Deliberate Deliverance

I wanted to share a few interesting things I have stumbled upon through my personal Bible reading.

In Mark 4:35-5:20 Jesus takes a break from teaching the crowds, sails to the other side of Galilee (calming the storm along the way), heals the demoniac and sales back.  In fact the only thing he does while on the other side is heal the demoniac.

The same story is also found in Luke 8:22-40.  In verse 40 we read that the crowds welcomed him back once he sailed back to the other side because they were all waiting for him.

What strikes me about this account is how deliberate it seems.  It both accounts Jesus simply says something to the effect of “let’s go across to the other side” without offering any kind of a reason.  His disciples don’t really question it but they sail to Gentile territory.  Once there he heals the demoniac and sails back and picks up teaching the crowds right where he left off.

It seems like such a deliberate interlude.  Almost as if he went on a private mission, known only to himself, deliberately to do exactly what he did.  He knew exactly what to expect when he got there and went out of his way to encounter this lost sheep.  Its as if he had an unspoken mission to rescue this man - a mission that only he knew about.

Just an interesting tidbit I thought you might enjoy.  Give it a read for yourself sometime.