A request the Lord Did Not Answer
“And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you’” (Mark 5:18,19).
PossessedA possessed person has a demon inside of them, which means that this evil, satanic spirit (demons are servants of Satan) controls the body and wreaks havoc and destruction. Sometimes,... More, tormented, self-destructive, naked, screaming, alone, hopeless. This was the state of the Gadarene in Mark 5 before he was released by the Lord.
He then made a request to the Lord: “And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him” (Mark 5:18)—which the Lord surprisingly refused. His answer: “However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you’” (Mark 5:19).
We apply this directly: As believers, we, too, have been asking to be with the Lord for almost 2000 years. But His answer is: “No, first go to your people and testify to your salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More. Once you are with Me, the time for evangelism is over.”
Why are we still on earth? One answer I want to emphasize here is this: We are Christ's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), sent out with the message: “I have been saved—you can be saved too!”
