“Let us cross over to the other side.”
It had been a long day ministering, teaching the crowd. They had so pressed Him, that he needed to talk from a boat on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Evening was coming and he wanted to get to the opposite shore.So they started rowing across the sea.
When Jesus left His place in heaven and came to earth, He left His “God-belt” there and “in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest ,” Heb. 2:17
I find myself in a place of fear right now. This scripture is where Abba led me this morning in order to increase my faith. Like the tribes in the desert, the Lord has met me over and over, but my fear is asking if He can do even this? Mark 5, Luke 8 and Matthew 8, all tell about this day. Luke 18:8 says, “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” This seems to be the underlying theme of this story.
He was here to establish the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. He had chosen twelve very unlikely people to do that after He was gone. But for the three years He was with them, He was turning their law-driven lives upside down. They were being given a different world view and having to shift almost every thought and action. The foundations their lives had been built on were being shifted. (kind of like growing old)
On the trip over, he got tired and needed rest, just like you and me. He fell asleep in the boat. A storm had come up and was threatening to swamp the boat and the disciples were afraid. They woke Him and accused Him of not caring if they lived or died. He wondered at their lack of faith and it seems the rest of His time before He went back homewas to teach them (and us) faith. He told the storm to stop and it did! Which made them wonder even more!
They came to the country of the Gadarenes. When they landed, a demonized man ran up to Him and worshipped Him. He lived among the tombs and broke every chain the people tried to control him with and cut himself mercilessly. Jesus asked what his name was and was told it was, “ Legion, for we are many.” They were told they had to come out of him. They begged to be released into a huge herd of pigs. When that happened the whole herd ran over the side of the cliff and drowned. The swine-herders were frightened and ran into the town to tell what had happened. Word spread throughout the whole region. (that seems really fast) and a crowd came to see. What they saw had to be astonishing. This man who had been untamable was sitting, clothed, in his right mind, talking with Jesus. They were afraid and told Jesus He had to leave.
They were not happy their friend had been delivered. I think they were afraid something horrible would happen to them because Jews were not supposed to have swine. They were clearly outside of Jewish law and they saw the Rabbi’s judgement on the herd of pigs. They saw His power over the pigs and the man who had terrorized them for so long. They knew that according to Law, pigs were unclean. Yet they had chosen them as a source of income. They saw what happened to the pigs, what might happen to them?
The now sane man, asked Jesus if he could come with Him and was told, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.”
So, this man was chosen before the beginning of time to evangelize and reconnect a whole region back to their roots. This one poor, lost, demonized soul was chosen and placed right where he was, at just the right time to encounter Jesus and be forever changed.
The disciples had witnessed Jesus’ authority over the elements. They had seen the amount of time that had been spent on this demonized man and a whole region of disobedient Jews. From their viewpoint, my guess is they had huge questions.
Abba, Your wisdom, Your ways, Your thoughts and meticulous attention to every detail! May I, like Jesus, do only what I see You doing. May I always be attentive to Your voice. Lord help me to not overlook those things and people the world discounts, but that You are willing to waste a lot of time attending to.
Part two is coming.