Luke 7:16 (ESV Strong's)
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”
Subject: Response to God's grace
Not everyone responds to God's grace the same way. In the above passage Jesus had healed a boy who was dead and was being carried out to his burial site. Jesus touches the boy and he goes from death to life!! (The picture of the Gospel.) The people are seized with fear and begin to glorify God in praise. However, in the following passage, later in Luke's Gospel, there is a completely different response:
Luke 8:37 (ESV Strong's)
Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.
In this story Jesus has just healed the wild man of Gerasenes. The man was demon possessed. Jesus casts the demon out of the man and sent them into a heard of swine. The man is completely healed. Instead of rejoicing in God's grace the people of the town wanted Jesus to leave. Instead of seeing God reaching down to them, as in the dead boy's restoration of life, these people rejected grace and wanted Jesus to depart. Not everyone responds to God's grace the same. We would think that when seeing God's grace in the life of someone would always solicit joy and a holy reverence. But, that is not so in the hearts of evilness.
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