Rejection of the Presence
and Ministry of Christ
24 x 36
Gouache, pen, pencil, and ink on canvas
You would think the Gadarenes would be delighted for this visitation from God, and relieved for the poor soul in their midst who has been delivered. Instead, their reaction is quite the opposite. Fear, greed, and selfishness influence their judgment and the overall consensus is rejection of Jesus in their community.
Here, I exercise a little artistic license in my interpretation of the villager's reaction. The owner of the herd of swine points to a bag of money and asks Jesus if he has any idea how much revenue he has cost them by destroying the swine. Beside him in the orange dress is his irate wife.
Next to him, the village elder gives Jesus a piercing glare for disrupting the economic base of their locale. His wife, her hand on his shoulder, stares disdainfully at Jesus and the newly healed man.
A swine herder gestures angrily with his staff, frustrated because his livelihood has disappeared before his eyes. His elderly father peers out from behind him, and his elderly mother clenches her
fists in fury because their son supported them.
IT ACTUALLY GRIEVES SOME PEOPLE
TO SEE THE LIVES OF OTHERS CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. WHY ARE THEY SO UPSET ABOUT IT?
...WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS,
THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Matthew 5:11
LET OTHERS KNOW THEY CAN
BE SET FREE TOO!
THEY ARE OVERLOOKING THE
GREAT BLESSING IN THEIR MIDST
A young child, oblivious to the gravity of the situation, attempts to play peek-a-boo with Jesus and the Gadarene....innocent enough. But others in the crowd just stare in disbelief at the newly healed man. Like many civil gatherings, quite a few have only come with a "mob mentality" to add what fuel they can to the controversy. They can't even sense the swine spirit who is part of their assembly!
No wonder the demons begged Jesus to not make them leave that country
—a place where hogs and money are more valuable than human life.
The apostolic record tells us the healed man begged Jesus to let him go with him. (Judging by the looks of the crowd, can you blame him?) Jesus does not permit him to join him, instead telling him to , "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee" and, "Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee."
The record in Luke indicates he published (or proclaimed) his deliverance throughout the whole city, and Mark seems to confirm the man carved out a mission field in Decapolis to tell of the great things Jesus had done for him:
and his testimony was powerful..."all men did marvel."
!! ARTIST OBSERVATION !!
Most behavioral health issues can be traced to
-
spiritual attack (this story)
-
electronic targeting and harassment
-
lack of self-discipline (leading to narcissism and socio-and/or psychopathy
-
physical or mental trauma
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diet lacking in vital nutrients for the brain
-
impact on the brain of destructive substances (drugs and alcohol abuse)
-
a combination of some or all of these variables
The mental health system in the West has one way and one way only of dealing with these maladies—psychotropic drugging, or electro-stimulation of the brain. That is because those who offer these broken solutions do not like to retain God in their knowledge, nor seek Him for the response specific to each individual. Like the Gadarene townspeople, they do not want a cure; just business to continue as usual
to prop up the system and cash flow generated by sickness and dysfunction.
But the answer to all of these miseries is found in the wisdom and healing of Christ Jesus. The day is approaching when the millions bound by forced drugging will be set free, healed, delivered, restored, and taught of God. May He hasten that day!
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