The Price of Fear

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 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. (Mark 5:15-20 ESV).

 

After Jesus freed a man from demon possession, the people of the town saw two things: a man clothed and in his right mind, and a herd of two thousand pigs drowned in the sea. Fear captured their hearts. They responded by pleading with Jesus to go away. It is a sad commentary when a society is more concerned about economic interests than seeing their brothers and sisters in their right minds.

 

This passage seems to be so contemporary. I find it easy to condemn the people who sent Jesus away because of their fear, but I must honestly look at what we seem to be repeating in our world today. While there have been other times in our recent history when the circumstances were as grave, I cannot remember a time when it seemed so critical to turn to our only hope in times of trouble.

 

I do not claim to have all the answers to our present circumstances. The truth is that no one has all the answers except God. It is easy to recognize the problems. There is the real fear of a devastating virus, to which we presently have no vaccine or efficacious treatment protocol; there is racial and cultural unrest unlike anything we have seen since the late sixties; there is a significant political divide with entrenched attitudes and philosophies that do not seem reconcilable; and, no single voice of hope able to rise above the din of fear and hopelessness. It should not surprise us that fear is embedded itself deeper into the psyche of our world than in recent memory.

 

Fear caused the people of the town to ask Jesus to leave. They may well have been thinking, “If it cost two thousand pigs to restore one madman, what will it cost to have Jesus do more in our town?” I think they were simply ignorant to the value of one rescued life to God. That one rescued life was priceless. It still is today. Fear has always been a liar. Turn to the truth of God’s provision and promise. There is a way out of our mess… His name is Jesus!