December 23 2024

Monday December 23

Go Tell It on the Mountain!

Luke 8:34-39

34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. 38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Go Tell It On The Mountain”: “Go, tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere. Go, tell it on the mountain, That Jesus Christ is born”. This story in Luke 8, is a great illustration of this song as we read what happened after Jesus cast the demons out of the maniac of Gadara.

A great miracle has just taken place when this man is delivered from a lifetime of demon possession. You would have thought the people of his home city would have been thrilled when they found him sitting at the feet of Jesus, with clothes on, and in his right mind! You would have thought that they would have invited Jesus to come to their town and perform the same miracle there on those that needed a powerful deliverance too. Or maybe there were sick and afflicted people that needed healing. But just the opposite happened!

Instead of being delighted they were afraid when they heard and saw what had happened and they ask Jesus to leave the area! It might have been because they lost a few thousand of their swine and the money they had invested in them. Or because they were content with their lives and community the way it was and didn’t want any change. They could be a good example of the wayside path, or the stoney ground that Jesus had told earlier in His parable in this chapter. They obviously didn’t want Jesus and rejected Him!

We need to point out that when a notorious sinner gets saved, people take notice and have to make a decision also about Jesus for themselves! Notice first the people who spread the message about Jesus and this miracle. It was the swine herders who went and told the townspeople. This is not surprising. The work of Christ sent them into the ranks of the unemployed. When Christ cleans up society, many will be without jobs, such as, bartenders and casino workers.

Not everyone was happy about the miracle. When righteousness does a great work, though it be a great benefit to society, not everyone will be happy. Evil is not happy when righteousness does a good work, for it hurts the work of evil. Verses 35-37, says: “They were afraid and …. seized with great fear”. The people who were not only upset, they were terrified. The ungodly are terrified when God works. Criminals are never happy when policemen show up in force. Guilt works this way.

How amazing! Verse 37 tells us: “Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them”. When Christ was rejected and told to leave the area, He acquiesced to their wishes. God still does this. Unwanted, God will leave, but much to the loss of those who do not want Him. The people who ran Christ out of the country of the Gadarenes ran out a tremendous blessing. There were many people who continued to suffer physically who could have been healed had Christ stayed. There were many people who have suffered spiritually and are still suffering spiritually in the fires of judgment because they ran Christ out of the country.

It is a dangerous thing to reject Jesus and His offer of salvation. You might never get another opportunity!

The man who was healed desired to go with Jesus and disciple into the boat to go back to the other side. But Jesus “sent him away” (v. 38). It was a good sign that the man wanted to be with Jesus! It was evidence and proof that he had experienced a genuine salvation. When we get saved, we should want to pray, read our Bibles, commune with Jesus, and go to church with God’s people. But Jesus sent him back to his family and region to share the “great things” that God had done with him! And he obeyed and proclaimed Jesus to everyone he could in that region of the “ten cities”.

I trust you are willing to publicly testify for Jesus to your family and friends, and “go tell it on the mountain”, during this Christmas season too!

God bless!