They Begged Him to Depart From Their Town

YAHSHUA got into a boat to go to the other side, with His disciples, who followed Him. And for a frightened surprise, suddenly, behold, there arose a violent storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered up by the wave; but YAHSHUA continued sleeping through the storm (vs.24). Meanwhile, the disciples frantically, woke Him up, saying, Lord, rescue and preserve us! We are perishing! (Vs.25).  The disciples succumbed in fear at that sight, forgetting that YAHSHUA, the Son of God, was the power of God, the Creator and Controller of the entire world, including that storm, was right there with them. There was a gap, causing them to forget all the miracles that YAHSHUA had performed. YAHSHUA was accustomed to spending the nights on the mountains praying and communing with the Father. The mountains were the places where YAHSHUA found solitude to communicate with His Father for strength and guidance. The people had noticed and often they waited for Him to come down. That day He had an encounter with two men possessed with many demons, whose life had been controlled by them.  They terrorized the people and the place, called Gadarenes.  It was located on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. The Gadarenes lived in the Gadara region of Palestine; they were known for their farming; they were known for their warlike and aggressive nature. YASHUA entered the enemy’s territory, who well knew YAHSHUA as the Son of God. Afraid of Him, they said, “What have You to do with us, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the appointed time?” they knew their future was doomed. Hoping for it not to be then, they asked to go into the grove of hogs. A temporary place, of course. We do not know what happened after the hogs drowned. The people of Gadarenes being of aggressive nature, rejected the presence of YAHSHUA for having set free the two men from the power of demons. The whole town, the Bible says went out to meet YAHSHUA; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their locality (Matt.8:34). That town was confused in their understanding. It seems that getting rid of the hogs to save two of their own, was an offense to them. Because they were of pagan origin, no matter what YAHSHUA did for the city, it would not be accepted. YAHSHUA had entered the land of the enemies and they wanted Him gone from there.

That brings to memory when YAHSHUA was betrayed by His own nation. There, stood His nation condemning Him in exchange for His love for them. Isaiah 53 gives a report in his prophetic utterance, saying, He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him (Is, 53:3). As a result, His people handed Him to a Gentile Governor, who under their demand, crucified Him.

Because YAHSHUA healed a blind man from birth, the Israelis’ authorities sought to kill Him. That is out of one’s mind. An unprecedented or unheard of for a nation to betray one of his own in order to have Him killed for doing good to them. Before taken to the cross, He was whipped mercilessly by a Roman battalion, who stripped off His clothes and put a scarlet robe upon Him, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and put a reed in His right hand, and kneeling before Him they made sport of Him…they spat on Him and took the reed and struck Him on the head (Matt. 27). They gave Him a cross to carry after having scourged Him to the point that His face and His whole appearance were marred more than man’s and His form beyond that of the sons of men; all his bones out of joint, His heart was like wax; it was soften and melted down with Him; His strength was dried up like a fragment of clay pottery (Isa. 52:14; Ps. 22:14-15)

And that’s the evil heart of men. Blind, ungrateful, hardhearted and beyond remedy. “Give us Barrabas” a chief, murderer, a cancer to society a vagabond, good for nothing that is good to others, give us him! He is one of us, and we can associate with him. What should I do with YAHSHUA? Pilate asked. “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” Was the answer of the mob. Crucify the One Who healed and delivered many of us, the One Who brought our dead to life; the One Who multiplied bread and fish to feed thousands who were hungry; crucify the One Him Who transformed water into wine to help in the wedding ceremony; crucify Him because He is the Son of God! We have only one king- and his name is the murderer, Cesar. That’s who we want for our king. They even brought a curse on themselves and on their children! So, YAHSHUA, submissively, let them take Him, away to be crucified, all disfigured, covered with His blood, with a crown of thorns, so large that perforated His scalp, showing on the outside of the head.  Romans did not know Whom they were crucifying; obeying orders at the demand of the Jewish nation to crucify YAHSHUA, after scourging Him almost to death. The Gadarenes preferred their grove of hogs to the presence of God among them. Without a doubt, many of them did not know Who YAHSHUA was. Hurt by the loss of their business, they chose not to allow Him in their town.

The Bible says, Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord! (Ps. 33). We live in a time where the nations have abandoned the true God. This world is in chaos because no nation I know of have the true God for their Lord. The god of today is technology in every form there is. The majority of our attention goes to it.  If we spent a fraction of the time talking to God that we spend talking to a friend on the phone, for sure we would know Him better and make fewer mistakes in the space of life that He has given us. We fill the church pews, sing for a while, listen to the pastor and go home, leaving all the good things we heard behind. Forgetting all when we switch on our television for whatever is on of interests, or ball games. We are behaving more like the Gennesaret in a subtle way. Pleasures in place of anything that is spiritual. God is forgotten during the week. But all will disappear in time; only what we do for the Lord will remain. The Bible says in Malachi 3:16-17, Those who feared the Lord talked often one to another; and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced and worshipfully feared the Lord and who thought on His name; And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels. All I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. These verses encourage us to be faithful to our God; they are to me the most beautiful verses in the Bible, in that God acknowledges those who love Him and in due time there will be a reward. My friend, Make Him the subject of your conversation, as One you love and adore! Paul advised Timothy: constantly to keep in mind YAHSUA the Messiah…. (II Tim. 2:8a). Let’s do that, let’s make Him part of our life in conversation, in thoughts, remembering Him as our Savior, and Lord of our life. It is His right.