“Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Mark 4:26-5:20 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; ²⁷ and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. ²⁸ The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. ²⁹ Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰ And He was saying, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is the smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil, ³² yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and forms large branches, with the result that the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.”

³³ And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to understand it; ³⁴ and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

³⁵ On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” ³⁶ After dismissing the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. ³⁷ And a fierce gale of wind developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. ³⁸ And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. ⁴⁰ And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. ² When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him. ³ He lived among the tombs; and no one was able to bind him anymore, not even with a chain, ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces; and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and cutting himself with stones. ⁶ Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; ⁷ and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” ⁸ For He had already been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Him earnestly not to send them out of the region. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding nearby on the mountain. ¹² And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us into the pigs so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ And then they came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had previously had the “legion”; and they became frightened. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the pigs. ¹⁷ And they began to beg Him to leave their region. ¹⁸ And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was begging Him that he might accompany Him. ¹⁹ And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

Today’s text says: They came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him. He lived among the tombs; and no one was able to bind him anymore, not even with a chain, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces; and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and cutting himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had already been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 

There is so much in this account that amazes me, yet very little that surprises me. First, I find it interesting that when Jesus calmed the storm, the text says:  The wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”  Yet it also says: Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had already been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”  So, the demons knew Jesus better than His disciples did. James 2:19 says: You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. What about us, do we truly know who Jesus is? Do we know the one who commands the wind and the sea? Do we shudder at the knowledge of who He is? Perhaps the difference between the disciples and the demons is that the disciples tried to understand Jesus from their natural, human perspective, while the demons recognized Him in the spiritual realm. The natural cannot fully comprehend the super-natural. In John 4:24 Jesus says: “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  For us to truly know the truth of who Jesus is, we must know with both our minds and our spirits. The more we know Him, the more we will love Him. In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus says: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.” If we love Him, then we do not need to shudder at the knowledge of who He is as, the demons do because: 1 John 4:19 says: We love, because He first loved us, andHis love is demonstrated in the cross. (Romans 5:8)

In the account of the deliverance of the demon possessed man the text also says: The demons begged Him, saying, “Send us into the pigs so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.  Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. And then they came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had previously had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the pigs.  And they began to beg Him to leave their region.  Why would the people beg Jesus, the worker of miracles, to leave their region? There are perhaps many reasons, the same reasons many people today are also unwilling to have Jesus abide in their presence. 1 John 5-10 says: God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. In John 14:15;21-24 Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments… The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him…  If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”  In order to abide with God, we must choose light over darkness. We must confess and be cleansed of our sins. We must keep His commandments. To abide with Christ, we must be willing to abide in Him. That requires that we allow the spirit to be our guide.

Galatians 5:19-25 says: The deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well. Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. Amen.