But Jesus did not allow him, but said, “Go to your home, to your family, and tell them what the Lord did for you and how He had mercy on you.”
Christ does not grant that man’s request not because He rejects him, but because He has prepared another ministry for him. He was to return to his home and tell his people about the great things the Lord had done for him (even appearing before the people in his new condition was already a powerful testimony). This is very significant. A saved person does not always have to leave his ordinary life and people and live in isolation. Many times Christ sends him back to his very home, his surroundings, and among the people of his past, to bear witness to God’s mercy. The man who had previously been a cause of terror was now to become a testimony of grace. His life was to become a living sermon. In these words it is also seen that Christ identifies Himself with the Lord’s, God’s works. By saying, “What the Lord did for you and how He had mercy on you,” He includes what He Himself had just done. This again points to His divine identity.