Going to the Dark Side: Part 1
What was the purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth? Hint: there’s more than one right answer. In First John 3:8, John answers this question very clearly. In this context, John is writing about the relationship between sin and the child of God. He wrote, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
So, the Son of God was revealed so that He might destroy the works of Satan. It seems that John is simply reminding us of what God promised Eve in Genesis 3:15. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Some versions read that the seed of the woman, Jesus, will “crush” the head of the serpent.
In the Gospels, we see Jesus doing this very thing. Before He began His public ministry He endured a time of temptation in the wilderness. There, Jesus convincingly demonstrated His power over Satan, specifically, by using the written Word of God. In Mark chapter one, on the Sabbath and in the synagogue, Jesus delivers a man from a demonic spirit showing His mastery over the powers of darkness.
That brings us to our text for this study, Mark 5:1 to 20. Matthew and Luke also record the details of this amazing event. In the biblical record, not since God cast Satan and his angels out of heaven, have so many demons been simultaneously displaced by one divine command!
But before we get to our text, let’s consider the larger context. What was happening just before the events of this chapter? In Mark chapter 4, Jesus was teaching His disciples about the characteristics of the kingdom of God. He compared it to the mystery of a growing plant. The farmer plants the seed, but he can’t make it grow nor can he fully explain how it grows. Furthermore, He implied that the kingdom would start as a very small seed, yet it would grow into a large tree so the birds could come and nest in its shade.
Then, at the very end of chapter four, we have the account of Jesus sleeping during a wild storm on the Sea of Galilee. He was exhausted from a couple of days of nonstop ministry. They had been so busy that they didn’t even have time to eat! So, immediately, after they leave the crowds behind, He falls asleep in the stern of the boat. When the violent storm erupts, He keeps right on sleeping.
The disciples are struggling to control the ship and their fear is growing. They are facing the reality that this voyage isn’t going to end well, so they awaken Jesus with a cry of despair; “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” Jesus miraculously stills the wind and the waves and then the disciples are even more terrified. “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
That question is left hanging, as it were, in the air. In their understanding, only God, the creator of earth and sea can control such things. And that brings us to our text, Mark 5:1 to 20. Listen to Mark’s record of these amazing events.
If the disciples were out of their comfort zone during the storm and with Jesus’ response to the storm, the narrative we just read must have compounded their uneasiness. The unpredi...
