These two guys were terrifying.

They were strong. They were irrational. They were unreasonable. They were random. They were full of it, if it means evil. They lived among the tombs, making funerals frightening. They waited just off the road, making travel troubling.

These two men may not have understood why everyone stayed away. They may not have understood why no one trusted them, why everyone turned around.

And, of course, Jesus is by the tombs. Making a string of unlikely pearls, Matthew adds another story mentioning death. And it isn’t just about the tombs. A herd of pigs die as they are filled with demons and plunge into the lake.

That is the beginning of the story that the herdsmen tell to the people of the town.

Our pigs died. This guy from across the lake made it happen. Oh yes, it looked like he was talking to the tomb-guys. But our pigs! He killed our pigs!

The town came. A herd of pigs over a cliff is a big deal. And they begged Jesus to go away.

It seems to us like a good deal. Two guys can have civilized conversations for the first time in what seems like forever at the cost of a heard of pigs.

For the people of the town, however, the pigs were the big deal. They had learned to walk around the two men. They had written off the lives of those two me to unfortunate circumstances. It was hard on the guys, but bad stuff happens.

Jesus turned the local economy upside down, giving human life the value of 100 pigs. It was a bigger price than the people were willing to live with.

Rather than talking to the savior the didn’t know, they prefered the devil they knew. I understand. Unfortunately.

“I’ll follow you, Jesus”

That’s what the teacher of the law said.

“Wherever you go, I’ll follow you.”

Jesus doesn’t really answer him. I mean, he tells the man that he doesn’t have a home, that he doesn’t have a place to lay his head, that he doesn’t have a family room or a garage or a  recliner, that he doesn’t have a home phone number or a twin-size bed or monogrammed pillowcases that he got for his wedding.

Jesus tells the man that to follow him is to be homeless.

And there is no response from the man.

Which means, of course, that we have no option but to wrestle with Jesus’ statement.

I mean, if we knew that that man walked away, we could feel proud because we would never do that. If the man had said, “I don’t care. I’m with you whatever,” we could feel proud that we are the same way.

But there isn’t any response. There isn’t any room for pride. There isn’t any possibility of comparing our response to his.

All we have is the opportunity to look in the mirror.

“I’ll follow you, Jesus.”

That’s what we say. That’s what we want to say. That’s the commitment we make. And then Jesus looks at us and says, “animals even have places to stay. But I don’t own anything.”

And we have to decide how much we are going to own, or how much we are going to let own us. How lightly can we travel? How quickly can we move? How much can we walk away from?

I don’t think that the next step is just words: “Yes, Jesus.” I think that the next step for the man was whether he literally walked behind Jesus as the sun was setting that night.

If you are around people who pray, you have heard people asking for prayer about healing. “Someone is sick, pray that they will be healed.” “Tell as many people as you know to pray.”

And yet, in spite of all that praying, there are still sick people. There are still people dying.

It is a challenge for the followers of Jesus. Why some, not others? Why were you healed and I wasn’t?

And then we look to the Bible for the rules, for the guidelines.

In Matthew 8, we read three specific healing stories.

“If you are willing. “
“I am willing.”

“You can do it at a distance.”
“Look at this faith.”

[Jesus sees a sick woman]
[healing]

[bringing people]
[healing]

So what are the principles? What can we learn that will help us get healing every time we ask? (Because that’s our goal, right?)

1. Jesus doesn’t have to physically touch, but sometimes he does.

2. A specific request isn’t always given, but sometimes it is.

3. When there is a request, it isn’t a formula.

4. It can be the sick person, someone else, or no one asking.

5. Many people can know about the request or no one can know.

6. The problem may be disease, an injury, or a short-term illness.

7. The social status of the requester doesn’t matter, though all three stories have people who, in that society, were at the margins  (leper, gentile, servant, woman)

So how do we summarize this?

Jesus heals who he wants to, when he wants to, where he wants to, how he wants to. But he heals. And it doesn’t hurt to ask. And he really likes confidence, not in his ability to be amazing, but a confidence that he knows what he is doing.

While it’s not about how many prayers, he’s open to requests.