In Mark 5:1-20, when Jesus got into a boat in the Jewish community, crossed the sea to the Gentile community; coming out of the cemetery was a “certain man” who was demon-possessed that bowed down and worshiped Jesus; then the demons began conversing with Jesus through the man, begging Jesus not to send them into the lake of fire, but into the herds of pigs, instead. But when Jesus got back into the boat to cross the sea, going back to the Jewish community on the opposite side of the sea, the man begged Jesus to let him go with Him, but Jesus commanded him to go back to his hometown and tell everyone what the Lord had done for him, so he obeyed Jesus.
No one cared when the demons spoke through the man, for the pig-keepers heard and saw this happening daily, but it did not matter to them—until the demons went into the pigs, and their salaries were discontinued; therefore, through anger, fear, and jealousy, they commanded Jesus to leave their community.
It is shameful and sinful to place “tradition” over love for people’s needs, because Jesus, on one side of the sea knew a demon-possessed man on the other side of the sea, needed His help, so He went for no other reason than love for one of his creation, who needed His help, but that same love, then caused Jesus to cross back over the sea by boat, for He knew Jairus’ dead, twelve-year old daughter and the woman with the twelve-year issue of blood also needed His help, so He went.
Romans 14:23 says, “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin”. Therefore, when we choose to believe satanic spirits can and do speak through people, yet disbelieve the Holy Spirit can and does speak through people, even women, then our tradition is an idol, a false god we worship, because Jesus, in John 7:37-39, says “those who believe in Him, as the Scripture has said”; from their heart the Holy Spirit will come forth as a life-giving river, and Acts 2:14-21, promises in these last days, as Joel 2 says, God will pour out the Holy Spirit on “all flesh”, to speak through His daughters and sons, and they will hear and obey the Holy Spirit, the same way “all flesh” should be hearing and obeying Him now.
Jesus, in John 4:1-42, deliberately leaves the Jewish community in Judea, and walks to Samaria, a Gentile community, where at noon (the sixth hour), a Samaritan woman of several failed marriages, who now was a “live-in” with her “man friend”, came to the well to get water, so Jesus, knowing her need, ignores her sin and nationality, but tells her the truth about her life and how He, being “Living Water” can meet all her needs; therefore, she returns to Samaria and “preaches” to the entire town what Jesus did for her; thus, the whole town come out to Jesus, waving like wheat ready to harvest, and what Jesus does for that town, because of this woman telling others about Him, they confess they believed the woman’s “preaching”, but now they see Him for who He is.
The Pharisees and Sadducees knew from Scripture who Jesus was, and what Scripture said was His earthly mission, but because of jealously, money, power, and tradition, they refused to accept Jesus for who He was and what He could do to help needed people, and it is the same way today, for people know the truth of Scripture, but because of selfish pleasure and tradition, people seek to be categorized (counted) as a “Christian”, but still do whatever it takes to get what they want.
“The woman at the well” had a deplorable reputation when she met Jesus, but found He cared more about her need than about her reputation, because of the love He had for her, and that was what changed her and caused her to “talk Jesus” to everyone in her community; thus, encouraged by an excited, changed, and talkative woman, the whole town came to Jesus and were changed.
Jim, Kim, and Tim Nabors
