Beholding Jesus

Jesus Calms the Sea

This passage stuns me every time that I read it. It is perplexing because Jesus commanded the wind and the waves to be still. He disciplined them just like a parent would discipline a disobedient child. I think it’s fascinating to picture this scene because there are so many movies about being on a boat during a huge storm and so it’s easy to picture. But the difference between the movies and the scene 2000 years ago is the quality and make of the boat. It has to be a sturdy boat, but it can’t be very big. Picturing some of the waves being huge and just a small boat with frantic and scared disciples in it while Jesus is sleeping peacefully is almost funny because Jesus has to know what is going on. I almost can picture Jesus being awake but pretending to sleep… like peeking at the reactions of His disciples with one eye then closing it real quick when they look at Him.

If I would have been a disciple, I think I would have probably been scared, seasick, frantic, wet, cold, miserable, desperate for help and tired. Also I probably would have been expecting to drown if help wasn’t found. A question that I have about this story is I wonder how long Jesus had been with His disciples before this storm happened. They didn’t seem to have much faith in Him because when they woke Him up, it seems like it was their last resort. Kind of like, “Oh well I suppose Jesus could probably help us… why isn’t He awake? JESUS don’t you care about us?!” When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the weather and sea, and then He rebuked the disciples for not having enough faith.

I think everyone has gone through a season where they did not have a lot of faith in God to work things out in the midst of a storm that we are going through. I think of this, and wonder how many times Jesus would have rebuked me if I had been one of His disciples…  I feel like my faith would not have been so firm and my convictions not as strong. It makes me really stop to think about the kind of faith that His close friends had in Him and it makes me want to have that same faith. How great the faith of His disciples must have been to keep following Him regardless of what people said about them.

After Jesus stopped the storm, what would the disciples have felt like? I think maybe a little foolish, maybe their physical bodies felt like they had just finished running a race and their hearts were beating fast and hard. Also, they were probably in awe of the power of Jesus, and amazed, scared, curious, timid, intrigued, relieved and questions were probably filling their head about the authority that He had over the weather and the sea.

Something that I was wondering was if there were any other boats on the water at the time of this storm. It seems like there would have been some witnesses at least to how quickly the storm stopped.

The Gerasene Demoniac

The first thing that I thought of in this section was the disciple’s reactions. What would it have felt like to have this demon possessed man running and screaming at Jesus right when He stepped out of the boat? My initial thoughts are that it would be scary and kind of strange. They might be thinking, what does He want with Jesus? Or something like get that freak out of here, that man is disgusting, dirty, smelly and scary. But Jesus’ response seems very calm in contrast with what the disciples were probably thinking. Because Jesus took pity on the possessed man and He already knew the problem and the solution. To see Jesus talking to the demons in this man must have been so off their grid that they didn’t know what was going on at first. I think it was the first time that they had seen anything like this, so it was quite an introduction into that part of Jesus’ ministry and His personality.

What did it look like to see these demonic spirits leave this man and enter into the pigs? Did the man scream and they flew out of His mouth like a dramatic movie scene? Or did they just kind of disappear out of the man and go into the pigs? The man with all the demon spirits in him must have been changed instantly. His countenance must have been a lot lighter and the burden must have been physically lifted and very visually noticeable.  How scared the people tending the pigs must have felt when they saw the pigs become possessed because of these spirits. What would it have looked like to see the pigs all run into the water and die? It sounds very sad for the pigs and I wonder why the spirits didn’t just stay in the pigs and not let them run into water because they obviously died there. Or were the pigs just really frightened by the demons that they ran uncontrollably and ended up just stampeding into the nearest lake… Either way, I think this is just a very odd situation for everyone involved, except for maybe Jesus.

I think that the guy who was set free from legion must have been very thankful because this is a very big burden that was lifted out of his life. I wonder how old this man was. How many years were wasted because of these demonic spirits? I think this is a great testimony of how Jesus is faithful even to the ones that society has given up on. He works in amazing ways in the “least” of us (which is really all of us). I wonder what the man’s family thought when He came home normal. How weird, yet joyous would that have been for them to see him back to normal after all those years of being under control of so many demons.

     Jesus, you have all authority; you give authority and you take it away.  If anyone is not for you, then they are against you.  You have the authority to crush men, although you would rather save them. Earlier in the day, before You crossed the sea, You were talking about your Kingdom and teaching in parables to your disciples.  The last parable You spoke about was the one about the mustard seed.  A tree grows from a small seed and the birds make nests in its branches.  In this same way, your Kingdom provides a place of shelter and a place of peace.

     Lord, after You spoke this parable, you said to the disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”  In the middle of crossing the lake, a fierce storm came upon your boat.  Rightly and humanly so, the disciples were freaking out.  They may have been used to these sudden storms, but this one was relentless.  The waves were pounding and water was pouring into the boat, threatening to sink it.   I imagine it wasn’t a very big boat.  The wind was blowing them off course, plus it was night, so I’m sure they could not see anything.  This situation was a scary one for them.  They were facing death and they were desperate to live.  The disciples were so focused on the storm they had forgotten that You were with them. They had forgotten the teaching about the Kingdom that You had just told them that very day; a teaching of peace and security.  They were fighting the storm on their own and it was dominating them.  Then someone must have had a light bulb go off because, someone noticed that You weren’t around or helping out.  Lord, you weren’t terrified, like the rest.  You were sleeping peacefully in the midst of this squall.  How could You freak out, when You knew the authority Your Father has and has give You?  You slept through the fierce storm and the shouts of the disciples because You weren’t afraid.  You slept because no one awakened You.  You were asleep because no one had asked for your help; everyone was trying to do all that they could on their own.  They tried to fight this storm without You., until that one man realized You weren’t with them.  For all they knew, You could have been was thrown overboard.  Only when all the other options were gone, did they look for You. 
    

    How much faster could that storm have been vanquished if they had only looked to You first, Lord?  Finally, they looked for You and they found You, asleep, because no one had called for You.  Exasperated, weary, and scared for their lives, they accused You of not caring whether or not they lived.  Yet as soon as they awakened You and asked for your help, You rebuked the wind and waves, and as suddenly as the storm appeared, the storm was gone.  For all authority was given to You, Lord, from the Father.  Who can stand against You?  Lord, You asked them, “Do you still have no faith?  Why are you afraid?”  After the teachings they were taught about the Kingdom and about your protection, they were still clueless; they still ran to every other means of salvation, the more “believable” means.  Jesus, You showed the disciples the impossible and the authority You had to stop the storm, and they still had no idea who You were.  They questioned the power behind your authority.  The storm was a lesson to the disciples, demonstrating what the Kingdom is like. 

     When I get thrown into a sudden storm of life, I don’t want to try to fix it myself by looking for every humanly possible solution that won’t get me anywhere.  My battles are not against flesh and blood but against the powers of Satan and his cohorts who try to annihilate everything that comes from God.  I always want to run to Jesus first.  He is waiting for me to look for him and call out to him for surely he is waiting to answer my call.  He is faithful and has called me to have faith.  He is the prince of peace. All it takes is one call to him and he is waiting for us.  Who else has authority over everything, besides him?  I want to live a life of faith, trusting in Jesus, and operating in the Kingdom, because I know my King will provide.  He takes care of those who love him.  All it took was one word from his mouth to silence creation.  Creation knows who the Lord is and it will never cease to obey him.  The authority of Jesus’ words knows no bounds, it surpasses my simple human understanding.  His authority applies to my life. It is not just fiction, his power is real and I cannot underestimate him.  When I call out to him he will act, because he has authority from heaven, when I cry out for justice. The cost of following Jesus could be death, but the end result will always be peace.

     The second part of the lesson that demonstrates your kingdoms power was just after You and the disciples had been through a storm at sea and had landed.  You were about to face another storm; this storm was a spiritual one. 

     I imagine the disciples were relieved to be on land after the storm.  As you came on shore, a crazed man, possessed by demons, ran up to You and bowed before You.  The demons bowed because they recognized the authority You had, and they knew who You were.  They realized that You operate out of love and they also knew You loved the man they were destroying.  This man was held captive and tormented by these spirits. He knew no peace and had no rest.  The demons asked to be sent into the herd of two thousand pigs instead of being destroyed.  You sent them out into, what was, a peaceful herd of pigs.  As soon as the spirits entered them, they plunged into the waters and drowned.  The man who was insane, became sane, and the pigs that were sane, became insane. Two thousand pigs became crazed because of darkness.  These pigs were killed, but I often wonder why the demons asked to be thrown into them, if they were just going to kill them. 

     This story demonstrates that the Kingdom of God is a kingdom of peace and love, and stands in stark contrast to the kingdom of darkness.  All who draw near to You will have peace, those who don’t, experience great troubles.  Jesus, You have power and authority over all things, even the obstacles that seem impossible to overcome.  Nothing in this world can stand against the Creator and his word.  All it takes on my part is faith.  Jesus, You say to believe in You and I will be set free.  Faith overcomes and your love surpasses all things.

     All I know is that Jesus has all authority and not one created thing can stand against him because his power is great.  I stand in awe and thank God, for choosing to love me and show his love and mercy through Jesus, instead of wiping out all of creation, after the first sin.  He makes me new and lets me abide under his wings.

     In warfare, I have to be clothed in Jesus and actually be walking out my faith and not just saying that I am.  How will I operate in the Kingdom if I don’t believe in Jesus’ authority, above every other name?  He saved the man, instead of the pigs, instead of money and business.  Jesus is more concerned about man’s eternal spirit than the physical things of this earth, which are only temporary.  His authority may offend some, but I know that he is good and his works are eternal.  Am I not called to share all the good things he has done in my life in order that the lost be found?   
His kingdom may not be of this world, but it does manifest in the hearts of his people.  His kingdom is one of peace, where I can make my home.

Mark 4:35-41

    There is such a contrast that I see when meditating on this first portion of this passage. A storm in raging on the out side and the disciples are freaking out, but there is Jesus sleeping like a baby with His head upon His pillow as if nothing were happening! How is He sleeping through all this commotion? How is He not shaken out of His sleep from the crashing of the waves beneath Him? Maybe He was dreaming of the very day He formed the very lake they were sailing on? He had no reason to wake up from fear of perishing, but for the sake of his disciples who were filled with fear who called His name, and shook Him out of His restful sleep, He will show them why they have nothing to fear. So He arose, and “rebuked” the very same waves that He spoke into existence. The waves became embarrassed at the sound of their creators voice, and they were immediately calmed. The wind that blew on the water fled in fear of the command of its Maker “Peace, be still.” The disciples were stunned and shocked. I cannot even imagine being Peter, and watching one of my best friends tell a deathly storm cease! 

I can imagine how Jesus longed to enlighten the disciples on why the wind and the waves had to obey Him. It may have sounded something like this. “Friends relax! Be of good cheer. Why are do you have no faith, and are filled with such fear? Do you not know who I am? Has this miracle confused you regarding who I am? Do you not know that I am the One who was in the beginning with the Father and the Holy Spirit who hovered over the face of the earth? I made this sea and said to it this very sea this far and no more! When the waves of the sea burst forth, I am the One who fixed its limits with doors and sand. I held this sea in the very hollow of My hand. You cannot even speak to these clouds to send forth rain, or hold it back unless I permitted! For I am the Master Craftsman who was the Fathers delight eve before We created the world. I am He who spoke then, and speaks even now and the wind and waves recognize and know exactly who I am!” Imagine if Jesus just spewed off the book of Job to them! They may have feared less about their lives being at risk, and a little less confused about who this Man is that the wind and waves obey Him!

Mark 5:1-20

What must the state of this poor man have looked like? He brutally mutilated himself and spent every waking moment in the tombs. He was tormented day and night without any rest or ceasing! How strong these demons were that not even chains or shackles could bind him. This  man’s torture sounds a lot like what this man would have faced in hell unless Jesus had not met Him as soon as He got off the boat. His heart was moved with absolute compassion for this man! Oh how the legions of spirits that tormented this man trembled when Jesus stepped off the boat. They felt the shift in the spiritual realm as soon as He stepped foot on that region. Every demon recognized who this Man was. They knew He was the Son of the Most High the One whose victory over death, and every principality, and power was certain. They trembled in fear knowing His ability to cast them out from a human being, and torment them by sending them to search for someone to enter. For until they find someone to enter they do not have rest.  Jesus desire for this mans restoration was great. With one command every tormenting spirit left him, leaving him sitting and in his right mind. 

I ask myself why those who heard and saw this marvelous miracle that Jesus did, why did they beg Him to leave their region? They pleaded with Him to depart. Every demon in that region knew who this Man was, as soon as He set foot on the land they trembled! And yet these men and women could not even recognize their Savior and the Prince of Peace who was their Messiah was amongst then. How hard their hearts were by their lack of faith! Seeing they did not see, and hearing they did not hear.

When it became dark the disciples wanted to go to the other side of the lake. Seeking solace from a long day of ministry, they left the crowds of people and took Jesus in the boat with them. Unbeknownst to them a storm was brewing.  As they began to go their way an angry storm came and attacked their boat. Wave after wave began to tumble over them nearly emerging their boat. I can only imagine their fear and dismay as this storm raged against them. They were only seeking peace from the crowds of people when this storm crept upon them. Now the disciples went to get Jesus and they found the Master asleep in the stern! Now I can’t imagine anyone being able to get sleep during a storm with water getting you wet. It is hard for us as Americans to fathom receiving a restful night’s sleep without our fancy mattresses. Imagine trying to get a good night’s sleep in the middle of an angry storm? Now the Word of God describes this storm being so awful, almost dumping their boat over. However Jesus was not bothered by this in the least. He was catching up on His sleep while His disciples were panicking. 

The disciples quickly woke Jesus and with hurt feelings asked Jesus if He even cared if they drowned in this storm.  Instead of answering them, Jesus got up and rebuked the winds and commanded the waves to be quiet!  After Jesus commanded the storm to cease it was immediately calm. He asked His disciples why they were so frightened and why they didn’t have any faith by now.  The disciples were frightened by the power and authority Jesus had over the storm, for it had obeyed Jesus. 

Is this not how we respond to the storms that rage in our lives? When the cares and worries of this life come crashing on us we panic franticly looking for Jesus, but when we look we find is asleep.

 In fact, He is the one sleeping while this furious storm rages on, why can’t we sleep with Him? Why do we find it so hard to trust our Peacemaker and our Prince of Peace?

Even His disciples, the ones who walked closely with Him found it hard to rest during the storm. They even questioned Jesus’ concern for their wellbeing. During the storms of our lives we must realize that Jesus is in our boat. And that He has been asleep the whole time. He knows the right time to awaken and silence our storm. For if the natural waves and winds must obey Him how much more our circumstances? We must trust the Masters leadership over our lives. He knows full well all that we can handle. I am so glad we serve a God who is in control and has authority over nature and much more my life.

After making it through the storm thanks to Jesus, a demon possessed man came to meet Jesus after He got out of the boat. Now the disciples had already encountered a storm and were only seeking solace in the first place. Now a man filled with evil spirits comes to greet them. I can only imagine what the disciples were thinking at this point. Now this man was so bound by these devils that he lived in the graveyards and he could not even be controlled by chains. Many times people had tried to control this man by chaining his hands and feet. He would always break free; there was no one powerful enough to contain him. During the night, he would cry and cut himself out of agony and torment.

Now when this man only saw Jesus from a distance this man running to Jesus fell at Jesus’ feet in trembling surrender. He shouted at Jesus asking what he wanted with him. He even began to call Jesus the Son of the Most High God. Even demons recognize the authority of Jesus. For at the command of Jesus these demons knew that they must flee from this man. After Jesus told them to leave him He asked these demons their name. The demon told Jesus its name was Legion for they were numerous. NO wonder this man had been tormented so and no one could keep him chained. 

Knowing Jesus’ authority the demons begged Jesus not to make them leave the area. They even pleaded with Jesus to drive them into a nearby herd of pigs. Now at Jesus’ word those demons left the man and entered the herd of pigs. Now the herd of pigs which numbered about two thousand being possessed by these demons ran and drowned in the lake. Now I can only imagine this scene as it played out. These herds of pigs were minding their own business when they were suddenly possessed by these evil spirits. Even though this man who had been tortured by these demons was free it caused quite a commotion in this town. The ones that were in charge of these pigs ran and told the townspeople of all that had happened.

When the towns’ people came, they saw this man who had previously been so bound that he could not live within their r community, free and clothed.  Now instead of breaking out in worship and thanksgiving they were so afraid that they asked Jesus to leave. They thought the peace of their own lives was of more importance than the freedom of demon possession. How sad that when Jesus comes with deliverance that we beg him to leave because we dislike the way He brought deliverance.

When Jesus did what the people asked and left the town, the freed man begged to join Jesus. Instead of allowing the man to come He told this man to go home and testify to the mercy of the Lord. Now when reading this at first it seems mean of Jesus not to allow this man to join Him however Jesus knew exactly what He was doing. This man began to declare the testimony of Jesus and the fame of Jesus’ name was spread and people were astonished. Jesus knew this man would preach His name unashamed because He had been made free.

When Jesus steps in on the seen everything is disturbed. Demons have to bow in Jesus’ presence at His very appearance they tremble. When Jesus steps into our situation tormenting spirit must flee! I am so grateful that Our Jesus is not only the peacemaker of the winds and waves but He has authority over the tormentor!! This is the one we serve, Jesus the Peacemaker and Deliverer. Praise the Lamb!

Mark 4:35-41

In this passage we see all of Jesus’ disciples fearing for their lives. The funny thing is that most of these men were fishermen and have probably seen many storms on the Sea of Galilee and knew how to react to them. I can only imagine how fierce this storm must have been for them to truly fear for their lives. Here are some fishermen running around a boat terrified by this storm while God, the Almighty, is sleeping down below them. The fact that they feared for their life shows that they doubted whom Jesus was, and that He did not have authority over everything.

I can just imagine them waking Jesus up yelling, “don’t you care that we are all perishing?” We find out that the disciples thought even Jesus was going to perish through their reaction to how He deals with the storm, but we will look at that later. We find out that even the disciples are like us and have flaws; they allowed their fear to overcome their faith. This instance seems to remind me of a lot of times when I feel like everything is going wrong and that Jesus is just sleeping through all the hard times of my life. It always seems that the time trouble hits is the time God decides to ‘sleep’. So I come to Him, like the disciples and ask, ‘Lord, don’t you care what’s going on in my life, don’t you care that I am sick?’ It’s at that moment when I feel like God is not answering that He answers in a mighty way.

I look at the disciples’ situation as a very similar one to my own experiences. They come to the Lord asking if He cares, and he quiets the storm with just His words, much like He calms our little storms. It’s so easy to look back at the disciples and know that of course Jesus is going to just calm the storm, and we take the side of Jesus and ask why did they have such little faith? But of course it’s easy for us to say that, since we know how the story plays out. If it’s so easy for us to see God as He is in the scriptures and believe, why is it so difficult when it becomes a real life situation? I find it easy to believe that Jesus will calm the storm for the disciples, but find myself doubting when it comes to Him healing me of an illness, or pulling me out of financial problem.

Like the disciples, we get too caught up at focusing on how big the storm is outside the boat that we forget of how big our God is. We should always have a Psalm 23 mindset; even though we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death we have nothing to fear for the Lord is right there with us. No matter how big a problem may seem it is nothing to big for our God.

Mark 5:1-20

After Jesus calms the storm, Him and His disciples come to Gerasenes where they see a man with a multitude of demons within him. I always get the picture of a zombie looking guy staggering out of a tomb toward Jesus and the disciples. I wonder what the disciples’ first reaction to this man must have been. They were probably on edge from the storm and being corrected, yet again, by Jesus and now comes this man running towards them with an ‘unclean spirit’. The man is described as someone that no one could bind, being able to break any shackle or chain put on him.

This demon possessed man probably filled everyone’s speech throughout the land around him. People were probably talking about him non-stop, telling each other of what they thought this man looked like and giving their own stories about how their ‘friend’ had seen him one night. Scripture is not clear on if everyone did know about him or if they talked about him, but I imagine that it wasn’t something that people ignored.

This man is demon possessed and probably terrified everyone, by his strength alone. When scripture says that no one could bind him, I get the picture of the toughest guys of the town trying to bind him with the highest quality of shackles, yet the man still breaks out of them. Everyone in the town must of known about this guy and talked about him quite often, however it makes me wonder that if a man like this was known, what was the herdsmen doing over there?

Scripture does not give us an account of how the disciples reacted to this man, but I imagine that they were feeling pretty safe; they did just see Jesus calm a whole storm and take dominion over nature itself. However this man is being controlled by a multitude of demons know as ‘legion’. Jesus casts all of the demons out (the number is unknown) and allows them to go into about 2000 pigs, which then run off a cliff and drowns. This brings up several question, first of all how did the pigs drown, when pigs can swim? And what are pigs doing in a Jewish community?

The Bible does not tell us in detail what happened to the pigs, but only that they drowned after they ran off the cliff. And there is no telling why there were herdsmen with their pigs in that area. All we do know is that a man was being controlled by many demons and that Jesus was able to cast them out of the man just by his words. This shows that no matter how bad we think the enemy may be tormenting us or how bad we think we may have it. Jesus is able to overcome it in an instant. Like the man, Jesus has taken a multitude of evil things out of us, but are we willing to listen to Jesus after He has done so. Jesus tells the man to go home and tell his friends what has happened and what the Lord has done for him.

Like the man we are to tell all of our friends what the Lord has done for us, and how He is working in our lives. One thing we need to understand is that there is power behind our testimony, when we share what the Lord has done in our lives it not only builds up the faith of the ones we tell but it also build up our own faith. We must hold on to our own testimony, because it is what reminds us that Jesus truly is the Living God who works on our behalf and cares deeply for us. So we need to keep in mind that weather it comes to overcoming our daily storms or purging all evil within us, Jesus is able to do so with just His words. It is through His words that he releases His power. For Heaven and Earth will pass away but His words shall never pass away.

10/3/09 – 10/5/09

I hear the shrieking of winds, the crashing of waves, the rumbling of thunder, the whipping of sails, the creaking of wood, the snapping of oars, the wailing of men.  I hear my heart pounding wildly in my ears like a deafening drum.

I see the seas surging, blocking the horizon with their mountainous peaks.  I see the clouds gathering, blotting out the stars and the moon.  I see the ship staggering, taking in more and more water with each lurch.  I see my terror reflected in the frightened faces of the other men.

I feel the mist on my strained face, the wetness of my submerged legs, the dryness in my constricted throat, the tension in my trembling body.  I feel splinters pricking my hands as I tighten my grip on the vessel.  I feel spasms agitating my stomach as I clench my abdomen to fight back nausea.

But I cannot hear my own thoughts.  I cannot see the safety of the shore.  I cannot feel the pain that tells me I’m still alive.  Fear grips me and I panic.  A storm surfaces in my inner being and my mind, heart and soul deteriorate into chaos.  Soon it rages within me and I let go of the boat to move, to run, to scream, to do something, anything other than standing in the corner, seized with despair.  I take a few steps and I get thrown to the deck floor.  There’s sea water everywhere.  I am on my hands and knees, soaked and barely containing my sanity, and in the haze of the turmoil, my eyes catch sight of Jesus.  I see Him in the stern, sleeping soundly in the midst of the storm.

What kind of man slumbers at a time like this?  Does He not know that we are on the verge of death?  And then I remember that it was Jesus who made the decision to cross the sea.  It’s His fault that we’re in this mess.  A desire to curse Him arises in me but I quench it before it passes my lips.  I wonder, is anyone else is thinking the same thing?  All of our lives are in danger because of Him.  How can He sleep while we are in distress?  We need counsel, comfort, clarity.  He needs to know we are perishing.  He needs to know that my life is surely over because I followed Him.

I crawl towards him little by little.  The wind and the waves rock the boat harder.  As I make my way, I begin to question whether I made the right decision in following the strange man from Nazareth.  When He called me, it seemed like the possibilities were endless.  But was the hope He offered false?  He shows us wonders and miracles we have never seen before but He has yet to deliver our people from oppression.  He stands up against the Pharisees but wastes his time on the hopeless and untouchable.  He reveals and clarifies the nature of Yahweh but speaks in confusing and difficult parables.  Can I trust Him?  My mind responds with a resounding “No” as I realize that I am about to die in the sea like a common fisherman rather than rule with the Messiah like a mighty conqueror.

I finally reach Jesus.  I grab Him, intending to shake Him as forcefully as I can, partly out of the need to be more violent than the storm and partly out of spite.  But He wakes immediately at my touch.  I look into His eyes illuminated by the moonlight and my heart stirs with the same emotions of awe and contentment that I felt when I first saw Him.  But I smother those feelings and press on.  He needs to know how dire the situation is.  “Jesus, don’t You care that we are about to die?!”  Even as I speak them, I regret my words.  I sense His disappointment and it cuts my heart.  He rises and rebukes the storm as if He’s speaking to a petulant child.  Incredible.  In a blink of an eye, the wind dies down, the waves withdraw, and the sky clears.  Even the water in the boat recedes – through what hole, I know not.  Peace comes over the sea and it is as smooth as glass.  I hear no howling, I see no tossing, I feel no rocking.  He turns to me and helps me up.  The rest of the men gather around us, each one as sober and astonished as I am.  He looks at us with that piercing gaze of His and admonishes us in a firm but tender voice.  And I can’t help but agree with Him: why was I so fearful?  It seems so silly now.  Where was my faith in that crucial time of tribulation?  Never again.  I will not fail Him anymore.  I vow to fight to the last drop of my strength and if I lose my life in the process then so be it.

We cross the sea, all of us marveling at the stillness and beauty of creation around us, and we arrive in the region of the Gadarenes.  As soon as Jesus steps on the shore, I hear the chinks of broken chains and shackles.  I see a crazed man running towards us.  He is naked, his body covered with cuts – some old and scarred, others fresh and bleeding.  But more than his appearance, it is the distress and anguish in his face that grips me with fear.  My first instinct is to grab Jesus and flee to safety.  I step out of the boat, trip on the ledge and fall onto the rocks.  I tear up from the pain and become acutely aware of my glaring weakness and limitation.  Failure again.  I mutter a curse against my infirmity and force myself up.  When I wipe away the bitter tears, I see the man bowed down before Jesus, worshiping Him.  They exchange words, Jesus speaking, the man shouting.  An unclean spirit.  Demon-possessed.  Not just one, a legion of them.  No wonder.  The power to loose chains and break shackles cannot come from a mere man.  But here is the multi-fold demonic spirit, bowing down to Jesus, begging Him for mercy.  At His command, they leave the body of the afflicted man.  I am amazed, even more than I was moments ago in the calming of the storm.  Even spirits observe His authority and conform to His will.

News of the deliverance spreads and people gather.  A commotion erupts and soon, I’m back on the boat with Jesus and the others, back in the serene sea that nearly destroyed us.  As I sit on the deck watching Jesus, I realize we are leaving after ministering to just one person in the entire region.  We suffered through a treacherous storm for the sake of one human being.  Yet that one soul is irrevocably changed now.  Freed from his spiritual chains and restored to his right mind.  He is given a new life and his immediate desire is to follow Jesus, just as I am following Him.  A feeling of gratitude strikes me.  How privileged I am to be in His presence, to be with Him where He is, to be able to experience the depths of His mystery.  His ways are unknown to me but I will travel to the ends of the earth with Him.  I will not let my human frailty overcome me in times of testing.  Never again.

I hear myself declare these vows again and they sound so empty, so hollow to my ears.  My spirit tells me that my own might will accomplish little; that there is only one salvation in the midst of the storms of life; that I need to look to the One who commands the wind and the sea and the One who has power over the natural and spiritual realms.  I fix my eyes on Jesus and try to remember how long it has been since I met Him.  How could I have followed Him for so long and not have known what He was capable of?  And a realization breaks in.  My pride resists it but I find the strength to acknowledge and confess that I do not know who He really is.

Who are you Jesus?  “The Son of the Most High God” was what the spirit had called You.   My mind cannot fully grasp the implications of this.  All I know is, wherever this journey takes me, I will direct all my strength, as feeble as it is, and all my senses, as inadequate as they are, to that which is central and vital: listening to, fixing my eyes upon, and experiencing the fullness of the One called Jesus, the Son of the Most High God.

Jesus turns to me and smiles.  Then He makes His way to the stern of the boat and lies down once more.  I laugh for the first time in a long time.

Mark 4:35-41 “Jesus Calms the Storm”

It was near dark when the storm hit; waves began to crash in over the boat. All of us began to panic as we realized that the storm was more powerful than us; that nature could not be controlled by man. Even this boat, the best of our craftsmanship, could not hold up against the brutal forces of wind and rain. As we looked around for help, we were dismayed to see that Jesus was sleeping! How could anyone sleep through such a storm? Did He not realize the danger we were in? All of these questions escaped our mind as we watched Him rebuke the winds and command the storm to cease. Who is this man?

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One of the most interesting things I learned from meditating on this passage was that Jesus not only calmed the storm, but also was the One who allowed the storm to come in the first place. The fact that He possessed the power to control the winds shows us that He could have just never allowed the storm to form. Throughout scripture we learn that God often puts difficult times in our lives so that He can demonstrate His power and glory through the restoration process that occurs when we ask Him to end the trial. Storms have a purpose in our lives, and we must view them from the right perspective.

Secondly, I learned that Jesus has two expectations of us during times of trial: that we are not to be fearful and that we ought to have faith in Him. These two go hand-in-hand, since our faith in God to bring to us restoration will diminish our fear in the meantime. It is a lack of hope that causes us to be fearful when the storm comes. Knowledge of what the end result will be gives us endurance through the tough times. The disciples’ lack of faith demonstrates a common weakness held by most of humanity: we doubt God’s ability and willingness to act on our behalf. The disciples had already seen Jesus heal many people and cast out demons, and yet they were totally shocked to learn that even the wind and the sea obey Him! Similarly, we often hear testimonies of others being healed, but doubt that God will do the same for us.

Finally, the Lord showed me through this passage the foolishness of our frantic, anxious hearts. As the disciples were desperately searching for an immediate solution to their problem, Jesus was just sleeping. We are so quick to lose hope, become anxious and make the assumption that the Lord does not care for us. The fact that Jesus was sleeping shows His detachment from the worries of this world and the peace He has that surpasses all understanding. Contrary to what the disciples were thinking, His sleeping did not at all mean they He didn’t care about them. In fact, His delay of response demonstrated a very important principle of intercession: He waited for them to approach Him and ask before He responded. Upon hearing their requests, He was quick to act.

Mark 5:1-20 “Jesus Delivers a Demon-Possessed Man”

After we landed on the opposite side of the sea, we were immediately approached by a wild, demon-possessed man who was known throughout the region as being dangerous. He lived amongst the tombs, crying out continually and cutting himself. No one could bind him. My first instinct, once again, was fear. There we were, having just survived a storm, and now a crazy, violent man stood before us. But then the oddest thing happened: the man began to worship Jesus and beg Him not to torment him. What kind of authority was upon Jesus, that demons recognized Him from afar and trembled in fear? Even an entire legion of demons had absolutely no power in the presence of Jesus! The demons desired to enter the swine nearby, and Jesus permitted them to do so. What a strange sight it was as two thousand swine stampeded down the mountain into the sea and drowned! The response of most of the people living in that region was fear; they pleaded with Jesus to leave. The man who was delivered by Jesus was so amazed by and in love with Him that he wanted to join us. Jesus told him, however, to go tell his friends about the Lord’s power and compassion.

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The first reality I was stuck with when meditating on this passage was the amount of influence that demons can have on a person. The man in this story was totally uncontrollable. He would break any chains that others tried to bind him with, and he could not be tamed by anyone. Though we don’t often see such manifestations of demonic power in our day, the enemy still has enormous strongholds in the minds and hearts of people all over the earth. I felt a need to take a much closer look at the spiritual warfare going on around and within me.

Though this first reality was a bit unnerving, the next thing that jumped out at me was very encouraging: Jesus has authority over all demonic power! Before Jesus had even said anything, the demons were already bowing down and worshiping Him. The demons were filled with such fear that they begged Jesus not to torment them. They knew His power very well. In fact, the demons were much more familiar with Jesus’ power than the disciples were in the previous passage! This should be troubling to us; that darkness knows the inner workings of light better than we who walk in the light.

I was also struck by the fact that Jesus had to give permission to the demons to move to the swine. The demons were not simply free to go as they pleased. The power of demons that I described earlier must be put into perspective. All demons are under the authority of Jesus and must obey His every word. Although demons have the potential to be controlling in our lives, we have authority over them through Jesus Christ.

The incident with the swine reveals to us two facts about demons: that they can possess any living thing (not just people) and that they, although being spirits, must always reside somewhere in the physical realm. It was not an option for the demons to just disperse into space; they had to choose another physical being to enter. It is astounding (and quite frightening) that such a large number of demons were manifesting in one single man; enough that they entered two thousand swine upon leaving him!

Finally, I love picturing the formerly demon-possessed man clothed and in his right mind at the end of the story. It is such a testimony of the transforming power that comes from Jesus’ compassion. It is important to realize that Jesus had not only the ability and authority to cast out the demons, but also the compassion and desire to do so. He could have just ignored the man or commanded the demons to not manifest until He and His disciples passed through the area. However, His love for the man would not allow Him to do so. Jesus saw the potential of this man and loved him even in his weakness. At the expense of Jesus’ reputation in that entire region, He saved one man’s life.

10-07-08

What I heard after reading the whole selection (Mark 4:35-5:20) was, “the storms looked the same in the spirit.”  Interestingly, in both cases those directly involved did not percieve the nuisance as a battle to be won primarily in the spirit.  The disciples were awestruck that Jesus’ words had authority over the wind and the sea, and the townspeople of Gadarenes could not believe the work and transformation of just a few simple words of His mouth.  I believe the reason for the wonder of the disciples and the townspeople alike is the fact that they discerned the threats as merely physical.  Fear struck their hearts as they began to realize there was more to this life than meets the eye.  “Verily, the life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing!” they must have exclaimed.
I want to examine this fear briefly.  In the first instance – the disciples’ case – Jesus calls them out on their fearfulness almost as if to exhort them against such a posture of the heart, and yet the very next verse says, “they feared exceedingly.”  Their fear increased after Jesus spoke with them.  Jesus’ words calmed an ominous storm to a sea of glass, and yet the hearts of men remain untamed by His words.  Oh, the defiance of the hearts of men!  Even here we see the wickedness and opposition in the heart of man toward his Creator.  Just like the beginning:  as if the disbelief did not cut His heart deep enough, we go on to disobey.  Is it not ironic, then, that they marvel over the fact that the wind and sea obeyed Him, completely unaware that it was their hearts He was after in all of it?
This deliverance is absolutely absurd.  The demon-possessed man RUNS TOWARD Jesus as soon as he sees Him – nobody had to beg Jesus to come or speak a word, and Jesus did not have to search for this man.  HE, the demon-possessed himself, came to HIM.  They must have known He was coming.  Just the idea of His coming tormented them – so much so that they implored Him BY GOD not to torment them.  Is this the “God-have-mercy” of demons??  Then after the thing, Jesus’ instruction to the man is this:  “Go home TO YOUR FRIENDS, and TELL THEM what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”  What in the world?!  First off, do extrememly demon-possessed men have friends??  Would he even have fellow countrymen he could call his own?  What a restoration of identity spoken here by Jesus.  Go HOME to your FRIENDS.  The man, then, did not even think twice to go do what Jesus told him.  This sentence fragment restored an earthly home and community to this man who should have been void of all dignity and favor, outcast forever.  So the compassion of Jesus extended far beyond the act of relieving this man from his torment – He fully restored him.  The second thing about Jesus’ command that struck me was the fact that He said, “Tell them.”  That was not the common instruction of Jesus after any of His works.  More commonly heard was, “Go and tell NO ONE.”  Of the compassion of the Lord He entitles him to speak freely…

10-09-08

Across this particular span of scripture, it appears Jesus did not have much to say.  We as humans try to place so much value on words that we have made to have no weight.  We have negated the need of a life in the same accord as the words a man proclaims, as long as the words are eloquent and satisfying.  And yet here Jesus says so little and brings so many to a place of fearful awe and amazement.  Is there not a lesson to be learned here??  The reason our words are so shallow and empty is because our lives are shallow and empty – they have no substance, no real eternity, to them.  Jesus did not have to seek out the storm or the demon-possessed man.  Instead, they were drawn to Him – the thick, volumous substance of God wrapped in a human body.  And Jesus knew exactly who He was.  Jesus demonstrated constant perfect faith because He was perfectly secure in who He was.  He is God, so what He says HAS to happen.  Because He’s God.  So He has no doubt – there is NO doubt at all in His entire being – that He has complete authority because He knows who He is.  So basically, when Jesus points out the disciples’ lack of faith, He is expressing His grief over the fact that they still have no idea who they are.  If they really comprehended and laid hold of who they were, they would have operated in faith and authority in all manners of life.
I find it especially encouraging that Jesus would cross over a lake through such a marvelous storm – waste all that time – to deliver one man of his affliction.  That one wretched human soul, one single human life, would find so much favor in and draw so much compassion out of the heart of Jesus.  Jesus is so, so good.

Mark 4:35-5:20

vs 41 They were completely unaware of Jesus’ absolute Father ordained soverignty. We have absolutely no idea of how much God plans everything out and how He controls all and everything that we could possibly be worried with. When trouble arised the disciples forgot that it was God who sent them and that He knows all things. I believe that the root of all unfaithfulnessis unbelief and so they didn’t even have a revelation of His divinity. When I don’t have my devotional time with God Its because I don’t really have the revelation of His zealousness for all of me. Within the revelation of His soverignty is true peace; when we that He’s planned it all ahead before we were born it brings a sense of peace and assurance that we’ll succeed. The fact that Jesus was human and went through all the same suffering that we go through and He was successful shows us that He made a way in every aspect. He knows how  everyone of us should walk and what steps we need to take in order for us  to not fall. Jesus is the perfect example, He’s our model and all we need to do when we feel like we’re gonna fall is to ask Him what he did in His situation when He was o the earth. We need to admit to Him that He knows our struggles, that He experienced them in all it’s fullness an dovercame them all 100%. The God of Peace is the good and Faithful God who knows all and plans all. The peace that is in God is availible to those who believe that He is truly good always and that he planned every movement that we could ever make. For all those who love Him, their troubles will end with a blessing, for He is faithful to turn every attack from the enemy into a strike straight into the heart of Satan’s kingdom. Jesus never got calloused or bitter even when the fullness of the weight of sin was upon His shoulders; He experienced the unhindered wrath of God, an injustice at its worst, and He was still tender.

vs37-38

The bost was filling up with water and they were upset at Jesus because He wasn’t helping them keep the water out. When we are panicking to try to get a solution to our problems God is just relaxing because He doesn’t have to do a lot to end our problems. He was probably dreaming of the Father and how They will be with all the believers forever, but instead of dreaming with them we wonder why He isn’t helping us. We need to realize that we are first in His plans and then He is in ours. He is truly the Master; do slaves every yell at their master wondering why he isn’t involved with their project. They don’t, they know that he is over them and has a better plan. We are so unjust, when God gives us an assignment we always try to take the responsibility from Him and try to do it in our fleshly striving. We need to give Him the keys to the car of our life because He candrive it so much better than we can. It won’t always be as quick or as easy as that but it will always end well for those who surrender to Him in love.

chapter 5:1-20

At the wosrt part of the country was the tombs, and at the center of the tombs was a demonized man. At every dead and dark place of our hearts there is a history of or an effect of a demon and only the Lord can make it clean. The Gerasene demoniac could not be bound by human efforts, and only His very words could blow it out. We all desperately need to give Him all, we need to pray that we would get sick of our own human striving and that we would be unsatisfied that God does not have all of us. We need to pray that we would have the courage to speak what He says when He says it, to do what He does when he does it. God doesn’t want a bunch of people that live in their own desires, instead He desires that we would be imitators of Himself and have the heart of Jesus. We must deny our own will and call it foolishness and the path to death and destruction. Pray to His word and no other, and pray for faith and confidence to walk out His commands. We need wisdom to know the right time to say what he says, in order that we can be His perfect mouthpeice in every situation. I think that the first step on t the journey of full posession is to engage in every empty moment, to seek Him in every availible space of time that we would always dwell in His heart so that our heart of stone would be turned into a tender one like His.

vs 15-17

Everyone  saw the change and saw the goodness in once demon-posessed man; their concern was the cost that it took to make the man free rather than his freedom. In all nations we are all worried about how things will affect usand that’s our biggest concern, we are so double-minded in that we want all the good from God but don’t want Him to mess up anything that we worked so hard to put together out of His will. In Gersene, the same as the world today, they would rather have the country terrorized by an uncontrolable powerful demonized man than have him free and the pig industry suffer. Whenever does something it advances His kingdom and tears down ours, and it always affects everyone because we have our hands in both.