In the parables about the kingdom of God, Jesus had claimed that his new Kingdom was going to grow from very small, almost invisible beginnings to fill the whole earth. If he claims a kingdom, he better be a king. Now he will show that he has the power and authority to make that happen.[1] Before we dive in to today’s passage, we need to talk about the time and place where Jesus lived.
The Jewish people were not a seafaring people. They liked land. You see throughout the Old Testament that they associated the sea with the fear and chaos.
· Psalms describes the sea as a dangerous place (30:1; 69:1-3)
· The sea contained Leviathan, which symbolized chaos and destruction that only God could control (Isaiah 17:12; 27:1; 51:9-10; Psalm 65:5-7; 77:19; 89:9; 93:3-4; Exodus 14-15; Isaiah 51:10; Daniel 7:2-7; Job 7:12).
· Once, on the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus walked toward them on the water during a storm, they were like, “Yeah, that’s a ghost,”[2] as if, obviously. That’s the kind of thing that shows up in a storm on the sea.
· The prophets saw God’s ability to control the sea as proof that God was strong enough to redeem his people (Isaiah 63:11–14; Isaiah 10:24–26; 43:2, 16–17; 50:2; Zechariah 10:11).[3]
· Isaiah 51:9–10 celebrates the deliverance from Egypt in this way: “Was it not you who cut Rahab [Leviathan] to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?”
The fact that they didn’t like the sea didn’t mean they avoided fishing. In the area where Jesus grew up, the Sea of Galilee was the place to fish. This lake is about 7 miles by 12 miles, so it’s big. Much like the great lakes, strong storms could hit fast. It’s surrounded by hills with openings where a river enters and then exits, and that funnels strong wind. When we read today that Jesus and his disciples went from one side to the other, it wasn’t just a jaunt. And to get hit by a major storm in the middle of the lake was terrifying.
When they get to the other side, they are in an area that is mostly Gentile. The inhabitants apparently came from to the Canaanite nations driven out of the Promised Land by Joshua and the Israelites (Joshua 3:10; Acts 13:19). These nations had worshiped Baal, and they ate (and sacrificed) pigs (Isaiah 65:3-5, 66:3).[4]
The Jewish people who live there seem have assimilated quite a but into the culture of their neighbors, if for no other reason than they are comfortable living around a herd of 2,000 pigs (the Law forbade Jewish people from having or eating pigs). That’s likely a temple herd, which served two purposes: meat for a Roman legion stationed there (whose standard was a wild boar), and sacrifices for the temple. And in an interesting sidenote, these pigs were sometimes sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff and into the Sea of Galilee.[5]
Here, Jesus will meet a demon-possessed man. Keep in mind that Jews, Romans, and Greeks all believed in a supernatural world inhabited by, among other things, demons that could possess people (though they didn’t agree on what demons were). Demons, though below the gods in their pantheons, were semi-divine beings that often became the local spiritual authority (think of Paul talking about people sacrificing to demons)[6]. When people were freed from a demon, typically some type of physical sign was necessary. Here are two examples from the culture at that time. The first is from the Greeks.
But Apollonius… ordered him to quit the young man and show by a visible sign that he had done so. “I will throw down yonder statue,“ said the devil, and pointed to one of the images that were in the king’s portico… when the statue began by moving gently, and then fell down, it would defy anyone to describe the hubbub which arose. [The account concludes with the young man showing his freedom from the demon by giving up his old way of living and following after Apollonius’ way of life.]
The second is from the Jewish community. Josephus records,
“Then, wishing to convince the bystanders and prove to them that he had this power, Eleazar placed a cup or foot basin full of water a little way off and commanded the demon, as it went out of the man, to overturn it and make known to the spectators that he had left the man. And when this was done, the understanding and wisdom of Solomon were clearly revealed.”[7]
So, the story we will read about demon possession and exorcism was not an unusual story for that time. There is record in all of those cultures of how the people went about trying to get demons out of people.
Jesus Calms a Storm (Mk 4:35-41; Mt 8:18, 23-27; Lk 8:22-25)
On that day, when evening came, Jesus saw a large crowd around him and said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” So after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was. As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him, and other boats were with him.Now a violent windstorm[hurricane] came down on the lake and a great storm [earthquake] developed on the sea. The waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. So they came and woke him up saying, “Lord (Master, Teacher), save us! Don’t you care that we are about to die?”
But Jesus said to them, “Why are you full of fear [fainthearted], you people of little faith [literally, failing to hear his voice][8]? Do you still not have faith [have you still not been persuaded]?” So Jesus got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the raging sea, “Be quiet! Calm down!”[9]
Then the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. But the disciples were overwhelmed by fear [respect, awe][10] and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!”
Jesus uses the same language to rebuke the wind as God did when he rebuked the waters at creation (Job 26:10–12) and later the Red Sea (Psalms 106:9).[11] Jesus’ power over nature was a sign that God was working again in history, as he had in the exodus from Egypt.[12]
Healing Demon-Possessed Man (Mk 5:1-20; Mt 8:28-34; Lk 8:26-39)
So they sailed to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat and stepping ashore, a certain man with an unclean spirit (demon- possessed) came from the tombs near the town and met him.[13]
He was extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way. For a long time this man had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among the tombs. No one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, but he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces.
No one was strong enough to subdue him. He would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places. Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him. Then he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God—do not torment me! Have you come here to torment me before the time?” (For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”)
Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?”[14]And he said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region into the abyss. There on the hillside, some distance from them, a great herd of pigs was feeding. And the demonic spirits begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.”[15]
Jesus gave them permission and said, “Go!” So the unclean spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of pigs rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake.
Now the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, telling everything that had happened to the demon-possessed man. So the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They found the man from whom the “Legion” of demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid [respect; awe].
Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed, and they also told about the pigs. Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they asked Jesus to leave them alone and begged him to leave their region, for they were seized with great fear [dread][16]. So he got into the boat and left.
As Jesus was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Return to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you.” So he went away and began to proclaim throughout the whole Decapolis what Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.
In both incidents we see:
· Chaos and violence; a physical and spiritual storm that seemingly cannot be controlled.
· The command to be silent. Literally, be muzzled.[17]
· The resultant calm.
· A ‘fear’ from observers that is at one point awe and another point dread, though the order is reversed: the disciples start with dread and end with awe; the others start with awe and end with dread.
* * * * *
The episode with the storm is not a new kind of story in the Bible. We constantly see a God who brings order out of chaos often represented as a turbulent, storm-ridden sea. Psalm 46celebrates the fact that even while the mountains are falling into the sea and the waters roar and foam, God’s people have no need to fear. ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10).
The disciples see clearly that Jesus holds the power that only God has. The same one who can restore peace to a tempest can also restore peace to a demonised life.[18] The King knows how to rule His Kingdom.
As I was studying this week, I found my empathy for the disciples increasing. It’s hard to trust God in the midst of storms. I appreciate this story. Jesus said, “Let’s go to the other side. Let’s go on a trip from here to there.” And the disciples were like, “Fantastic!” They had no idea that before they got to where Jesus intended for them to go, they would fear for their lives a storm hit that threatened to capsize their boat. And as far as they could tell, the King didn’t care that much about his Kingdom. He was asleep at the time they needed him most.
I’m not gonna lie – I would have yelled at him too. I mean, I have. Maybe you have to.
But notice Jesus doesn’t give up on them or leave them. In fact, the only thing he rebukes is the storm. He just reminds them: “If you really understood what I was saying, you would be persuaded to believe I am who I say I am, and you would not be afraid.”
He doesn’t berate or belittle them. He doesn’t shame them. He doesn’t reject them. He does yet another thing that should help them be persuaded to believe his is who he claimed.[19] And then he takes them on his next mission. He takes the ones cowering in the boat to his confrontation of a demon-possessed man who was ripping chains apart. I mean, if I were picking a band of brothers to go with me into that kind of situation, I wouldn’t want the group that had just yelled at me for not caring about them. But it worked out just fine, because Jesus didn’t need their power or their amazing fearlessness to take care of business.
It tends to make stories more meaningful if we can find ourselves in the story. Well, there we are. The disciples. Going from being in awe of Jesus, then wondering why he apparently doesn’t care, then being amazed again. Going from “Life is good!” to, “I might not survive this storm. Wherever we’re going, I’m not sure I’m gonna make it.” Lather, rinse, repeat.
But life unfolds like this story unfolds. There’s calm, then chaos, then calm, then chaos. Hope, then fear; peace, then anxiety; joy, then mourning. The sea of life is at times beautiful and at times not. Meanwhile, the King is in the boat with us.
One thing I know: with Jesus, will get to the other side of the most important journey of all, the one through this life and into the next. The second thing I know is that any storm I face on this of eternity, it will never be stronger than Jesus. He constantly, over and over, “makes a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over.”
The second thing I notice is that these two incidents give a real world example of the parables of the Kingdom Jesus just told.
Parable of the Sower: Jesus said, “Did you fail to hear my voice? Were you not persuaded?” He is pointing out that his word had not take root well at that point. They “received it with great joy,” but it was still shallow, and the cares of the world threatened to choke it out. The truth he had given them was struggling to grow well.
Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds: They are heading to a place with more weeds than wheat. When Jesus gets there, he does not destroy the weeds. Similar to what happened in Samaria with the Woman at the Well, he shows that in the Kingdom, the weeds can still become wheat. As long as there is time, we plant God’s truth.
The Parable of the Farmer: Just like the wheat grew without the farmer’s input, the possessed man was freed through no strength of his own. He was in over his head. Only Jesus could do it. And now the word was going to spread and Kingdom grow not because that man was amazing, but because Jesus is.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed: As the kingdom spreads (in this case to Gerasenes), others, like the demon-possessed man, benefit from it. And just like the evil birds from the Sower end up in the healing branches of the kingdom, so does the demoniac. The Kingdom rightly expressed should make everyone’s life better. If the branches of the spreading tree don’t provide healing to the nations[20] and hope for the brokenhearted[21], and it’s not a place where the weary and heavy-laden can find rest,[22] it’s not the Kingdom.
The Parable of the Yeast: Jesus just sends one man to evangelize the area. It only takes a spark. In the Hunger Games, they encourage each other with, “May the odds be ever in your favor.” That would be nice, but the odds may never be in our favor, and that’s okay. The power of the good news of Jesus Christ has overcome the odds over and over.
The Parables of the Pearl and Treasure. Notice that the inhabitants of the land don’t want what Jesus offers. It’s too high of a price. Their lives were oriented around the worship of the gods they knew. That pig herd = money. Staying on the good side of their god = comfort. Having a Roman legion that depended on them for food = security. I suspect that when Jesus handled Legion so easily, that was unsettling, which is why awe turned to fear. It’s a sobering reminder of the human tendency to look away when Jesus threatens to upend our lives.
* * * * * *
Parable of the Sower: Are the things we have “received with great joy” taking root? How will we know? There will be a crop of that which was planted. Forgiveness =forgiving. Love = loving. Kindness = doing kind things. Patience = actually being patient. Peacemaking = contributing to peace, not contention. Learning about Jesus = leaning on Jesus.
Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds: Take heart: Jesus turns weeds into wheat. He knows which one you are or how much you have of each in your heart, and He plans to do work. He did not come to destroy you; he came to destroy that which is destroying you so that you might have life.[23]
The Parable of the Farmer: Gospel truth will spread and the Kingdom will grow not because we are amazing, but because Jesus is amazing. His strength is perfected – shown in its full glory – in the midst of our weakness. He who ‘began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.’ (Philippians 1:6)
The Parable of the Mustard Seed: The Kingdom rightly expressed should make everyone’s life better both in the Kingdom and around the Kingdom. As our branches spread, there is meant to be nourishment, protection and shade for all. It’s yet another way God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain to the just and unjust.”[24] How are the branches of this church? Are we growing and flourishing as God intended: as a healing place of truth and love; a grace-filled place of hope for the brokenhearted; an oasis in the desert of the world where the weary and heavy-laden can find rest? I’m not trying to call us out. It’s just a reminder of what the Kingdom rightly expressed looks like.
The Parable of the Yeast: Your life and testimony matter. You might be that one person going into places that might be indifferent at best or hostile at worst. Go. Tell them what Jesus has done for you, and them, and the world. For some of us, it can sound really intimidating to tell people about Jesus, especially if you were raised in an environment that said, “Evangelism will look like this for everybody! There’s a template!” Jesus’ instructions strike me as simple and doable. The man didn’t need a degree or have memorized the entire Bible or be radically extroverted or have any special skills or talents. “Tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you.” Huh. If that’s a way to “give an answer for the hope that lies within,” that’s doable.[25] It’s lovely to have a bunch of people doing this, but it starts with one.
The Parables of the Pearl and Treasure. If there is a tendency to look away when Jesus threatens to upend their lives, this is a reminder to see and process Jesus for who he is. The people in Gerasenes loved the life they had too much to be bothered with Jesus. And it’s not as if the disciples didn’t struggle with this. At one point Peter rebuked Jesus for saying Jesus was going to be killed. “That will never happen to you.” Based on Jesus reply, I get the impression that Peter was trying to reassure himself that there would be no hard times if he stuck with Jesus.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)
Or, as Paul would later say it:
Whatever I used to count as my greatest accomplishments, I’ve written them off as a loss because of Jesus, the Anointed One. And more so, I now realize that all I gained and thought was important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing Jesus my Lord. For Him I have thrown everything aside—it’s nothing but a pile of waste—so that I may gain Him…
I am charging on to gain anything and everything Jesus has in store for me—and nothing will stand in my way because He has grabbed me and won’t let me go. Brothers and sisters, as I said, I know I have not arrived; but there’s one thing I am doing: I’m leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission.
I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed.” (Philippians 3:7-14, excerpted)
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[1] Mark: A Ransom For Many, Welwyn Commentary Series
[2] Matthew 14
[3] NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible
[4] https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/a-far-country-decapolis
[5] https://www.mysteriesofthemessiah.net/2016/01/08-06-03-gerasa-in-gadara-demon-possessed-gerasene/
[6] 1 Corinthians 10:20
[7] I found both of these stories recounted in “Demon Possession in the Greco-Roman World,” by Alan B. Howell.
[8] The word used here is used 5 times in the Bible, and it always means failing to listen to what was being said. HELPS Word Studies. https://biblehub.com/greek/3640.htm
[9] ‘He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed’ (Psalm 107:29).
[10] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
[11] NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible
[12] NIV First Century Study Bible
[13] Matthew records two; Jesus only interacted with the one.
[14] “In God’s name. This language appeared sometimes in magical exorcisms or often in other magical invocations of spirits…What is your name? Magicians often tried to control a spirit by using its name. If the spirits attempted to magically control Jesus in v. 7, they failed; here Jesus demands their name.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[15] If I am connecting the dots correctly between the locals associating demons with their local gods and the herd being for temple sacrifice, Legion basically says, “Those pigs are ours already. Can we just go into them?”
[16] Why dread? I suspect because their god had been beaten.
[17] “The exercising of authority over demons, in the land ‘under’ another god, was a message. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. And the people there were scared, they recognized this, but more, they realized the significance of this. Centuries earlier, just as God demonstrated His power against the Egyptian gods through Moses and Aaron, so likewise Jesus demonstrated His power against the Greek gods. Little wonder that they asked Him to leave. The Egyptians did the same to Moses.”
https://www.mysteriesofthemessiah.net/2016/01/08-06-03-gerasa-in-gadara-demon-possessed-gerasene/
[18] Mark: A Ransom For Many, Welwyn Commentary Series
[19] It reminds me a bit of Doubting Thomas, who wouldn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he had more proof, and Jesus gave him more proof.
[20] Ezekiel 47:12; Revelation 22:2
[21] Psalm 34:18; 147:3
[22] Matthew 11:28-30
[23] John 10:10
[24] Matthew 5:45
[25] 1 Peter 3:15