Mark chapter five chronicles a mission trip to a region called The Decapolis, which means "Ten Towns." Twelve men piled into a boat with Jesus and made a difficult journey across the stormy Sea of Galilee.
Upon arriving ashore, their greeting party was a demon-possessed man who lived among the tombs and regularly terrified the locals. With great compassion, Jesus demanded that the demons leave him and enter into a herd of swine which then threw themselves into the sea. After the herdsmen ran to report what had happened, many of the locals came and pleaded with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
Honoring their request, the missionaries boarded the boat and began to depart. The man now freed from his torment begged Jesus to let him enter the clergy by joining them in the boat. Instead Jesus lovingly commissioned him with an equally important task by saying, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you." The man embraced his mission, went away, and began proclaiming throughout the Decapolis the story of God's great love for him, and everyone marveled!
Jesus later returned to the Decapolis. This time, instead of being asked to leave, Mark seven tells us that a great multitude came to him to be healed. The crowd was utterly astonished, saying, "Everything he does is wonderful. He even heals those who are deaf and mute." Many believe that this spiritual awakening began earlier with the simple yet powerful testimony of a man fully alive who once knew nothing but demonic oppression.
This story is a celebration of God's invitation to join Him in His love for the world. It's a celebration of those who, like the men in the boat, respond and give their lives to the call of vocational ministry. And it's a celebration of those who bring spiritual awakening to their neighborhoods and cities by proclaiming through the natural rhythm of their daily lives, "What great things Jesus has done!"
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