Mark 5:18-20 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.… Two grand features in the close of the parable. I. THE POSITION IN WHICH THE MAN WAS FOUND. 1. How interesting is this spectacle. It was the place of nearness to Jesus and intimate communion with Him. Perhaps he selected this place also as the site of safety, or, he may have been seeking that instruction which was requisite to guide and to direct him. 2. What took place in the case of the demoniac is only a fore-light of what will take place in the case of all creation. II. THE PETITION THAT HE MIGHT BE ALLOWED TO REMAIN WITH HIM OR TO ACCOMPANY HIM. Why? 1. Because he might have recollected the fact of which the words are the description (Matthew 12:43). If we have obtained anything from Christ for which we feel thankful, we shall be jealous lest we lose it. 2. To give expression to the deep love that he felt to Him. III. THE ACTUAL ANSWER THAT CHRIST GAVE HIM. Explain the seeming contradiction between this and Luke 8:56 and others. We have in this indirect but striking evidence of the divinity of the character of Jesus. A mere, common wonder worker would have been too glad of having a living specimen of his great power to accompany him into all lands, etc. We have these great lessons taught us! That he that receives the largest blessing from Christ is bound to go and be the largest and most untiring distributor of that blessing. We receive not for ourselves, but for diffusion, etc. 2. That the way, if you are Christians, to be with Christ, and to be with Him most closely, is to go out and labour for Christ with the greatest diligence. We are never so near to Christ as when, in His spirit and in His name, we are doing His work and fulfilling His will. 3. That labouring for Christ, according to Christ's command, is the very way to enjoy the greatest happiness that results from being with Christ. Labour for Christ and happiness from Christ are twins that are never separated. 4. That as Christ, in hearing the demoniac, had an object beyond him, so, in healing us, He has an object beyond us. 5. But there is something very instructive, too, in the place that the Saviour bade this recovered demoniac go to. Go to the sphere in which providence has placed you, and into that sphere bring the glorious riches with which grace has enriched you...Test your missionary powers at home before you try them in the school, etc. The little home, the family, is the fountain that feeds with a pure and noble population the large home, which is the country. Let us begin at home, but let us not stop there. 6. Conceive, if you can, the return of the man to his home — the picture realized in his reception. (J. Caroming, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. |
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