As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
—Mark 5:18–20
“Follow me.” I’ve often asked the Lord these days what that command is supposed to mean in my life today. If I were to drop everything like the apostles did—work, family, responsibility, obligations—where would I go? Who would I follow? Could I be a “new apostle”? Until this point in life, the Lord has been silent on the matter.
In this passage, we have a guy who’s been granted a great gift: release from the bondage of demon-possession. The man wants to follow Jesus (wouldn’t you at this point?). Instead of giving him the go-ahead to climb on board, Jesus gives him another assignment: “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Pretty simple task, isn’t it? Just tell people what happened when the Lord was encountered. Sounds like an easy yoke and light burden to me.
Apparently, this rescued man had a big family: “So the man went away and began to tell the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.” Decapolis means “ten cities.” I think Jesus knew what he was doing sending this guy back home with this simple task. One radically, Holy Spirit powered encounter with Jesus with one man led to ten cities hearing the gospel. Jesus understands scale.
As I said before, the Lord hasn’t revealed what “Follow me” should look like in my life yet. But until he does, I can follow the lead of this section of Scripture. I can tell my family—and anyone else who is willing to listen—how much the Lord has done for me, and how he has had mercy on me. That’s an assignment you can do too. So join me, and the demon-possessed guy in this passage, and untold tens of thousands throughout history who’ve been given the same simple, yet highly important task: “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” In doing so, the gospel spreads and strengthens. In doing so, we fulfill the great commandment. In doing so, God is glorified. In doing so, we find completion and purpose in our connection with our Creator.
