Mark 5:15-19: in context

Jesus has freed the man possessed by a legion of demons, and now the townspeople find him sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. But instead of rejoicing, they are afraid, and they beg Jesus to leave their region. As Jesus is getting into the boat, the healed man begs to come with him, to stay at his side. But Jesus does not allow it. Instead he gives him a different commission: go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.

The healed man's request is understandable and even admirable: he wants to be with Jesus, to follow the one who saved him. But Jesus tells him no, and sends him home instead. This is one of the few times Jesus refuses someone who wants to follow him, and the reason is that he has a specific mission for this man right where he came from: go home, to your own friends and family, and tell them what God has done for you. Sometimes the call is not to leave and follow into new places but to stay and witness in the old ones, among the people who knew you before. The healed man's own transformed life, sitting clothed and sane where they had known him raving among the tombs, was a testimony to those particular people that no stranger could ever give. And the content of his witness is simple: tell them what the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy. Not a theological lecture, just his own story of mercy received. There is a commission in that for everyone Jesus has changed: you may not be sent far away, but you are sent home, to the people who knew the old you, to tell them plainly what the Lord has done. Your changed life among those who knew you before is a witness a stranger could never give.

Has Jesus sent me home, to the people who knew the old me, to tell them plainly what the Lord has done and how he has had mercy, rather than only wanting to follow him somewhere new?