In Mark 5, Jesus had sailed with his disciples to Gerasenes. As soon as Jesus stepped out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit approached him. He was a man who could not be restrained, feared by people, and cried night and day.

Mark 5:3-4 (ESV)
He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.

Jesus delivers that man bringing freedom from oppression. The people heard about what had happened were afraid when they saw that the unclean spirit had left the man and he was sitting in his right mind. Instead of rejoicing, they asked Jesus to leave (Mark 5:17).

The man of Gerasene, in awe of what Jesus had done, wanted to follow Jesus and his disciples,

Mark 5:18
As he [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 

This man wanted to join Jesus and the rest of the disciples in the boat, and we can’t blame him. The natural response for anyone who has encountered Jesus is to want to follow him. But for us to do that, it requires us to lay down our lives first. The man was willing to leave his hometown and everything behind to join Jesus’ ministry, but Jesus forbade him.

Mark 5:19
And he [Jesus] 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.”

Jesus instructs the man, to tell his friends about what God had done in his life and the mercy he was shown. It made me think of how many people have I testified to about God’s goodness in my day-to-day life?

Sometimes we desire to preach, teach and evangelize to people in foreign countries who don’t know the Gospel and forget about the ones that we come across.

Some may say it’s what we’re all called to do, right? Go into all the world and make disciples (Matt 28:19a). Although true, we must remember that the world also includes our unsaved family, neighbours, friends, colleagues and even acquaintances.

Jesus wanted the man to go and testify to the people around him. That didn’t make the mission any less impactful because it was local. The man follows Jesus’ instructions, testifies about what the Lord has done, and the people were marvelled. Little did he know that the mission field was right in front of him.  

The Samaritan woman is another example. A woman who lived a promiscuous life and encounters the true bridegroom. The one who offered her eternal life and promises that ‘those who drink of Me will never thirst again.’ (John 4:14). Although Jesus never told her to share her testimony, she couldn’t keep it to herself. She shared about her encounter with Jesus at the well to the entire town where she lived, and they believed.

John 4:28-30
So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” ³⁰ They went out of the town and were coming to him.

And because of her testimony, they decided to seek Jesus Christ for themselves. It was from that moment, that they believed and concluded that he indeed was the Messiah, the Anointed One who would save the people from their sins.

John 4:42
They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Regardless of where the Lord leads us to, will we be faithful? Will we be obedient? Whether we fulfil the Great Commission locally or overseas, privately or publicly – Jesus Christ will still be glorified. It’s still his name that is being proclaimed. And those who call upon the name of the Lord will still be saved (Romans 10:13).

Mark 5:20
And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marvelled.

It’s easy to share our faith with strangers than it is to share with the people who have known us. People who have seen the good, bad and the ugly. People who have seen what our lives were like before encountering Jesus, and yet those are the ones that Jesus also died for.

The people marvelled because they knew his past, but they also couldn’t deny that he was not the same man anymore. This was the man who was oppressed by demons, chained, walked around naked and lived in a cave. And yet he was no longer bound but free. No longer oppressed but delivered. No longer broken but made whole. No longer naked and ashamed, but clothed and had a sound mind.

The definition of the word encounter means ‘to meet with someone’. When we have a true encounter with Jesus, we can never be the same. When the Lord has touched our lives, He never leaves us the way He found us.

Testimonies are powerful because it’s how the disciples were able to overcome the enemy, the accuser ‘by the blood and by the word of their testimony’ (Revelations 12:11b).

Testimonies serve as a reminder that if God did it before, He can do it again, but it’s also another way that we can explain to unbelievers how the gospel has transformed our lives. It tells of how Christ has changed our story.

Without the man saying a single word, they knew he was different. It wasn’t until he began to share his testimony that they understood why he was different.

Do the people around you know about the goodness of God? They may know that you know Jesus. But do they know what the Lord has done for you and the mercy He has shown you?

God bless,
Susan