Three Beggars

Mark 5:19

And he 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." And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

................

I'd like to point out three instances of begging within the story of the demon-possessed man. Then, I'd like to think about how this man's response to Jesus is relevant for me today.

1. The Demons Beg. An ostracized maniac was living naked in the caves outside of the city. A whole battalion of demons were oppressing him, demons who even gave themselves a name - "Legion." And, while the townspeople kept their distance, Jesus approached him in his spiritually destitute state and threatened these demons with banishment. So, they begged. They begged Jesus to not send them away. They begged Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs nearby. "So he gave them permission" (5:13). Think about that little sentence for a moment. It says a lot about Christ's power and the impotency of the demonic world.

2. The Townspeople Beg. When the pig herdsmen saw that Jesus had sent these 100's of demons into their precious herd, they went into the town to tell what had happened. In turn, the townspeople proceeded to come and see for themselves. Amazingly, when they saw that Jesus had shown compassion and set the maniac free from his oppression, they begged Jesus to leave. They begged! When confronted by powerful compassion, their whole way of life was threatened: their personal peace, their comfortable segregation from this maniac, and probably their financial interest in the pigs!

3. The Demoniac Begs. In a very different way, the former demoniac does his own begging of Jesus, but he is begging Jesus for permission to "be with him." Sounds like a good request right? But, Jesus does not permit it! Instead, it was more imperative that this man tell his friends what the Lord has done and about the mercy he has received. Now, this was probably the very thing that the townspeople did NOT want to hear about, for the sake of their comfortable way of life. But, Jesus makes this the priority: Make it known that there is a man who has power over demons, who transformed your life completely, and is worth our allegiance and trust.

This is our message too. We were oppressed by our sinful desires, enslaved to our love for the world and its empty promises. But, Jesus pursued us and demonstrated his love for us right when we had the least to offer, with nothing to commend ourselves (see Rom. 5:8). When we were naked, alone, and ashamed, our Savior came to us and clothed us in the precious jewels of his love and freedom and righteousness (see Ezekiel 16). Jesus has given his almighty "permission" to free our souls from sin and oppression and we too have a message to spread. Will we tell our friends about what the Lord has done and what mercy he has shown? Will our friends beg us to leave too? Or, like verse 20 suggests, might our friends marvel at this message of transformation and begin to investigate it for themselves?

We'll only find out if we go and share the mercy that has forever changed who we are.