He Ran, and He Ran
(No. 2507)
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, MARCH 7, 1897.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 2,
1885.
"But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him." Mark 5:6.
"But when he wasyet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Luke 15:20.
THESE two texts have a measure of apparent likeness–the man runs to
Jesus from afar and the father runs to the prodigal from afar. They
both run–and when two run to meet each other, they soon meet. When a
sinner is running to Christ and the Father is running to the sinner,
there shall be a happy meeting before very long, and there shall be joy
in Heaven and joy on earth, too! I shall begin my discourse by noticing
the case of the demoniac, whose story we read– "When he saw Jesus afar
off, he ran and worshipped Him."
I. Using that narrative as a kind of parable, I would remark, in the
first place, that we have, here, an emblem OF THE SINNER'S PLACE.
He is "afar off' from Christ and when, first of all, the Spirit of God
begins to open his eyes to his own true condition, one of the chief
difficulties in his way is the realization of his distance from the
Savior. He begins to cry, "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him! That
I might come even to His seat!" The poor man feels as if there were a
great and dreadful distance between him and the great Mediator–he can
only see "Jesus afar off," as the demoniac did. He has not yet come to
Christ, nor proved His wondrous power to bless.
I daresay there are some in this congregation who feel that they are
"afar off' from the Lord Jesus Christ and, "afar off' from the great
Father. You are "afar off as to character I am not going to bring an
accusation against you, for your own heart and conscience accuse you.
It is not necessary for me to describe your past life–if you are the
person whom Christ has come to bless, then I know that your sin is
always before you. You cannot hide it from yourself, it seems to be
painted on your very eyeballs! You have to look at everything through
the mist and haze of your past guilt and, consequently, everything
looks dark and dreary to you. The very mercies which God gives you seem
to accuse you of your ingratitude to your Benefactor and any denials of
mercy, any chastisements that you are enduring, seem to you to be but
premonitions of a coming doom, for you feel yourself to be, by your
past life, very far off from Christ. He is perfect and you are full of
sin! He is just and you are unjust! He is meek and lowly–you confess
that you have been proud and wayward! He is beloved of His Father, the
beloved Servant of God, but you have derided God's Gospel and you have
refused to obey Him. You are, indeed, far off from Christ! It seems to
you that if Christ and the penitent thief made a pair, then you, also,
might make a pair with your dying Savior, but not otherwise. You feel
yourself to be unworthy to be in the same world with Him, much less to
be in the same Heaven with Him.
Well, now, when our Lord went to Gadara, as far as I can see, He
crossed the Sea of Galilee and endured that storm at night in order
that He might heal one man–and He went back, again, well content when
He had worked that one miracle! It may be that you are a man of that
kind, as far off from any likeness to Christ as that poor lunatic was,
and He may have come here at this good hour with the intent to save
you. At any rate, His servant will go home as grateful as a man can be,
if he is but made the means of saving one such sinner as you are. But,
first of all, you must realize that this is your position–"afar off'
from Christ as to character.
But what, perhaps, may appear to you to be even worse is that you seem
to be "afar off as to any hope of salvation by Christ. It may be that
you have long been a hearer of the Gospel. When you were younger, it
seemed as if the Kingdom of God had come near to you, but now, the
older you grow, the less susceptible you are to holy influences. You
used to weep under sermons–you can more easily sleep under them now!
Time was when your rest was broken after some kindly admonition from a
Christian friend. But now, perhaps, Christian friends scarcely ever
admonish you because you have a sarcastic way of repelling what they
say. And even while you are sitting here, you are moaning to yourself,
"Some in this congregation may be converted, but I shall not be. The
Lord Jesus Christ may come here and deliver some poor soul, but
assuredly He will not deliver me. I am an off cast and an outcast–not,
perhaps, by open sin–but by an inward hardening of my spirit till my
soul has become like the northern iron and steel, and nothing can move
me. I am far off from any hope that the Savior will ever bless me."
Well, now, let me say to you, dear Friend, that I am very sorry that it
should be so with you, yet am I glad you are here when such a subject
as this is being handled, for that Gadarene demoniac seemed to be about
as hopeless a man as there was in all the country round about! Apart
from Christ, his case was absolutely hopeless. They had, doubtless,
used all the arts for the management of lunatics which they understood
in those barbarous days, but no chains of iron, nor bands of brass
could hold him–he could not be tamed, or kept in check. And yet, O
blessed Christ, You could cross the stormy sea at midnight to save this
one man! It may be that it is so with you, also, dear Friends, who are
so far away from Christ in the misapprehensions of your lack of hope.
Yet it may be that this very hour is the time when you are to be set
free from the power of the devil and brought to sit at Jesus' feet,
clothed, and in your right mind!
Some are also "afar off from Christ as to knowledge of Him. They know
but little of the Christ of God. They have heard His name. They have
some dim notions about Him, but as yet they only see Him "afar off." In
these days, when the Gospel is preached at so many street corners, and
when there is a sanctuary in almost every street, it is astonishing
what gross ignorance there is about Him whom to know is life
eternal–by knowledge of whom many are justified and without knowledge
of whom men must perish eternally! O Friends, it is terrible to think
that there are persons, well instructed in everything else, who know
nothing about this salvation which God has provided for the sons of
men! You hear them railing against the Bible and in almost every case
the railer has never read the Book! You hear them speak against Christ
and it is almost a proverb that those who speak most against Him are
ignorant of the common facts of His life. They have not studied His
Character, nor have they examined His teaching, yet they cast it all
aside as if they were infallible and as if they were qualified to judge
and to decide without hearing the case at all! This is a wretched mode
of action, yet, if any of you who are here know but little of Christ,
for all that I am glad you are here and I only trust that you may be
led to do what this poor ignorant demoniac did! Though he must have
known very little about Christ, yet he ran to Him and worshipped Him! A
little knowledge, like the star of Bethlehem, may suffice to guide to
Christ those who are willing to follow its light. A faint gleaming of
what Christ is may burn and glow into a more complete and perfect
knowledge of Him and by that knowledge you may be brought into the
liberty wherewith Christ makes His people free.
I will not keep you longer in describing the sad state of the sinner in
being thus far from Christ, except to say that it may be possible that
you feel far from Christ because you do not feel as if you could get at
Him. You are so unspiritual that you say to yourself, "If Christ were
on earth, I would walk till I dropped, but I would get to Him. And if I
could speak with Him, so that He could hear my words and could answer
me with actual vocal sounds–if I could see Him and He would look at
me, I would spend the last penny I am worth and pass over any length of
sea and land if I could but get at Him–but somehow I cannot.
"If it were a matter of touching the hem of His garment with my finger,
I would push through the press to do it. If it were a matter of taking
Him up in my arms, as Simeon took the young Child Jesus, I would do it,
and do it with joy. But I do not know how to get to Him–it seems to be
all mist and all cloud to me." I know what you mean, dear Friend, for I
was in that state, once, and then, indeed, I also "saw Jesus afar off,"
and for a long while I could not get to realize that He was mine. Well,
notwithstanding that feeling which possesses you, I shall speak to you,
yet further, in the fond hope that you may imitate this poor man who
must have been very much like you, only in a worse plight than yours,
and it will be my prayer and desire that you may come running to
Christ, as he did–and that you, also, may worship Him!
II. Now notice, secondly, THE SINNER'S PRIVILEGE–"He saw Jesus,"
though he only saw Him, "afar off."
Those of you who only see Christ in the distance, who do not know much
about Him and cannot get at Him, do at least know that there is such a
Person! You have heard and it is the best news you ever did hear, that
the Son of God came down to live among men and took our flesh, and
became Man of the substance of His mother, and though He died upon the
Cross, yet He has risen from the dead and He still lives. You have
heard tell of all that. You have not thought of it as you ought to have
done–you have not let it weigh upon your heart, or sought to
understand all its holy lessons–but still, you have such a knowledge
of Him that you have seen Him "afar off."
More than that, you have heard, and you believe that Jesus has done
great things for men. You do not think much about what He has done, but
still, it has come to your knowledge that He lived, loved and died that
He might save men. You have often heard that on the Cross He made an
expiation for human sin. And let me tell you that this is the choicest
news you ever heard, or ever will hear! And the day may come when you
will look at this Truth of God as the only star of hope in a night
which otherwise must be eternal. I hope you will yet clasp that Truth
of God to your heart as the brightest jewel and the rarest treasure you
have ever met with.
And I believe, further, that some of you have caught the idea that the
Lord Jesus Christ is saving other people. You have met with some whom
you observe to be very much changed, greatly altered from what they
used to be and, though you sometimes laugh at them, yet deep down in
your heart you do not really mock them–you wish it were yourself! You
have, after all, a respect for any one of these wonderful changes,
called conversions, when you see them to be real and genuine–and you,
perhaps, know some fellows with whom you work and, although you
ridicule them, you know that they are better men than they used to
be–and you admire the change. And there is a feeling in your inmost
heart that though you cannot make out the mystery, there is still
something in it. Yes, you can see Jesus, though I still grieve to say
that you do but see Him afar off. You have, in your heart, some sort of
belief that it may be possible that He will yet save you and there is
some sort of humble desire in your soul that He will look your way and
cast the devils out of you–and make you to be His happy servant.
But, once more, concerning the sinner's privilege, Christ has come to
the district where he is. It is a horrible country, full of tombs and
full of pollution–and the man has made it more horrible by his
wildness and his madness–yet there is the Christ, Himself, treading
that same Gadarene shore! He who is "mighty to save" has come into the
land of death-shade! He who could cast out devils has come into the
devil's own territory! He has come to beard the lion in his den.
Herein, also, is the privilege of men today–the Lord Jesus Christ, who
made Heaven and earth, is still among us–and will be with us to the
end of this dispensation. He who could raise the dead and heal the
lepers and cast out demons, is still here working by His Spirit! Though
corporeally He is gone, yet in efficacious power to save He still
lingers among us and His lingering means salvation to all who trust
Him! Hear it, O sons of men, and as you hear it, may God bless the
message to your souls!
III. What did this demoniac do when he saw Jesus afar off? That is the
point to which we are coming and that will teach us THE SINNER'S WISEST
COURSE–"He ran and worshipped Him."
I do not know that he did intelligently and after the right manner,
worship Christ as the disciples worshipped Him. Perhaps at first, when
he was up a hill, howling and cutting himself with stones, he spied a
boat come near the shore and he saw a single Stranger coming up from
the boat, much as the natives of Erromanga saw John Williams landing on
that cannibal shore–and his horrible instinct moved him to fly down at
once to the beach, perhaps to attack the Man who dared, in open
daylight, intrude on the wild man's domain. But as he approached nearer
and nearer to this mysterious Stranger, quite a new feeling came over
him. His steps grew slower, his fierce eyes beamed with a duller fire,
the beastlike instinct became calm. The ravening wolf, the roaring lion
within him began to tremble, for it perceived its Master– and when he
had come near enough to get a fuller view of Christ, who stood there in
simple majesty, calm and serene– the very opposite of the poor
creature's mad fury–the man fell down at Jesus' feet and worshipped
Him.
Then the devils within him spoke out and, using the man's voice, said,
"What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the most high God?" But
for the moment it was the man, and not the devil, who prevailed! For an
instant, what little relics there were of manhood made themselves felt
and the man fell down and worshipped under the influence of the
mysterious Presence of Christ. What I hope and trust may come of our
consideration of this subject is that some big sinner here may have a
lucid interval–that some mad sinner here, before the devil can speak,
again, may have just a little quiet time, so that, though he may have
come in here fresh from all manner of evil, yet for the moment he may
feel a solemn calm steal over his spirit, a sacred hush that shall make
him quiet as he has not been for many a day. I pray that some strange
influence–strange to him up to this time–may draw him so that he
shall run to Christ and fall at His feet and worship Him!
I am not, just now, saying anything about faith in Christ except that I
do not believe any man worships Christ without having some faith in
Him. I am just going to take this very low standard and say that this
man, with all his madness, was wise in what he did–and the Spirit of
God was leading him in the right direction when, breaking loose, as it
were, from the devil's power for a moment or two, he ran to Christ and
worshipped Him. And to any poor soul in like case, I would say–"I
beseech you, for a minute or two, at any rate, worship the Christ of
God whom I preach to you."
For consider that, first, Christ is God as well as Man, and, therefore,
worthy to be worshipped. This poor demoniac was wiser than the
Socinians or Unitarians of our day–he felt that there was more in
Christ than in any mere man. Devil-possessed though he was, yet he fell
down and worshipped Christ. And you, my Friend–you also know that
Christ is God. Well, then, for a few minutes do yourself the justice to
worship Him as God over all, blessed forever. If He shall never save
you, yet He is worthy to be worshipped, for He is so great and so
gracious. Therefore, let your mind be still for a moment and pay your
homage before His feet. And from your very heart call Him, "Lord," and
"God."
Besides, Christ died to save sinners and, being God, and having died to
save sinners, I say to you, "Worship Him." I recollect the time when I
was afraid that Jesus would never save me, but I used to feel in my
heart that even if He did not, I must love Him for what He had done for
poor sinners. It seemed to me, as I read the wondrous story of His life
and death, that if He spurned me I would still lie at His feet and say,
"You may spurn me, but You are a blessed Christ, for all that and, if
You curse me, yet I can only say to You that I well deserve it at Your
hands. Do what You will with me, but You saved the dying thief and You
saved her out of whom You did cast seven devils, but if You do not
deign to save me, yet You are a blessed Christ, and I cannot rail at
You, or find fault with You, but I lie down at Your feet and worship
You."
Can you speak and act like that? Can you look up at Him through your
tears and, as you see the nail prints in His hands and feet, and that
great gash in His side, which reached His heart, can you not feel that
you must lie at His feet and worship Him? Just waive all questions
about yourself for a minute and think only of Him! Forget even your own
sin for the time being and think of what He deserves, and now, at
least, for the next few minutes, bow your soul reverently before the
Christ of God and worship Him!
I think I may add that you may well worship Him because there is in
that poor, flurried soul of yours, worried and confused and
devil-ridden though it is, this thought–that Christ alone can save
you!You do know that. Where else can you go but to Him? What other door
is open to you? What other hand was ever pierced for you? What other
side ever bled that it might give cleansing for your sin? Where lives
there another person who loves as Christ has loved? Therefore, realize
that He is unique, One altogether by Himself and while you cannot and
will not worship others, yet, poor devil-possessed soul that you are,
fall down and worship Him! Say to Him, "Lord, if my night never ends,
yet will I look eastward, for there the sun will rise, if not for me.
Lord, if I die of thirst, yet will I linger by the lone well in the
desert, for if I ever drink at all, I must drink there. I can but
perish if I linger at the Cross–and I am resolved to linger there. And
if my blood shall stain that blessed tree, then even so it must be, for
I am resolved–and it is my last resource–if I must perish, I will die
here." O Soul, I am not telling you to do any great thing now, am I? I
am not urging you to exercise any unreasonable confidence, but I do
advise you to fall down and worship at my Lord's dear feet! Mad though
you are, and your mad worship so poor and imperfect, yet, nevertheless,
He will accept you and do great things for you!
For remember, next, that Christ can save you.Christ can save you! You
have gone to the end of your tether, but you have not gone beyond the
reach of His power! You have cut yourself and howled through many a
dreary night, and snapped your chains and cursed the men that bound
you. You have driven away friend and helper–and you are altogether
undone–but, all the same, Christ can save you! What if the devil is in
you? There is no devil in Hell, or out of Hell who does not tremble at
Christ's Presence! Oh, that He would come and lay His cool hands upon
your fevered brow and put His own life into your poor withered heart
and make you live! He can save you–of that I am sure. I cannot speak
as my Master can, but yet my Master can make these poor words of mine
to bless and comfort you. And I pray that He may. This is the one thing
that I bid you do–run to Him and worship Him!
IV. Now, turning to my second text, I must briefly remind you of THE
SECRET HOPE FOR SINNERS–that while you are yet a great way off, the
Father, Himself, will see you, and will run to you! While you are
running to His Son, the Father will run to you–and you and He shall
meet in Christ–the only safe meeting place for God and man.
Turn your thoughts for a minute or two from that Gadarene demoniac to
the prodigal son. He was coming back, you remember, and when he was a
great way off, I should not wonder that his heart began to misgive him.
"Oh," he seemed to say, "there is the old house!" He has reached the
top of the hill and he can see it. He recollects those old trees under
which he used to play with his brother and he thinks that he can spy
out the very spot where he left his father and went that reckless
journey into the far country. "I wonder what Father will say to me," he
says. "I do not know how I can ever face him. I have treated him so
badly that I must have broken his heart. I fear he is angry with me,
and I do not think I can bear his wrath. I am ready to humble myself
and say, 'Father, I have sinned,' but, oh, what a wretch I am! He will
hardly know me. I do not look like the person I was when I left. What
awful times I have been through since last I saw his dear face! I think
I must run back again. Bad as it is to perish out in the far country, I
do not think I can really face him." He is just turning back when, to
his surprise, his father clasps him in his arms, for, "when he was yet
a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion and ran, and
fell on his neck, and kissed him."
O dear Hearts, if I knew there was a poor soul here beginning to seek
the Lord, how glad I should be to speak with him! And there are some of
my dear Brothers and Sisters here who are always on the lookout for any
in whom there is the faintest beginning of a work of Grace! But, you
see, we cannot see the germs of Grace as God can–we cannot spy out
returning sinners as He can, for God has far-reaching eyes and if there
is only half a wish to repent in any of your hearts, the Father sees
it! If you only know that there is a Christ and that you would gladly
worship Him, but you have not gone the length of really trusting Him
and casting your souls upon Him, yet remember that when the prodigal
was yet a great way off, his father saw him!
When God sees anything, His is a very different sight from yours or
mine. We see a thing with our eyes and then we get a microscope and
look through that, and see it very differently. But God, as it were,
always sees everything microscopically and telescopically! He sees the
whole of it, sees the very heart and soul of it. God at this moment
sees all the sin of the whole of your life. He sees all your brokenness
of spirit, all your doubts, all your fears, all the struggles against
sin and all the strivings of His Spirit. He takes it all in with a
single glance and comprehends and understands it all! And though you
are a great way off, the Father sees you and He sees you with a
father's eyes, too. How quick a father's eyes are when he looks at his
boy who is ill! He spies out that hectic flush before the boy believes
there is any trace of consumption in his countenance, for a loving
father has a physician's eyes–and a mother's eyes are still more quick
to perceive anything wrong.
Moreover, God sees with compassionate eyes–"His father saw him and had
compassion" on him. The two things went together. I know a Sister in
Christ who did me great good one day. I had helped a man many times,
poor wretch that he was. I never clothed him but he sold the garments
in a day or two! I never helped him but he sank into deeper degradation
than before and, at last, after he had been rigged out afresh from top
to toe and a job found for him–and he was put into a position for
getting on in life–he came here again. And when I saw him, I shrank
back from him. I felt indignant with him, but our Sister–a better
Christian than I–lifted up both hands and began to cry! The man was
covered with vermin and he had evidently been drinking hard. As she
lifted up her hands, she cried, "O poor creature, we have done all we
can to save you, and you will go to Hell." And she stood and cried as
if he had been her own child!
And I believe that is how God feels for poor sinners, for He cannot
bear to see them act as they do. If you are coming back to Him, that is
the compassionate way in which He is looking at you. He spies you out
and, as Jesus wept over Jerusalem, so does the great Father weep over
sinners, grieving that they will be so desperately wicked and foolish
as to destroy their own souls! V. Now I must close, for our time has
gone. The last point to be noticed is, THE ACTION OF THE SINNER'S
FATHER.
No sooner did the Father see His son coming back than, "He ran." When
God runs, it is quick running. "He ran, and fell on his neck." And when
God stoops to fall on a sinner's neck, it is wondrous condescension!
This is compassion like a God. "And kissed him." God's kiss is the
essence of a million kisses all in one. One kiss from God is the soul
of Heaven laid to the heart of a burdened sinner. "He ran, and fell on
his neck, and kissed him," and so the prodigal was received back into
his father's family!
What I am longing for is that God's blessed Spirit may move some of you
to run to Christ, if only in the poor way that I have set forth. Just
for a few minutes, quietly worship Him, and while you are doing that,
may the great Father come in with all His Omnipotent Love and put away
your sin, and change your nature, and receive you into eternal union
with Himself to the praise of the glory of His Grace! If I were to say
ten thousand things, but God did not bless what I had said, all would
be in vain. I hope that you do not need more words, but that you will
come at once to Christ. Do not perish, I pray you, do not damn your own
souls! There is enough misery in this world without incurring the
miseries of the world to come! The Lord Himself says, "Turn you, turn
you from your evil ways; for why will you die?" In the name of the
bleeding Christ, seek His mercy even now! By His bloody sweat and crown
of thorns, seek Him now! I know no better argument except it be by His
death cry, "It is finished." Come to Christ! Look to Him and live, even
now, and to Him shall be the praise forever and ever. Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGON: MARK 5:1-24;35-43.
Verse 1. And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the
country of the Gadarenes. They had had a very eventful passage across
that small but stormy sea, and Christ had proved Himself to be the Lord
High Admiral of the seas. But now that He steps ashore, they are to see
His power quite as distinctly displayed as upon the stormy waves.
2, 3. And when He was come out of the ship, immediately there met Him
out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling
among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains. Those
ancient graveyards were in remote places, for the people were too wise
to bury their dead inside their cities. Very often the tombs were hewn
in caverns in the sides of hills and rocks where the dead were laid. Of
course, every man who touched a tomb was thereby ceremonially defiled,
so that the tombs were fit places for an unclean person possessed by an
unclean spirit. What a ghastly dwelling place! What a grim abode for
the man and yet most fitting, for he was dangerous to all who passed
by–a raving lunatic who could not be restrained by any bonds or chains
that could be put upon him!
4, 5. Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and
the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in
pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he
was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself
with stones. Poor creature! His howling must have been right hideous,
indeed. Those who passed that way were startled by his unearthly cries,
He was a terror to the whole district. Persons could not bear to live
anywhere near the places where he resorted. "Night and day" he was a
misery to himself and a terror to all around him–sad type of some whom
we know, to our sorrow, who have gone madly into sin. It certainly is
madness, whatever else it may be, and when madness and badness go
together, what a terror such a man becomes!
6. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him.–There is
a wondrous attraction in the Person of our Divine Lord and Master.
Though He was a long way off, yet a gracious magnetic influence
proceeded from Him by which He drew this poor object of pity to Him.
"When he saw Jesus afar off, He ran and worshipped Him."
7. And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with You,
Jesus, You Son of the most high God? I adjure You by God, that You
torment me not. Who was speaking then–the man, himself, or the devil
within him? It is very hard to tell. The man and the devil were two
personalities, but they were so effectually blended into one that it is
scarcely possible to tell when it was the man speaking and when it was
the devil. So, when sin enters into a man, it gets so completely into
his very nature that, sometimes, we feel it must be the evil spirit
speaking in the man–and yet it is not easy to be quite sure that it is
so–and we cannot free the man, himself, from the guilt of his words
and actions.
8. For He said unto him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit
Whenever Christ speaks to the devil, His message is a very short and
very sharp one. The Lord treats Him like the dog that Me is! "Come out
of the man, you unclean spirit." Christ has no compliment for devils
and it is a pity that some of His servants have such soft words when
they are dealing with unbelief, which is but a devil, or one of the
devil's demons.
9. And He asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My
name is Legion: for we are many. The devil is obliged to tell his name
when Christ treats him like a catechized child. And he is compelled to
crouch before Christ like a whipped cur at his master's feet.
10. And he besought Him much that He would not send them away out of
the country. Satan clings to this world and to any place where he has
had a signal triumph, as he had among those tombs and those rocky
ravines.
11, 12. Now there was near unto the mountains a great herd of swine
feeding. And all the devils besought Him, saying, Send us into the
swine, that we may enter into them. Such is the malice of these evil
spirits, that they would rather do mischief among swine than nowhere!
But notice their unanimity–with all the faults that can be laid at the
door of demons, you cannot find them divided and quarrelling! They are
unanimous in evil and it is a shame that those who are the followers of
Christ should often be divided, whereas the kingdom of Satan is not
divided against itself. Let us learn from our great enemy at least this
one lesson.
13. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went
out and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep
place into the sea, (they were about two thousand). It was strange that
there should be so many swine in the country where lived God's people,
Israel. And as they had no right to be there, and were there contrary
to Jewish Law, it was well that they should be destroyed.
13-15. And were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled,
and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see
what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus and sa w him that was
possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and
in his right mind: and they were afraid. Ah, me! How variously
different people look upon the same thing! If you and I, who are
Christ's disciples, had gone there and seen this poor lunatic fully
restored, we would have been filled with holy joy! And we would have
composed new hymns of praise in honor of the Great Physician who had
cured him! But these people, in their alienation of heart from the Lord
Jesus Christ, "were afraid." They feared and trembled in the Presence
of Almighty Mercy! Omnipotent Love awoke no joy in their hearts, but
the spirit of bondage was upon them.
16. And they that saw it, told them how it befell to him that was
possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. You may be
sure that they dwelt upon the latter part of the story, for the loss of
the swine touched them more than the healing of the demoniac!
17. And they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts. O dear
Friends, let none of us ever get into such a state of mind and heart as
to pray Christ to go away from us! Yet we have known people act in such
a dreadful way as that–a person troubled in conscience has said, "I
will never go and hear that preacher again! I cannot sleep at night
after listening to him. I will never read such-and-such a book again,
it disturbs me so that I cannot enjoy myself." This is, in effect, to
pray Christ to depart out of your coasts! What? Is salvation worth so
little that you have no care to possess it? Is Christ Himself so small
a blessing that you even tremble lest He should change your nature and
save you? I think there were more lunatics than one on that Gadarene
shore–the people were all as mad at heartas that one poor man was mad
in brain!
18. And when He was come into the ship–Christ will go from you if you
want Him to go. He forces Himself upon no man–the Grace of God does
not violate the will of man–it acts in accordance with man's nature
and achieves the Divine purpose without disturbing the individuality of
the man. So Christ went from Gadara. "And when He was come into the
ship."–
18. He that had been possessed with the devil prayed Him that he might
be with Him. Was not that a proper prayer? I think, dear Friends, that
not only nature, but the man's new nature must have suggested this
petition. He prayed Christ that he might be with Him. In our day it is
very natural that as soon as we are converted, we should wish to go
Home to Heaven. But what is the reason why we should not do so? It is
in order that we may bear witnessfor Christ here on earth and gather in
others unto Him!
19. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but said unto him, Go home to your
friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and
has had compassion on you. That is one of the chief points on which we
ought always to speak–not only to tell of the greatness of the change
which the Grace of God has worked in us, but especially to testify to
the tenderness of God to us! Oh, how gently did He handle our broken
bones! That good Physician of ours has a lion's heart, but He has a
lady's hand! He does not spare us necessary pain, but He never inflicts
even a twinge that is unnecessary. And, oh, the pity of His heart
toward us when He sees the sorrow which our sin has brought upon us!
20. And he departed and began to publish in Decapolis.–In the ten
little cities that were in that region. "He departed and began to
publish in Decapolis."–
20. How great things Jesus had done for Him: and all men did marvel
This is the kind of ready-made preacher whose service for his Lord is
usually most effectual. The man who, though he has studied little on
many points, yet knows by experiencewhat the Grace of God has done for
him, and keeps to that one theme, and tells out the story with simple
untrained eloquence, is the man who will do much for his Master! As we
read here, "all men did marvel." If he had plunged into deep doctrinal
subjects, it may be that men would have ridiculed him, but inasmuch as
he spoke of what he knew and told of the greatness and graciousness of
God, "all men did marvel."
21, 22. And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other
side, much people gathered unto Him: and He was near unto the sea. And,
behold.–Wherever we see that word, "behold," it is like our nota bene,
saying to us, "Mark well what is coming." "Behold"–
22-24. There came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jarius by name;
and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, and besought Him greatly,
saying, My little daughter lies at the point of death: I pray You, come
and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
And Jesus went with him; and much people follo wed Him and thronged
Him.
35, 36. While He yet spoke, there came from the ruler of the
synagogue's house certain which said, Your daughter is dead: why
trouble you the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word
that was spoken, He said unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not
afraid, only believe. I can imagine that if Jarius had not been a man
of much faith, he would have looked at the Savior with a meaning
glance, as much as to say, "'Only believe?' Could You ask more of me
when my child is dead? Yet You bid me, 'Only believe.'" But, Brothers
and Sisters, here is the very sphere of faith! Where there is no
wading, there must be swimming–and where there is no hope in the
creature, then we must throw ourselves upon the Creator. So, the
child's death made room for the father's faith.
37-39. And He suffered no man to follow Him, save Peter, and James, and
John the brother of James. And He came to the house of the ruler of the
synagogue, and saw the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
And when He was come in, He said unto them, Why make you this ado, and
weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleeps. She was dead, but not dead as
far as Christ's intention was concerned. She was not so dead as to
remain dead. He meant, soon, to bring her back again to life and,
therefore, to Him it was as if she were but sleeping.
40. And they laughed Him to scorn. What a wonderful picture this must
have been–The Lord of Glory in the center of a ribald crew who laughed
Him to scorn! But it is not the man who is laughed at who is
necessarily contemptible, it is often the laugherswho are the most
deserving of scorn. It was so, here, in Christ's day, and it has often
been so since.
40. But when He had put them all out They were not worthy to be
answered in any other fashion.
40-42. He took the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that
were with Him, and entered in where the damsel was lying. And He took
the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi, which is,
being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto you, arise. And straightway the
damsel arose and walked, for she was of the age of twelve years. And
they were astonished with a great astonishment How very often persons
were "astonished" in Christ's day! Sometimes it is put, "they
marveled." At other times, "they were amazed," or, "they wondered." It
would have been well if wonder had always turned to faith–but
sometimes it corrupted into hate! God grant that our wonder at Christ
may always be of that kind which crystallizes into love!
43. And He charged them strictly that no man should know it; and
commanded that something should be given her to eat Life must be
nourished. Young life, especially, needs frequent food. If Christ has
spiritually quickened your child, see that you feed the child with
convenient food. If you have won a convert to Christ in the Sunday
school, take care that the unadulterated milk of the Word is brought
forth, that the new-born child may be fed and nourished till it comes
unto the perfect stature of a man in Christ Jesus!