When the man who had been healed pleaded to remain with him, Jesus commanded him to go to his family and announce all that the Lord in his goodness had done for him. It seems rather odd for Jesus to turn away a potential follower, doesn't it? One would argue that it was with a thanksgiving spirit that the healed man wanted to remain with Jesus, something akin to the Samaritan leper who returned to thank Jesus for cleansing him (cf. Luke 17:11-19). Perhaps as gratitude to God, the healed man had wanted to remain with Jesus so that he could become a regular follower of his. The reasons for Jesus' refusal to the healed man’s offer to follow him notwithstanding, the man did as Jesus commanded him: He went off and proclaimed throughout the ten cities (the Decapolis) what Jesus had done for him. Maybe this was the intention of Jesus all along. Maybe Jesus had seen the great potential in the man and reasoned that it would be more beneficial for the movement if the man right away became a proclaimer of the good news. Had the man remained with Jesus, maybe he would not have had the opportunity to preach the good news in the ten cities as he did (remember it was only after Jesus had been raised and ascended back to heaven that the apostles actively engaged in apostolate). The man obeyed Jesus' command, the same command that Jesus would later issue as he prepared to ascend to the Father: Go, make disciples of all nations (cf. Matthew 28:19a). The healed man did well in the mission because his proclamation was a witnessing: Jesus had commanded him to go and announce the good that God had done for him. The success of his proclamation can be attributed to the authenticity of his message since he was more than a proclaimer of a message. He was the message itself. Not only did people listen to what he had to say, they also observed for themselves the transformation that had taken place. They “saw” the message with their own eyes and touched it with their very hands! (cf. I John 1:1) When Jesus sends us to go out on mission, this is what he expects of us: that we become the very message that we intend to proclaim. We have to make the Good News of the Lord our Good News. What I proclaim should be about the good that the Lord has done for me. The recipients of our proclamation should be able to see the proclaimed message with their own eyes. Only thus shall we be able to make disciples of all nations.