Aliens Need Jesus Too

6 min read

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 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.
—Mark 5:19-20

Who knows why Jesus would not allow the man to go with Him? Perhaps Jesus knew that He would not be able to reach the Jewish people to the degree that He wanted to if a Gentile disciple was in His immediate circle of followers. Perhaps the time was not right for a full-blown, multi-ethnic focus in His ministry. His first priority was to reach the people of Israel.

There is so much that churches today can reflect on with respect to their ethnic character. One thing is for sure: The lesson we ought to take away from this episode is not that we should focus our ministries exclusively along ethnic lines. The whole Book of Acts and the letters of Paul and the Book of Revelation make it abundantly clear that the “ethnic barriers” that exist in our churches are wrong and do not honor God.

In fact, I would say that the greater lesson from this episode—in the context of the full counsel of Scripture—is that ethnicity must not even be considered when it comes to our witness of Jesus Christ, since He has completed His outreach to Israel. The next step is all ethnicities of the world (Acts 1:8).

I’m certain that God does not find anything wrong with any of us embracing and celebrating our ethnic identity. I do not think that God objects to ethnic churches in general. But I am also certain that it breaks God’s heart whenever we prevent people from becoming a part of our Christ community because they come from a different ethnic heritage, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

And for many of us, we may think that whatever racial barriers we put up around our community are unintentional, but they are actually intentional.

We don’t have the wisdom to distinguish between embracing our ethnic identity versus using our culture as a barrier so that others cannot enter our fellowship. And we are totally OK with that when we really should not be.

But the racial element of this episode is really only a secondary point—if it’s even a point at all! What’s really cool to me, though, is how the main point of this episode (at least, one of the major points of this episode) tells us what is at the heart of overcoming racial barriers in our churches.

And the main point is that if Jesus has indeed saved us, the most basic and fundamental task that Jesus gives to His followers is to tell others how much Jesus has done for us. In other words, to bear witness to Christ by telling people and showing people how much we need Jesus each and every day of our lives.

We all need Jesus and we all need Jesus now. There are no ethnic boundaries in that witness.

Father, Your gentleness, mercy, and love know no bounds. You are my God, and I need Jesus today. May my witness not be hindered by any prejudice I carry in my heart. Forgive me for my prejudices. Forgive Canvas for our prejudices. Let our witness be compelling because it is not colored by our prejudices but purely focused on our Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom and in whom we have shalom shalom. In Jesus’s name. Amen.