18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. Mark 5:18 (ESV)
The action in this verse happens after Jesus has healed a man of a legion of demons, sent them to the pigs. The demons then caused the pigs to run into the water and drown. The man had been tortured by the demons to the point that he lived among the tombs, crying out to the night in torturous screams. Not fit to be among human company. People had tried to restrain the possessed man in chains, but he always broke them. What were this man's demons, that caused so much distress and brokenness in his life? I can only imagine as the Bible does not give us history on the man's life. But I do know there have been times in my life when I felt tortured by demons, and was only saved through an encounter with Jesus.
The man, now in his "right mind," wants to go with Jesus. He has been healed by Jesus and now wants to remain with Jesus. I used the ESV translation here because it says that the man "begged him that he might be with him." That is the sense I got after reading the verse, even though my NIV version states the man begged to "go with" Jesus.
This verse demonstrates that when you have an encounter with Jesus, you do not want to leave His presence. That has definitely been true in my life, even though after my encounter with Jesus I did go away from His presence for a time. But I am back in Jesus' arms now, depending on Him to root out the dark places in my soul and bring light to my life.
Now that I know what Jesus brings to my life, in good times and bad I never want to be away from His presence again!
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