Lessons from the Healing of the Mad Man at Gadarenes

 

All over the four gospels, there are so many records and witnesses of what Jesus did in diverse places. how that the blind saw, the gospel is preached to the poor in spirit, the lame are healed and lots more. In fact, the bible reveals to us in John 20:30 and 31 and John 21:25 saying "³⁰ and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: ³¹ But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” “²⁵And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.”   

These four gospels gave many accounts of Jesus’ good deeds in their respective and peculiar perspectives. These four gospel writers were Jesus’ disciples. They saw Jesus’ acts and deeds differently, however, the same. Each of these four gospel writers gave their respective account in relation to their peculiar personality. They all witness and point to the One and only Person- Jesus Christ.

As regards the healing of the mad man at Gadarenes, Matthew (8:28-34), Mark (5:1-20) and Luke (8:26-39) record this incident. However, these three writers somehow reported this occurrence from their individual peculiar lenses.  Take for example, it was only in Mark that we were told what the mad man does to himself- “and always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.” The other two writers didn’t include what the mad man did to himself just because they prioritize what eventually happened to him upon meeting Jesus over that.

It is likewise important to point that only the same Mark told us the number of the herd of swine as against the other two writers- “and forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.”  Although the gospel of Mark is the smallest amongst the four gospels, Mark however dime it needful to inform us about the approximated number of the herd of swine. The lesson here is that some set people including those that feed the herd of swine highly esteem material things over and above what has eternal value and relevance.

The Lessons from the healing of the mad man at Gadarenes.

These lessons will be drawn from the account of Luke, however, the need might arise that we look into the other two gospels that recorded this same incident.

• 1.     The very first lesson in this account is that Jesus can willingly decide to pay us a visit, we should never interfere neither interrupt nor terminate His activities even when He’s killing or destroying something(s). Jesus willingly came into Gadarenes seemingly just because of this mad man or more, but the people interrupted Jesus’ good deed in their city or country. You remember Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman? It was revealed that the other people the Samaritan woman spoke to in John 4:40 that “so when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.” Probably He wanted to stay longer, these people limited and terminated His good deeds.
• 2.       Another important lesson is that we must highly esteem what(ever) has eternal value and relevance over and above temporary, material or perishable things. Many people in Gadarenes highly esteemed their herd of swine over the healing or the restoration of sanity to the mad man and the subsequent words of eternal life He could have spoken to them thereafter. When we highly esteem mundane things over and above eternal things, we might ignorantly and seemingly effortlessly truncate, devalue and jeopardize a fraction and possibly the whole plan of God. 
• 3.       Another important lesson from this story is that we need to ask relevant question(s) in situations when God Himself destroys or kills something(s) in our individual life or around us. It is true that Jesus healed this mad man at the expense of the loss of the herd of swine, they never ask relevant question. Questions like: what value does the soul of a man have over and above perishable things? What becomes our means of livelihood (assuming that was their means of livelihood)? What killed the herd of swine? How can we take charge of our city or country since there is a principality therein?
• 4.       It is likewise worthy of note to pay attention to what is being said, how it is being said and what was emphasized. In Luke 8:34, it says “when they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.” While Matthew 8:33 reads “and they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.” We were told that they that fled told those in the city or country something, although we are not privileged to know the exact words that was told. However, Matthew’s account gave an insight as to what was revealed. It says “every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.” Actually, everything was said but probably the matter it was presented wasn’t that right and some part of the information was emphasized over others, so that affected and influenced the recipients’ belief.
• 5.       Another lesson in this incident is that we should always gladly receive Jesus whenever He comes visiting. I want to personally assume these people in Gadarenes never happily received Jesus by the reason of their reactions to Him. The immediate verse after the healing of this mad man as revealed in Luke 8:40 says “and it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.”

Thanks for reading.