Afraid of the Light
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Afraid of the Light
Mark 5:17 (NASB)
17 “And they began to implore Him [Jesus] to leave their region.”
For instinctual reasons, nocturnal animals avoid the light, venturing out only at night. The same avoidance of light can apply to some people. When Jesus came, most people didn’t embrace the light He brought (John 1:4-5).
When Jesus drove a crowd of demons out of a deranged man, the unclean spirits rushed into a herd of two thousand pigs. The swine ran into the sea and drowned. When word of what happened got out, the local population begged Jesus to leave. Rather than celebrating that this person who had been dwelling in the tombs in his madness was now made well, they didn’t want to live with something they did not understand.
The same thing happened in Philippi when Paul cast a demon out of a girl who told fortunes, depriving her owners of income (Acts 16:16). And in Ephesus, Paul preached against idols and the silversmiths lost their income (Acts 19:26-27). In both places, the apostles were persecuted for doing good. When light touches the darkness people love, they reject the light.
It is a reminder to embrace the light and share the light (Acts 17:11-12) and be prepared for rejection when you bring God’s light into a dark world.
William Cowper said, “A glory gilds the sacred page, majestic like the sun; it gives a light to every age, it gives, but borrows none.”