Matthew 8:34, “And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.”
What
a sad Scripture! In Matthew 8:34 the community of Gergesenes came out to ask
Jesus to leave and not come back. Can you imagine? They asked God to leave!
They wanted Jesus to go away.
I know what it means to be despised and rejected of men. People don't care if you're a Christian, just so long as you don't preach it to others. But the moment you try to convert anyone over to Christianity, all the hordes of Hell will attack you. I know the loneliness of being shunned for standing for the Lord, for proclaiming the truth and contending for the Biblical faith.
I am hated by multitudes for Jesus' sake; yet Jesus has promised in Matthew 5:12, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Just as the people of Gergesenes wanted Jesus to leave and not come back, so do I know the pain of rejection. John 15:19, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Jesus told us that the sinful world would reject and persecute us for being faithful Christians.
Matthew 8:34 is such a sad Scripture. It's hard to imagine anyone, let alone an entire community, asking Jesus to depart and not come back. They didn't want Jesus. They asked Him to go away. How sad! How tragic! How evil!
America asked Jesus to depart from our public schools in 1962 and 1963 when prayer and the Bible were banned. Jesus was told to depart and never return!
The Supreme Court asked Jesus to depart from its courtroom in 1973 when it ruled that Exodus 20:13 didn't mean anything... “Thou shalt not kill.” The Supreme Court asked Jesus to leave and take the Bible with Him. And so abortion was legalized in the eyes of men; but God still calls it cold-blooded murder.
Jesus was asked to leave the room and not return, when the publishers of the New International Version began butchering the Word of God. Although the corruption began in 1965, the final version was published in 1978. And now Zondervan is at it again, coming out with the NIV 2011. Jesus has not been invited!
Matthew 8:34 says “the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart out of their coasts.” The whole city asked Jesus to leave. Is this not SIN CITY Las Vegas today? Is this not the cesspool of iniquity in Hollywood? Is this not the wicked city of New Orleans? Is this not the United States of America?
What will you do with Jesus? Whom do you say Jesus is?
Jesus is welcomed in my life and I love Him do dear. Jesus is my righteousness, my life and my Savior. Although the Spirit of Christ lives within me, I want to be with my Lord in Heaven. I cherish Jesus' promise in John 14:1-3 to return again, and take me to a place that He is preparing for me in Heaven. Amen and amen!
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see;
When I look upon His face, the One Who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand, and leads me through the Promised Land;
What a day, glorious day, that will be!
