“What kind of a man is this"

Matthew 8:18-34 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. ¹⁹ Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰ Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ²¹ Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ²² But Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

²³ When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. ²⁵ And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” ²⁶ He *said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. ²⁷ The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

²⁸ When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. ²⁹ And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰ Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. ³¹ The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” ³² And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. ³⁴ And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.

There is an interesting subtle transition regarding the recognition of Jesus identity which is seen in today’s text. It begins with the scribe who addresses Jesus as teacher. This was a title of respect but it indicates that the scribe new Jesus only superficially, he knew one of Jesus qualities or gifts. The next disciple calls Jesus Lord, a greater term of respect, but it seems that Jesus recognized that there was still something missing in this man’s desire to be a true follower. The most interesting of all is what we hear from the men who were closest to Jesus, those in the boat with Him. In this account they are not named, but we would assume these were some of Jesus closest disciples, men who had been with Jesus and seen many miracles. Yet when He calms the storm, they say:   “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”     They were still recognizing Jesus as a man. Yes He was a teacher, He was their leader, their Lord, but they still saw Him as a good or great man. In Matthew 3:16-17, we read the account of the baptism of Jesus. It says:    After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, ¹⁷ and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”    According to Matthew’s account, it was not until later, after Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, that He began His ministry and began calling His disciples.

The demons though, who possessed the two men, recognized and knew Jesus in another way. Demons are spiritual, they recognized Jesus in the spiritual realm and we see in the text:   And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”  The demons recognized that Jesus was/is the Son of God. They also recognize the authority He has over them.         The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”        In James 2:19, James confirms the demons recognition of Jesus authority. He says:     You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 

Who do we see Jesus as? Many today believe Him to be a good or great teacher. Some recognize Him as a prophet and a leader worth following, even calling Him Lord. Jesus asks each of us the same question He asked His disciples in Matthew 16:13-19:

¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Each one must come to the realization as Peter did, saying of Jesus:  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”    It is not enough to know Jesus, the man who lived 2000 years ago, even to follow Him and try to live like He did. It’s not enough to know His teachings and try to follow them.  Each individual needs to recognize and know Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, their Savior, their Redeemer, the Son of the living God. Philippians 2:5-11 also speaks of Christ’s past and future identity. It says:         Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.         

  2000 years ago Jesus came as a man, yet even then He was called Emmanuel, God with us. At a time in the future, when Christ returns, no longer as a man, but as a conquering king, as the righteous judge, as the Lord of all, then:     at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,  and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  

We read previously in Matthew 7:21-23 that Jesus speaking of that time in the future says:  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”     It’s not enough to know and follow Jesus the man or Jesus the great teacher and prophet. It’s not even enough to know that He is Lord. Each one needs to know that Jesus is the Christ. In Matthew 16:20, Jesus gives the disciples an unusual  warning or direction regarding His identity. It says:  Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. Why would Jesus say that? The answer is in verse 17, Jesus says:   because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Jesus says:    “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” (John 6:44)

The recognition of Jesus as the Christ does not come through the words, the hype and the manipulation of men. It comes from God the Father, through the Holy Spirit. As those who are believers, those who know Jesus as the Christ, we are not to try to manipulate others to believe as we believe. We are to: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The gospel is the good news. The people of  Gadarenes rejected Jesus and chose to remain in darkness some today will also make that choice. We are simply to follow Jesus instruction to: Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.  

Thank You Heavenly Father for drawing me and giving me the revelation of Jesus the Christ, through the Holy Spirit. May I be faithful to live my life that others too will see the light and the revelation of Christ, to the glory of the Father.    Amen.