This is one of the saddest sentences in the Gospels. We can scarcely imagine anyone asking Jesus to go away. He had come to their community to bring rich blessings. His hands were full of gifts. He had the power to heal the sick, to open blind eyes, to make the lame walk - to freely share all kinds of blessings among the people. He had begun His work of grace as soon as He arrived by curing their most terrible case of demon-possession. He would done other works of mercy and love if they had not begged Him to leave. It was probably all because of the loss of the pigs. If that was the way Christ's work was going to affect them, they did not want Him to do anyhting else!

Some people feel the same way when a work of grace begins in their community. They are opposed to Christianity because it interferes with their business. Anyone who gets upset at Christianity and Christians often get that way because they know that deep down it would bring significant changes into their lives if they accepted the message of truth. They are against Christianity because Christianity is against them. So all of us are apt to want Christ to depart from us when He interferes with our cherished plans. We need to be careful for fear that we would send Christ altogether away from us.

Jesus did not stay after these people asked Him to leave. He would not stay where He was not wanted. He left with the gifts He had come share. The sick remained unhealed that He would have healed, the crippled continued to be crippled, the demoniacs remained possessed, and the dying whom Jesus could have restored passed away.

Does anyone now ever ask Christ to depart when He comes with blessings? Does Jesus never turn away from any heart now because He is not wanted, because He is rejected?