When God's Deliverance Is Just Too Inconvenient

Read Matthew 8:28-9:8

      Well, at least the local residents could safely walk near the cemetery again – the two demon-possessed men who lived among the tombs had been delivered by Jesus.  The demons, however, had been cast into a herd of pigs (Mark’s account tells us that there were two thousand of them), and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the Sea of Galilee and drowned. 

      On balance, the residents weren’t sure having Jesus around was worth it.  The demoniacs had been delivered, but it wound up costing a lot of money.  What other unforeseen consequences would follow if Jesus continued to free people from their spiritual oppressions?  So “behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region” (8:34).

      Believe it or not, some people do not long to be saved; rather they fear being saved.  “What about the sin I so enjoy?,” they think (usually secretly).  “And my Sundays off – Christianity will almost certainly cramp my weekends.  And the Christians do talk about giving money, and I don’t have enough as it is.  Sin comes with its thorns, but perhaps I’ll just keep the miseries I know rather than risking the discomforts of God’s salvation.” 

      It is true that following Jesus has its costs, and that sin has its “passing pleasures.”  But the eternal rewards of following Jesus dwarf the costs, and the bitter fruit of sin spoils all its pleasures forever.