So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed — the man's obedience is immediate, and his mission field is the entire Decapolis — the ten-city Gentile region. He goes to the places where word of the pigs and the exorcism has already spread and provides the personal testimony that contextualizes the events. The amazement of those who hear is the appropriate response that was absent in his hometown — the community that asked Jesus to leave is replaced by the Decapolis community that hears with wonder. The Gerasene man is the first Gentile missionary, commissioned by Jesus and sent back into his own people.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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