What kind of man is this? How will you respond?

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

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.  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.

As I meditated on today’s scripture text, what impressed me the most was that these accounts testify of Jesus authority in both the natural, physical realm and also in the spiritual realm.  The text says:    behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves… The forces of nature and creation can indeed be a frightening thing. The sheer power of wind and water can overcome even the large vessels made by man today.  Amidst the fury of the storm, the disciples feared for their lives. I wonder what their expectation was. What did they think Jesus would do in response to their dire situation?  The disciples said:  “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”    Jesus responded to the disciples saying:    “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”    I wonder what it was about the littleness of the disciple’s faith that Jesus rebuked.  Was it simply that the disciples did not know the authority Jesus had over all of creation?  Or was it that because of their little faith they were more concerned about the things of this world than they were with the kingdom of heaven? If we truly have faith in the kingdom of heaven, if we believe what Jesus says, that:   “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life,” we won’t be concerned and fearful about the things which threaten this natural life. If we are in Christ, then even in the midst of a great storm, we can rest in the peace and confidence of knowing that He can handle anything this world brings against us. We can say:  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)  The text says:   Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”   Jesus of course was not just a man, He was God in flesh. The wind and the sea had no choice but to obey the one who created them.

With Jesus and the disciples having been delivered through the peril of the storm, the text continues:    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. 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 first thing we see here is that just as the wind and waves recognized Jesus and His authority, so too do the demons. James 2:19 says:   You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.   Although men may question who Jesus is, the demons, and all evil spirits, recognize who Jesus is and that He has authority over them.  In the text, the demons try to make a deal with Jesus, the text says:  The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”  And He said to them, “Go!”    The demons new residence, in the swine, was short lived. 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.   Just as the wind and the sea, just as all of creation is obedient to Jesus, so too every spirit must obey Him.      For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD." (Romans 14:11)    At the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth. (Philippians 2:10)

In the text we see two different human responses to the display of Jesus authority. The disciples responded in awe saying:   “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”   In faith they continued as His disciples hoping to know Him fully. The people of the town where Jesus cast out the demons responded differently:    And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.   In many ways, these two responses are still the responses of people today. While we are here in the physical realm, in these natural bodies, we can never fully know and comprehend all that Jesus is. We cannot, with our finite minds, fully know the infinite God of heaven. Yet, like the disciples, even in the littleness of our faith we follow Him, we must trust Jesus. There are others, who like the people of Gadarenes, are uncomfortable in the presence of one they cannot fully understand. Many today, like those people, also implore Jesus to leave them. The winds and the waves had no choice but to obey. The demons too, had no choice but to obey the word of Christ. Only man has been given that choice. God created people with a free will. Each individual must choose how they will respond to Jesus. One day every knee indeed will bow and every tongue will give praise to God, at the name of Jesus every knee will bow.  All of creation, the wind, the waves, every spiritual being and all flesh will be and in fact is subject to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit although I cannot fully understand or comprehend all that You are, I choose to follow You. In response to Your great love, demonstrated in the cross, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, I bow in worship and obedience to You. Continue to reveal all of who You are and all of who You want me to be. In faith, even in the littleness of my faith I choose the kingdom of heaven over the things of earth.   Amen.