Pastor Leighton continues on through his series in the Gospel of Mark:
“From one test to another, Jesus purposely leads his disciples to greater and greater levels of trust. Jesus does this for us too. Because he is the author of life, and is sovereign over all events, he as the good shepherd leads us to and through trials and struggles, in order to strengthen our faith and grow our trust in him. Faith is not downloaded, it’s not presto. In general, our depth of confidence in God is hard fought, slow, a long-suffered growth. But, God creates a faith filled people by again and again being a faithful God...”
“In true storyteller form, Mark shows that Jesus acquiesces to the demons and doesn’t cast them into prison, then Jesus acquiesces to the people of the land and chooses not to stay, but to the man whom he rescued, he says ‘No; you are to stay here and tell your friends what the Lord has done for you.” He grants the demons and the locals their depravities, but to the man whom he had compassion, he gives the commission to proclaim the goodness of God. And he does! Several stories away, but still only in the very next chapter, Jesus returns to this place and the common people come to him in droves, glad he’s back, scrambling that they might touch the fringe of his garment (Mark 6:56). What an amazing witness this man becomes, ‘Let me tell you what the Lord has done for me, let me tell you about the day I met Jesus.’ The authorities didn’t want Jesus, the chamber of commerce begged him leave, but those in need of a savior ran to him.”