There's something about Jesus...

"And behold the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region." -- Matthew 8:34.  Here in Matthew 8:28-34 we find the account of Jesus casting out demons out from two demon possessed men.  This is a familiar account to many because the demons are cast into a herd of pigs that throw themselves into the water. A parallel account can be found in Luke 8:26-37.  However, what I would like to focus on this morning is the response of the city to this event.  The men were thankful for what Jesus had done but the city implored Jesus to leave. With the way people responded to Him, we see here there was something about Jesus...

There's something about Jesus.  As I looked at this verse, I started asking why did the city respond to Jesus in this way?  Why did they "implore" Jesus to leave?  Before we explore this question, one of the key thoughts in this verse is the fact that the people implored Jesus to leave.  The Greek word for implore (parakaleo) that is used here means to make a strong request for something (BDAG 765).  Based on the force of this word, the people were essentially begging Jesus to leave this area. But why?

There's something about Jesus.  Luke 8:37 tells us that the people were gripped with great fear in response to what Jesus had done.  They knew there was something about Jesus that they had probably never encountered before and for good reason, it caused them to be afraid of Jesus and what He could do.  As opposed to being drawn to His power, the people were intimidated by it and did not want to be in the presence of such power.  Therefore, they implored or begged Jesus to leave.

So what does this mean to us?  The fact is even today there is something about Jesus that intimidates a lot of people.  The fact is one of the many facts that sets Jesus apart from any other god of this world is the fact that Jesus challenges who we are.  The fact is a lot of the reason people choose not to obey the gospel is because one thing that being a Christian demands is a change in lifestyle. See Romans 6:1-14.  However, I don't see it as a challenge.  As Christians, we need to understand that while the Christian life has its challenges, we ought not to see them as challenges but opportunities.  The people in Matthew 8:34 saw Jesus' power as something that challenged their lifestyle and it was something that intimidated them.  Therefore, they implored Jesus to leave.

So again, what about us, what do we do with the challenge or the opportunity Jesus presents us with?  One of the most important facts about Jesus that sets Him apart from all other gods is the fact that Jesus gives us the opportunity at eternal life.  Jesus is our second chance and our last and only chance at getting right and staying right with God.  While His teachings are crucial, the most important element of Christianity is the man Himself, Christ Jesus who some have called the Godman.  He is 100% man and He is 100% God.  See John 1:1-14.

Today, there is something about Jesus.  There is something about Jesus that causes people to doubt.  There is something about Jesus that causes people to reject His message and implore He and His messengers to leave their city.  On the other hand there is something about Jesus that gives us hope of something beyond this life much better than we could have ever imagined.  There is something about Jesus that motivates us to change our lifestyles.  There is something about Jesus that takes care of our sin problem and gives us a chance at eternal life.  If we will put our trust in Him and follow Him everyday, we can discover that a life lived for Christ makes all the good times and the trials worth every second because there is something about Jesus that makes us look forward to each and every day because it is yet another opportunity to let His light shine through us.

There is something about Jesus...Take time this weekend to discover what that is by taking some of the teachings we have looked at in this weeks blogs and putting them into practice.

THANKS FOR READING THIS WEEK EVERYONE! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!