The Text
14 The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened.
15 They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
16 Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs.
17 Then they began to beg him to leave their region.
18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him.
19 Jesus did not let him but told him, “Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.”
20 So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.
The Devotion
This is exactly what Christ has commissioned every believer
Mark 16:15-16 (CSB) Then he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
I don’t care if you are not a preacher, teacher, pastor nor evangelist. Are you a believer? Do you follow Christ? Do you obey Christ? Do you repent of sin? Then you are a saint.
As a saint, this is your commission: go and preach.
As a soldier, these are your orders: go and preach.
As a farmer, these is your work: go and preach.
As an athlete, this is your movement: go and preach.
We are commissioned because the fields are ripe with harvest
John 4:35-38 (CSB) “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”
Acts 18:5-11 (CSB) When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching the word and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. 6 When they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. 9 The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.
The fields are ripe for harvest. Oh in other words: Christ has many people in this city.
It is not about you becoming famous–this is all about Christ
John 4:39-42 (CSB) Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what he said. 42 And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
The Discussion
1. Is Christ just saving us from our sins? What more is he saving us from? Or to put it another way, what is he saving us to?
2. Do you know any unbelievers? Why or why not?
3. Have you given any thought in how you would share the gospel with others?
4. If sharing the good news of Christ intimates you, who can you go ask for help?
The Prayer from the Psalms
Bless our feeble attempts to preaching your gospel to every creature.
Settle our souls: for we know that when you send out your word, it will not come back empty-handed. It will accomplished what you have set out to do.
Give us the filling of the Holy Spirit to proclaim your good news. Do this because that is how you did it: by having the fullness of the Spirit.
Give us ears to hear.
Amen.
The Resources
Calvin’s Commentaries.
by John Calvin.
Baker. 2009.
Olive Tree
Mark: An Expositional Commentary
by R.C. Sproul.
Reformation Trust Publisher. 2011.
Goodreads
New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Mark
by William Hendriksen.
Baker. 1981.
Goodreads
The Gospel according to Mark: The English Text With Introduction, Exposition, and Notes (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)
by William L. Lane.
Eerdman’s. 1974.
Goodreads
Mark (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT Volume 2)
Edited by Thomas C. Odin & Christopher A. Hall
IVP Academic. 2005.
Goodreads
Mark (The Story of God Bible Commentary Series)
by Timothy G. Gombis.
Zondervan Academic. March 9th 2021.
Goodreads