There is a story in Mark 5 that is very often only spoken about in passing, but beautifully showcases exactly what Jesus came to earth to do. In it, Jesus and his disciples reach the far shore after sailing a long way to immediately be confronted with a man who is demon possessed. Jesus, addressing the demons in the man, demands to know their name to which they reply “Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.”
Yikes.
So Jesus casts out the demons and sends them into a herd of pigs. The pigs then lose their minds completely and crash off the edge of the cliff into the water below. All at once, this wild, tormented man was free again, finally at peace after years of horrific struggle.
Now you would think that would make a nice end to the story and that Jesus would ride off into the sunset while the locals cheered, but no. Instead, the townspeople come out of the woodwork in a panic, begging Jesus to go away. That’s their response. They want him out of there. Now. So Jesus climbs back in the boat with his disciples and they set off back the way they came.
Now if I were one of the disciples sitting in that boat, I would be miserable. We just spent all that time sailing across a rather dangerous lake, one that just tried to kill us with a terrifying storm, just to cast demons out of one man and get told to go away again? What an absolute waste of time. We should have just stayed on the other side of the lake and saved ourselves a whole lot of trouble.
But this story is so much more than one occasion of casting out demons. It is an illustration of how Jesus viewed his purpose for being on earth at all. Jesus will always come after the one. The trip across the lake to save one man was not a waste of time for him. It was exactly what he had intended to do.
Jesus views you that same way. To him, you are worth crossing stormy waters. You are worth battling demons. You are worth giving up his very life. It’s not a waste of time for him to come find you in your darkness if it’s just you that’s in need of rescuing. It’s enough for him to come for just you.
There’s much we can learn from Jesus in this story, not just about how he views us but how we are meant to view our own work. We live in a world that loves to glorify high numbers. Followers on any given social media platform are a sign of status. Have millions and you are revered, have seven and you’re just a nobody. This isn’t a new phenomenon of just social media though. Throughout human history we’ve operated with a mindset around people that higher numbers equals greater success. This thinking runs so deep we accept it as normal but it only hurts us.
We have to train ourselves to think the same way Jesus did about numbers. We have to count the worthiness of our endeavors by the one. If just one is brought closer to God, it adds up to a victory. The math is that simple. Is it a great thing to get more than one? Absolutely. But we can’t start counting the worthiness of our endeavors by the numbers.We have to learn to do things for the one.
And by the way? Jesus isn’t slowed down by a number as small as one. He’s able to do so much more with one than we could ever do on our own with a thousand. The last thing that happens in this story before Jesus sails off across the lake again shows us just that. Just before they leave, the man who had been possessed comes running up to the boat, begging them to take him with them. But Jesus says no. Instead, he tells him “…go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” (Mark 5:19)
That one that might have seemed like a waste of time to the disciples became the one who could continue to spread the good news even after Jesus left. He wasn’t going to stay one for long.
Let’s find some joy,
A
Avalon Robinson Author 