Don’t Bother Them
Mark 5:1 Then
they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the
boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean
spirit, 3 who had his dwelling
among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound
with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the
shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he
was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with
stones. 6 When he saw Jesus
from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7
And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You,
Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment
me." 8 For He said to
him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" 9 Then He asked him, "What is
your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion;
for we are many." 10
Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the
country. 11 Now a large herd
of swine was feeding there near the mountains.
12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the
swine, that we may enter them." 13
And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and
entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently
down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. 14 ¶ So those who fed the
swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they
went out to see what it was that had happened.
15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed
and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were
afraid. 16 And those who saw
it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and
about the swine. 17 Then they
began to plead with Him to depart from their region. 18 And when He got into the boat,
he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit
him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great
things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on
you." 20 And he departed
and began to proclaim in
Mark’s and Luke’s account only mention one man, but Matthew’s account tells us that were two men that Jesus dealt with.
We are often told not to bother certain people with the truth because either they are too far gone or because they seem religious enough.
Let’s take a look at some examples of some people that many today would say that we should not bother.
The Ethiopian Eunuch
Acts 8:26 Now an
angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south
along the road which goes down from
What about Cornelius:
Acts 10:1
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was
called the Italian Regiment, 2
a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave
alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day
he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him,
"Cornelius!" 4 And
when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?" So
he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial
before God. 5 "Now send
men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. 6 "He is lodging with Simon,
a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must
do."
27 And as he talked with him, he went
in and found many who had come together.
28 Then he said to them, "You know how unlawful it is
for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God
has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 "Therefore I came without
objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent
for me?" 30 ¶ So
Cornelius said, "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the
ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright
clothing, 31 "and said,
'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the
sight of God. 32 'Send
therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging
in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to
you.' 33 "So I sent to
you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all
present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God." 34 ¶ Then Peter opened his
mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no
partiality. 35 "But in
every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. 36 "The word which God sent
to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ -- He is Lord
of all -- 37 "that word
you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee
after the baptism which John preached: 38
"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,
who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for
God was with Him. 39
"And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the
Jews and in
What about
Acts 16:13 And on
the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was
customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. 14 Now a certain woman named
What about the jailor.
Acts 16:16 Now it
happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a
spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by
fortune-telling. 17 This girl
followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants
of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." 18 And this she did for many days.
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you
in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very
hour. 19 ¶ But when her
masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and
dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 And they brought them to the
magistrates, and said, "These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our
city; 21 "and they teach
customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or
observe." 22 Then the
multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their
clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many
stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to
keep them securely. 24 Having
received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their
feet in the stocks. 25 ¶
But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the
prisoners were listening to them. 26
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison
were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains
were loosed. 27 And the
keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open,
supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill
himself. 28 But Paul called
with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all
here." 29 Then he called
for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and
said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your
household." 32 Then they
spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour
of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his
family were baptized. 34 Now
when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he
rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
One last example: what
about Apollos?
Acts 18:24 Now a
certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty
in the Scriptures, came to
While many may say that
certain people don’t need to be taught the truth, we can see from these
examples that everyone needs to hear the truth. It doesn’t matter if they are a
religious fanatic, a good person who gives to the poor and prays to God, or
hard working woman who loves God, a person who is working for the enemy who has
no problem committing suicide, or a man that knows the Scriptures and boldly
proclaims what he knows everyone is worthy to be taught the truth from the
murder to the good person, we should never stop teaching the way of God more
accurately.
So, I hope if you never
have the attitude that certain people do not need to hear the truth because
everyone does.