The title is the simple statement Jesus provided to the Gadarene man. As Christians, we are charged with a similar order. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19). This does not sound like the same sentiment, but when you consider that disciple making requires one to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), and that preaching the Gospel means telling others the good news, which you have also heeded, then all Christians, to the best of their abilities, should “Tell what great things God has done.” If it is such a simple statement, why is it so hard to follow? Perhaps when we see why the man in Luke 8 was so motivated that “he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (39), we will be moved to act similarly.
As we put the account together, we see that long before Jesus came to this region, this man was possessed with demons (27). In fact, there were thousands of those spirits in his body. What had this done to his life? He really had no life so to speak. The demons had “seized” it and had “driven” him to do what they wanted (29). This kept him homeless. He lived in tombs and wore no clothes. When he was captured, the demons caused him to break his bonds with inhuman strength and go into the wilderness. We know he had a reputation for this in the region by the reaction the people had when they saw him “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.” “They were afraid” (35).
It was Jesus’ gift – a new life – that drove this man to proclaim God’s marvelous works. As Christians, we have been given a new life from worse circumstances. You may ask, “How was I worse than helpless, naked, homeless and demon possessed?” Without Christ in our lives, we are “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Before someone puts Jesus on in baptism, he is as good as dead, possessed by sin and with no hope for an eternal home (Romans 6; Ephesians 2:1-13).
If all Christians have been blessed with such gifts from God, why is it that we have such a hard time telling others about the great salvation that awaits them? Perhaps it is because, unlike the demoniac, we “met Jesus” and we do not seem different. Maybe we have forgotten the immense debt we owe our Lord for His sacrifice to heal us (Isaiah 53). If you want to grow in your passion to teach the Gospel to a lost world, meditate on what great things God has done for you. Take this challenge: Read and reflect on 2 Peter 1:1-11. Reread it until you begin to understand how your personal growth in faith and knowledge affects your appreciation for your salvation through Christ. Also, look at how such growth will move you to “tell what great things God has done.”
