The Maniac of Gadara

Mark 5

“And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” (vs. 18,19)

In this passage we have an excellent testimonial for soul winning. This maniac wanted to travel with Jesus, and learn of Him, but look what Jesus told him was more important! It was more important that he tell others about the grace and compassion of Christ than it was for Him to be discipled by Christ! This is an amazing find for me. I would have thought that traveling with, and serving, and learning from the Master was the most important thing we could ever desire. If it was me, that would have been my desire too, even over soul winning! Jesus set a priority here that we can definitely learn from, and that is that soul winning is paramount to every thing we do in the Christian service. Remember, there is joy in the presence of the angels when one sinner repents (Lk. 15:10). Who do you suppose is doing the rejoicing? Jesus, who now dwells in the presence of angels! It is not the angels that this verse refers to, although I’m sure they do, but it is God Himself who is glorified in the salvation of one man.

This man was called a “maniac” or a wild man. He had been bound with fetters (probably of brass, Judges 16:21 and 2 Kings 25:7), and chains, and broke away from them easily, and no man could tame him. The people of the area were in fear of him, and drove him out from among them so that he lived among the tombs. It is interesting that he chose to live among the dead. It seems that satanic influences are always intrigued by death, and by Satan, the king of death. There is something else here worthy of note though, in verse 15, we see him, cleaned up, (implied) hair combed, clothed and in his right mind, and sitting at the feet of Jesus. When we get saved, we also get cleaned up, and we get dressed, and are finally in our right mind! This man’s salvation was real! Is yours?