is to be ‘giving’ the Good News to others. &nbsp;We are not to be content with just our own selves being comforted. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>I believe Jesus was addressing a fellow Jew. &nbsp;&nbsp;Why else&nbsp;would our Lord destroy the herd of stupid innocent&nbsp;pigs. &nbsp;Swine in and of themselves are only unclean to Jews, not to us, (thank goodness, I love bacon, and pork roasts!). Allowing the destruction of the herd of pigs only makes sense if they should not have been there, a part of that Jewish culture. &nbsp;Otherwise, Jesus could have just as easily ignored the request of Legion and cast the demons into the same outer darkness where he sent all the other demons which&nbsp;he had cast out.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Where does our mission field begin? &nbsp;It begins in our own homes and with our own friends.</span></div><div><br></div><div>I dispute this assertion (that Jesus was dealing with a Gentile among Gentiles)&nbsp;for two reasons, this is that part of the promised land historically belonging to the half tribe of Manasseh. &nbsp;Yes, it was conquered by Gentiles, but the Jews had been allowed to return. &nbsp;Even stronger are Jesus’ own words concerning his earthly mission, <i>“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” &nbsp;</i>(Matthew 15;24)</div><div><br></div><div>Jesus would indeed interact with Gentiles occasionally, (the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Canaanite woman with the demon possessed daughter), but these were Gentiles in the lands belonging to Israel and populated largely by&nbsp;Jews. &nbsp;Jesus in ministry deliberately limited his mission work almost entirely to other Jews.&nbsp;&nbsp;They were the ones looking for a Messiah, the&nbsp;promised coming&nbsp;Savior.</div><div><br></div><div>We, like the demon possessed man have been given a&nbsp;message. &nbsp;Ours is greater even than the man who had been cleansed of&nbsp;the demons. &nbsp;Our message is,&nbsp;&nbsp;‘What the Lord has done for us on the cross and in the waters of Holy Baptism.’ &nbsp;We too have been made clean, vessels for the Lord’s own&nbsp;indwelling!</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, bless us to be ‘going’ into all the world, making disciples of all nations. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><br></div><div><br><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 5;18-20
18.  And as he (Jesus) was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.19.  But he refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”20.  And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.
Some might argue that the ten cities that made up the Decapolis were largely Gentile cities and that the demon possessed man was himself a Gentile.  Therefore, Jesus refused him from coming along with the disciples because he was not a Jew.  
Jesus came for the salvation of the world, not just the Jews.  He was sending this man home to family and friends, because he had made him a minister with a message; “What the Lord had done for him.”   Following with Jesus in the boat would amount to self-serving love, (indeed, we are to love and take comfort from our Lord Jesus). But, God’s purpose for all of us is to be witnesses to others, making disciples of others.  Our calling is to be ‘giving’ the Good News to others.  We are not to be content with just our own selves being comforted.  
I believe Jesus was addressing a fellow Jew.   Why else would our Lord destroy the herd of stupid innocent pigs.  Swine in and of themselves are only unclean to Jews, not to us, (thank goodness, I love bacon, and pork roasts!). Allowing the destruction of the herd of pigs only makes sense if they should not have been there, a part of that Jewish culture.  Otherwise, Jesus could have just as easily ignored the request of Legion and cast the demons into the same outer darkness where he sent all the other demons which he had cast out.
Where does our mission field begin?  It begins in our own homes and with our own friends.
I dispute this assertion (that Jesus was dealing with a Gentile among Gentiles) for two reasons, this is that part of the promised land historically belonging to the half tribe of Manasseh.  Yes, it was conquered by Gentiles, but the Jews had been allowed to return.  Even stronger are Jesus’ own words concerning his earthly mission, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  (Matthew 15;24)
Jesus would indeed interact with Gentiles occasionally, (the Samaritan woman at the well, and the Canaanite woman with the demon possessed daughter), but these were Gentiles in the lands belonging to Israel and populated largely by Jews.  Jesus in ministry deliberately limited his mission work almost entirely to other Jews.  They were the ones looking for a Messiah, the promised coming Savior.
We, like the demon possessed man have been given a message.  Ours is greater even than the man who had been cleansed of the demons.  Our message is,  ‘What the Lord has done for us on the cross and in the waters of Holy Baptism.’  We too have been made clean, vessels for the Lord’s own indwelling!
Prayer:  Merciful Father, bless us to be ‘going’ into all the world, making disciples of all nations.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”



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