Matthew 8:34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they sought him that he would depart out of their coasts. That the rejection of Christ sometimes arises from imperfect knowledge of Hint; and that deeper knowledge wilt frequently lead to deeper love. I try to place myself in the position of these people. 1. I observe that almost the whole knowledge which they had of our Lord was confined to the miracle of the destruction of the swine. Can we wonder that they wished to get rid of a visitor at once so powerful and destructive? True, they had another chapter of evidences, the healed men to bear witness to the healing and restoring character of Him who had destroyed the swine. There was a problem of loss and gain; some palliation of their error. 2. If these Gergesenes, instead of the last seven verses, had had the whole of this chapter before them, would they have asked Him to leave their coasts? I doubt it. 3. If they had heard His teaching contained in the Sermon on the Mount, would they have acted so? Think of the goodness and gentleness pervading it. 4. The magnitude of the responsibility of rejecting Christ — intellectually and speculatively, or rejecting Him virtually by despising and forgetting His precepts — depends upon the knowledge which we have of Him, and in spite of which we reject Him. Those who have, as it were, a casual visit from Christ may not be much better or worse for it; it is otherwise with those who have the whole picture of His life before them. (Bishop of Carlisle.) Parallel Verses KJV: And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. |
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