Luke 8-9

We take today's lessons in our devotional from the way two different groups received Jesus. The first group are from the region of Gerasenes just across the lake from Galilee. A demon possessed and homeless man who used to live in the cemetery, a well known and terrifying figure encounters Jesus and is delivered. "Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned. " Luke 8:33 NLT. You would think everyone would be glad to see the man finally sane, but no, those who witnessed all that happened ran into town and began spreading the story about what just happened. They fled into town and began to spread fear, not the news of the miracle. The outcome? "People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. " Luke 8:35‭-‬37 NLT. I will never forget those words; "so Jesus returned to the boat", they literally chased him away and out of their town and lives because they were afraid. Lesson? When you spread fear, people will reject Jesus. The other group of people in our discuss live just across the other side of the lake, they might possibly have already heard about what just happened to the mad man, but they acted differently; "On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. " Luke 8:40 NLT. They were actually waiting for him. The outcome? Two outstanding miracles happened that day; the woman with the issue of blood was healed and Jairus' daughter was raised back to life. Those who wait on Jesus will see miracles in their lives. In contrast, the difference between the groups and how they reacted was those spreading the news and talking about what Jesus had done. I leave you with these two questions; which crowd are you part of? What news are you or have you been telling others about Jesus?