I read a passage recently and it encouraged me in a time when I was struggling with doubt and failure.
“And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.” Matt 8:34
The context is that Jesus just made a disciple out of 2 demon-possessed men. The power of God was made known through changed lives. This wasn’t some dramatic public conversion. It was men who met the real Jesus and were changed forever. The whole city came out to meet this life-changing Jesus. They heard what God was up to from the herdsmen who lost their financial means when Jesus ant the demons into pigs.
The problem was when the city gathered they wanted to meet this spectacle. Some were probably upset and some were astonished. But likely they wanted to see something dramatic or incredible take place. The herdsmen told the city about the changed men rather than dead pigs.
Jesus had no intention of putting on a show. It would be easy to see the whole city coming to Jesus as a success…a mighty move of God or a revival that many of us would pray for our own cities. Jesus didn’t see it this way. To him, the success was a disciple was made and God was glorified by this new life.
I believe there are many pastors and churches that are discouraged because they don’t see a city-wide impact they expected. And there are other churches that can attract a whole city to its events, but are not making disciples. I have nothing against big events or praying for a city to come to Christ. I believe those are important. I am, however, warning against measuring your success in ministry by your events.
This passage was an encouragement to my heart in that Jesus sees this as a successful visit to the region of Gadarenes. Let us seek to fulfill the great commission by making disciples and watching those disciples grow and reproduce new disciples. God will be glorified by the new lives and a city will be eternally impacted for Christ. Maybe we are a part of a great revival already taking place around us…we just need to see its greatness through the eyes of Jesus.
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