Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

QT 11/14/2023 Mark 5:14-20, People ask questions to deflect a serious look at Jesus

Mark 5:14–20 (ESV) —

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but 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 everyone marveled.

 

NOTE: The region, formerly part of the two-and-a-half-tribes of Israel, was on the west side of the Jordan. It was probably a mixture of Gentiles and Jews, mostly Gentiles. The pigs may or may not have been owned by Jews, so it is hard to say if there was a monetary perspective to their reluctance to Jesus staying. Later, he would return and receive a different response. Maybe, that was a result of the previously demon-possessed man's testimony. To be a witness for Jesus, we don't need all the answers, we really only need our own testimony -- how he changed our life. Most people's objections (questions) are not serious, only a deflection to avoid dealing with truth. Much like the people of the Decapolis who begged Jesus to leave their region, they did not want to deal with the truth of Jesus.

 

PONDER:

  1. Do I let the fear of questions prevent me from sharing my testimony?
  2. Do I have a prepared response to the deflector? Something like "I only know what Jesus did in my life, I do know that many people smarter than me have excellent responses to those questions if you are serious about knowing the truth." If they press you on where the information is, direct them to josh.org or apologetics.com

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray for courage and boldness to identify with Jesus and to share the miraculous change you brought about in my life.

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