Introduction
One statement I’ve heard on numerous occasions, whether in the context of casual conversation or even when watching a formal debate, is that if God wanted to make himself obvious he surely could. The fact that he doesn’t show up the way Jesus “supposedly” did in the times of the gospel writers just proves that the whole thing is made up - or at least not substantial enough to be trustworthy.
The gospels themselves put the lie to this notion, though. People did see Jesus, and not only saw him, but witnessed his miraculous deeds. Still, they often found themselves confused by, afraid of, or repulsed by him. They saw him, but they had no eyes of faith to really see him. They were presented with the Messiah: and responded wrongly. Some loved the darkness rather than the light; others, like the disciples, had their eyes slowly opened to the light, like the blind man in chapter 8 of Mark’s gospel. As we’ve talked about multiple times recently: seeing is not synonymous with believing. We’ve talked about that in the sense that we need to pray for faith when we can’t see God’s work. But today we will see that we need to pray for that same Divine enablement even when his working is perfectly visible. As we’ll see in a series of confrontations in the text, it is all too easy to respond wrongly to Jesus.
Fearful Faithlessness
Let’s set the scene a little. Though it is very possible that the teachings throughout Mark 4 could have taken place at different times, the time markers in the passage seem to indicate that at least the teaching session at the beginning of chapter four directly precedes verses 35 and following. In verse one he is teaching beside the sea and the crowd presses in so tightly that he retreats into a boat to teach (v2). He then explains that parable privately to the disciples in v11ff, but in v33 we read a summary statement about how Jesus taught the crowds. So, likely when we come to v35 and “on that day”, we are to think of that same day that the crowds had been pushing tightly into Jesus and he had spent the day teaching. And we might rightly assume that Jesus is exhausted. Being outside in the sun all day is exhausting. Sitting on a boat in the sun can be draining for your body. Add to that the weight of many people and their problems and the duty of preaching the word, Jesus is probably shot mentally and physically, ready (in his humanity) for a pleasant nap across the lake.
Confronting Jesus
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he 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?”
Put yourself, for a moment, in the shoes of the disciples. They, too, have had a long day. They ran interference with the crowds, trying to filter who had closest access to Jesus. They had listened to him teaching in the sun all day, and no matter how engaging the speaker, you can imagine that listening for hours on end can be its own kind of exhausting.
Now, here they are, out on the Sea of Galilee. These are waters they know, and have traversed often at night (at least the fishermen in the group). They go out at night, though, because their weather was typically calmer at that time of day and it was safer. Nonetheless, a storm builds up. Storms on Galilee can whip up seemingly out of nowhere, as the lake is a geographic funnel, with winds pouring down out of the mountains and rapidly creating unsafe conditions. And that is precisely what happened in this circumstance. The windstorm arose, and their low-sided fishing vessel took on water quickly. The panic they felt was entirely reasonable from a human perspective.
Was Jesus panicked as the storm raged on? Apparently not, since he was asleep in the stern of the boat. These vessels apparently had cushions, intended for one guy at a time to take a rest, and Jesus was taking full advantage of it. It’s worth noting that this is the only time in the Bible that we read of Jesus sleeping. We read at other times he was distressed or tired, but only here of his sleep. Surely if the only time Scripture thinks it’s worth mentioning Jesus’ sleep is right here, it is significant that the context is the middle of an unrelenting storm.
The disciples go to Jesus, and wake him up. But they don’t ask “can you help us?” They instead ask, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
I wonder if you have ever talked to God this way. The storms of your life are raging - that could be a literal storm causing damage to your property, a relationship falling apart, a major disappointment in your career, the death of someone you love, a major financial crises: storms come in all shapes and sizes - and you go to God in prayer and say something like, “don’t you even care? I thought you loved me and worked things for good. Well, what’s this mess?”
As we’re going to see, Jesus will return the disciples’ rebuke with some pointed questions of his own. But while we must realize the disciples’ fear was misplaced and their rebuke uninformed and unwise, I do want to commend them for getting one this right, the most important thing: they went to Jesus with their fears. We are never right to question if Jesus knows what we’re going through, we’re never right to doubt the goodness of God. The fact remains that there are times when that is precisely what we are doing. We’re afraid and we doubt. What should we do? Get angry with Jesus? Try to hide from Jesus? Ignore Jesus and try to solve the problems on our own? No. We should join David, saying: “How long, oh Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). We must do exactly as the disciples did in this circumstance: go wake him up and ask your questions. That’s exactly what prayer can be at times. Going to God and saying, “I don’t understand how life can be like this if you love me. Please help.” Or to quote Psalm 13:3, “Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.”
It is only through this process of going to God with his doubts that David can land in the place of confidence of verse 6: “I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” Don’t hide your doubts from Jesus, he sees them anyway. Take your fear and distress to him.
Confronting the Storm
The next confrontation we read of in this text is after the disciples wake Jesus up. He does not immediately address them, but stands up and looks at the storm, speaking straight to the wind and the waves.
39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
I don’t know what the disciples expected when they woke Jesus up, but we’ll see momentarily that it wasn’t this. Jesus’ first words are to rebuke - yes, rebuke - the wind and the sea, saying, “Peace! Be still.” And, like the demons, the storm recognizes the voice of the Creator. And so nature responds in obedience to her Lord and Master. Jesus again demonstrates his power over nature, and produces, in the place of chaos, calm.
Do you know this is what Jesus desires to produce inside of you as well? When the Scripture speaks of a peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7), this is what it means. Regardless of what external storms may be raging, the reality of being in the boat with Jesus ought to bring to our inner life a sense of calm and order. Though by nature we are enemies of God and deserve his just wrath, Jesus came into this world to bear the weight of our sins and God’s anger toward those sins, so that if we trust in the shed blood of Jesus we might be forgiven of our sin and reconciled to him in adoption. Forgiveness is purchased by Jesus at the cross, and those who receive that forgiveness become God’s children. Knowing this is who you are has a way of steadying and anchoring your soul, regardless of what life may throw your direction.
If you don’t know Jesus, you are at the mercy of life’s storms. You must repent of your sins and trust in Jesus for forgiveness and submit to him as your Lord and God, or you will remain in your own fleshly boat, in danger always of capsizing. But if you know Jesus, you can have true peace, even in the middle of the storm. Christian, believer in Jesus, do you know this peace? It does not always come easily, it’s not a magic formula that just takes away worries, stresses, and anxieties. But if you will keep going to Jesus, keep asking him to reveal those areas where you have believed the lie that he doesn’t care about you or know what’s best, he will (sometimes quickly, and sometimes over the course of long years) bring you to a place of peace where you rest ever more on the abundance of his gracious care.
Confronting the Disciples
This gracious care is precisely what the disciples should have expected from Jesus. But they didn’t, and so Jesus confronts them in verse 40.
40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
The disciples had been with Jesus, and they knew to come to him. But they hadn’t actually trusted in his care or, apparently, even his ability to address the situation. Maybe they were just looking for him to be one more body pulling an oar or manning the sail. Because when he rebuked the wind, they were left stunned: “who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Who is he? He is the Lord of Glory, the Incarnate Word of the Father, the Eternal Son, Maker and Sustainer of all things both visible and invisible. And he calls for you to place your trust in him and obey him, as even the wind and the waves had done.
Fearful Repulsion
I now want to continue on into chapter 5 and look at the story of Jesus confronting Legion, because I think the people of the town also fail to respond rightly to Jesus’ power and authority. They see him exercise his power, and they are repulsed by it.
Confronting Legion
They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
In the first thirteen verses we see Jesus and his disciples reach the other side. But instead of it being a place where they can rest and relax, there immediately comes a man heading toward Jesus. And not just any man, but a man who has been possessed and seemingly destroyed by demons. He couldn’t live with other people, finding his home among the tombs and in the mountains, crying out like a loud animal and cutting himself. Though many had tried to subdue him, there was no chain that could withstand the demonic power contained in this man’s body.
I find it fascinating to read these verses carefully. Because it appears Jesus is saying repeatedly in v8, “come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Unlike the wind and the seas which obeyed immediately, it appears this is more of a process. The demon-possessed man sprints toward Jesus and falls on his face, as the demons within him speak out, “what have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” Often Jewish exorcists would use the name of a mightier being to try and control the demon, and here it seems that perhaps the demons are trying to control Jesus by invoking the Father. But while the Son voluntarily submits to the Father, particularly as it touches matters of his human will (see Luke 22), nonetheless, Jesus and the Father are One God, coequal in power and authority. Thus there is no power greater than Jesus. Jesus will not be mastered, but instead is Lord of the situation. In reply to Jesus’ repeated commands to come out, we have the demons repeatedly requesting not to be sent far away, perhaps fearing being locked in everlasting chains (Jude 1:6).
Jesus then demonstrates his power by asking their name. The reply? “Legion, for we are many.” Whether this literally means the number of a legion (3-6 thousand) or simply a whole lot, we don’t know. We do know that when they ask to be sent to the pigs, about 2,000 rush down the hill to their deaths. So there were a lot of demons dwelling in this man and tormenting him.
What do we do with how this story turns out? We certainly see the power of Jesus over demonic authorities. Here a Legion of the demonic host appears, and they must ask Jesus for permission about their next move. It is reminiscent of Satan appearing before the Father in Job chapter one. The devil is real, and powerful. Demonic powers outstrip the abilities of any mere human, as demonstrated by the chain-breaking power of Legion. But demonic power is kept on God’s chain. God can and does chain up Satan - he binds the strong man and plunders his house (3:27).
And Jesus plunders beyond the land and people of Israel. Here a man in the gentile region of the Gerasenes is freed by Jesus, and the unclean spirits are sent into the unclean pigs, who are then drowned in the sea. Some commentators see a link here with Exodus 14, where there is a miraculous sea crossing followed by the drowning of Pharaoh's legions. Israel triumphed as the seed of the Serpent was crushed by the Seed of the Woman. Here in Mark 4-5, Jesus leads a miraculous sea crossing and the legions of Satan’s host are also cast into the sea. Again, the seed of the Serpent is crushed by the Seed of the Woman. The same God who saved the people of Israel is leading a new Exodus, freeing people from the power of Satan and the penalty and power of sin in their lives. All who trust in Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, have a greater redeemer and leader than Moses ever could be.
We might be shocked by Jesus allowing the unclean spirits to destroy 2,000 pigs. But when he frees the unclean man by sending the unclean spirits into the unclean pigs, Jesus is signifying that he has come to cleanse all who will come to him. He is willing to clean not only the Jewish people, but everyone who comes to him by faith. Jesus has come to cleanse the gentiles, too.
Confronting the Townsfolk
The tragic turn in this story, though, is that the townspeople don’t see it. They are like the soil with no root, and the cares of this life - like the monetary value of pigs - prevents them from seeing the amazing deliverance Jesus has worked. They are simply terrified of his power and its consequences.
14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
Are there areas of your life that you are afraid of Jesus cleansing? Precious sins that you want to hold onto, areas of uncleanness that you are particularly fond of? It could be your lust. It might be your pride. It might be the idolatry of a political party. It could be a pursuit of success in your work or education at the cost of your family. In the Christmas hymn, “Joy to the World”, the writer urges, “let every heart/prepare him room.” This is the duty of each of us. You can refuse Jesus room by being an atheist, sure. But you can also deny him room while sitting in church and saying, “I don’t want to let go of that sin.”
Friends, if you resist Jesus over the long haul he will eventually let you have your way. They asked Jesus to leave, and he did. Do not resist the Lord. Brothers and sisters, whatever your precious pigs are, don’t let them come between you and Jesus.
Faithful Proclamation
The one character in our text this morning who gets that lesson is the man who was freed from demonic possession. The unclean man meets Jesus and is cleansed. And he wants to follow Jesus, going along with him to his next destination.
18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
Like the disciples in the upper room, this man does not want Jesus to go away. He wants Jesus to stay, but since Jesus has been asked to leave, he wants to go along. But Jesus says “no.” What is he to do instead? Go and tell his friends how much the Lord had done for him, to proclaim the mercies of the Lord. And here’s the great thing: he did! He went and proclaimed in the Decapolis, a group of 10 cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee, and the people who heard it all marveled at the power and mercy of God in Christ.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, do you know that is your task today as well? If you don’t know Jesus, your task is to bow the knee to his Lordship, and to ask him for cleansing from your sin, your wickedness, and your uncleanness. That is a prayer he will gladly answer, providing you with forgiveness and right standing with God. He will free you.
But once you have received that cleansing, he makes you a messenger. This man didn’t get a 5 step training in evangelism before Jesus sent him out. Jesus just told him to go tell people about the mercy he had received. Here, in our “Decapolis” of Remsen, Plymouth County, and Northwest Iowa, we have the same mission. To tell our friends and neighbors how the Lord has been merciful to us. Jesus has the power to calm our troubled hearts, and to cleanse our filthy souls. Look to him for forgiveness and peace, and then tell other people about him.
