If you watch the YouTube videos that Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I produce, you will hear me tell a heartwarming story of a delivered, demonized man who wanted to travel with Jesus. Instead of allowing the man to follow Him, Jesus sent the man to the Decapolis to tell what Jesus had done in his life. This is a great story in the Gospel of Mark, but it doesn’t occur in Matthew, as I claimed in the video.
The account, which is recorded in the Gospel of Mark, tells of when Jesus returned to the region of the Gerasenes and how a large number of people came to meet Him. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the video. I confused the area of Gennesaret with the Gerasenes, as the events in Matthew were not the same as those in Mark.
To be clear about the locations: Gennesaret was located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, stretching just south of Capernaum. The region of the Gerasenes was located on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee and was part of the Decapolis.
The present-day application of what should have been a story from Mark is one of the best experiences of my 50 years in ministry. That part of the video is accurate and a joy to tell.
What Happened?
What happened in the Matthew account? Matthew provides a summary statement at the end of major sections to highlight the people’s response to Jesus. In this instance, there is a very positive response to Jesus’ ministry.
“When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word to that whole surrounding region, and people brought all who were sick to him and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed” (Matthew 14:34-36).
Tomorrow’s video and blog describe the negative response of the religious authorities, but today let’s rejoice over the way people streamed to Jesus for help.
Matthew’s account shows that multitudes came to Jesus seeking healing and deliverance. No one was turned away, and all were healed.
When I think of Jesus’ worldwide impact through the Holy Spirit in today’s environment, I can’t help but rejoice over the multitudes the world over who are being transformed by His healing and forgiving power on a daily basis.
Reflections
I entered the ministry in 1968 and served five churches during fifty years of active service. My favorite story from the first church I served was the opportunity to baptize three generations of the same family on the same day. The grandmother, who had been resistant to following Jesus, ended up in a leadership position in the church.
The first church seemed like a honeymoon in ministry, while the second was the exact opposite. I served this church while I was a student in seminary. I didn’t know that it was a family church and that it was divided by two sisters who were angry at each other over a financial issue.
One of the joys of this difficult church was seeing an older man come to faith in Jesus and establish a successful nursing home ministry. A single sentence doesn’t convey the miracle of this man’s conversion and his willingness to use the remaining years of his life to serve people in area nursing homes.
The third and fifth churches I served were filled with stories of surprising conversions and blessed instances of healing. In today’s video, I tell the story of the most remarkable conversion I witnessed in my years of ministry.
Why do I highlight these instances of God’s activity in our midst? I do so to glorify what God has done and continues to do in the world. Just as in Gennesaret, when multitudes were brought to Jesus, the same is true today. We can be assured that around the world, many miracles of healing, deliverance, and salvation have taken place today. Tomorrow, they will be repeated because of God’s gracious love for humanity.
The greatest joy of serving the Lord since the late 1960s is to see lives transformed for the better through the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. In most of the instances I can recall, I was not the primary agent used by God. Instead, a non-professional follower of Jesus took direction and was used by God for someone’s eternal good. If you are sensitive to the Spirit, you can be that person in someone’s life.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 