What kind of man is this?

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. 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.

In today’s text it says:  Behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.  And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 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.  The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”     “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”   Fear really is the opposite of faith. When we are afraid, we believe more in the things we do not want than in the things we do want. In the end, after Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea, the disciples said: “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”    Part of our problem, when we fear, worry or doubt, is that we think that the result or the outcome of our situation is based on our faith. We believe that like the disciples, our faith is too small. It was not the amount of the disciples faith that stilled the winds and the waves, rather it was Jesus. We need to understand that it is not the amount of our faith, but rather it is the object of our faith which will deliver us. We need not to question, as the disciples did, but rather we need to know and declare what kind of man Jesus is. We need to know and declare that He is God and even the winds and sea obey Him.  As Romans 8:31 says:  If God is for us, who can be against us?

Later in the text it says:  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?” Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”   While the disciples asked, what kind of man is this, the demons recognized Jesus. They knew they could not resist His commandment. James 2:19 says:  You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.   The demons recognized and believed that Jesus was the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the one to whom every knee shall bow. Look though at the response of the people of the region where the demons were cast out and the men delivered. The text says: Behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.   Many people today are also more comfortable living with the evil of the world all around them than they are abiding with Jesus. Many people fear the change that is necessary to abide in the light of Christ more than they fear the darkness of the world and the oppression of evil.

Here is the thing for us: Storms obey Jesus and demons fear and submit to Him. We, knowing who He is, that He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, need not fear the storms or the demons in and around our lives. If our faith is in Him, unlike the people of Gadarenes, we need to welcome Jesus into every area of our lives. We need to abide with Him and in Him and allow Him to abide with and in us. What kind of man is this? He is Jesus, the one to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer, thank You for the knowledge and the revelation of who You are, that You are the one that all of creation obeys; that You are the one known by demons, causing them to shudder. Abide with me and in me. I believe; my faith is in You. I am comforted in Your presence. If the storms and demons submit to You, what have I to fear? Thank You, my Lord and King.  Amen.