Lesson 10 Calming of the Sea, Demoniac Healed, and Life for a Daughter

Lesson 10 Calming of the Sea, Demoniac Healed, and Life for a Daughter Disciples Ordered to Cross Sea of Galilee Matthew 8:18-20; Mark 4:35; Luke 8:22 Mark is the only writer to connect crossing the sea on the same day as the parables. Luke tells us the city or territory they were visiting was that of the Gerasenes, which is also translated Gergasenes or Gadarenes in some translations. It is hard to precisely identify the place or people of their destination. Some believe it to be the people of Geresa, which was believed to be on the eastern bank of the Sea of Galilee, which would put it somewhat opposite Galilee as reported by Luke. Matthew says Jesus simply gave orders to depart to the other side (8:18), or to the country of the Gadarenes (v. 28) on the southeast part of the lake. Probably the best explanation for these different names is that the authors were all writing to their particular audience and using names familiar to their targeted readers, and the names all refer to the same place. On the heels of this command to cross the Lake a certain scribe comes to Jesus and tells Him he wants to follow Him also. The Lord s answer gives some insight into His perspective of what it means to follow Him. To do so puts one in a place of having less than the foxes that have a hole to live in, or birds which have a nest. The cost to follow Jesus is to leave everything and go with Him wherever He goes, trusting in God and the hospitality of others to meet your needs. Perhaps that does not even explain it all as anyone who follows Him should also understand that He is the Son of Man referred to in Daniel 7:13 who must suffer before receiving His kingdom (Luke 9:22). Another disciple said to Jesus, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father (8:21). To which Jesus replies, Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead. This request could mean a couple different things in light of some Jewish customs. One such custom was for the elder son to remain in the home of an aging father to see that he received proper burial. This disciple could have been asking leave of Jesus for an extended season to remain with a living father until his death and burial. Whatever the case, the call to follow Jesus carried difficult family and social sacrifices with it as well as physical sacrifice. The point is not that Jesus was advocating disrespect for parents (See Matt. 15:4), but that a disciple must be willing to put Jesus first above all else and follow Him at all costs. Jesus Calms the Sea Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:36-41; Luke 8:23-25 Jesus had recently been teaching parables to the multitudes in Galilee. Mark had pointed out that He was doing this from a boat (4:1). He now gave them instructions to cross the sea as night had settled on them (Mk. 4:35). Jesus was apparently exhausted from a long day of teaching and Mark explains that He went to the stern of the boat and fell asleep on a cushion (v. 38). He could also be tired do to the fact that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head as He had recently explained to the scribe that wanted to go with Him (Matt. 8:20). Matthew says a great storm arose (v. 24). Mark and Luke called it a fierce gale of wind (4:37; 8:23). 1

The Sea of Galilee lies nearly 700 feet below sea level and is surrounded by hills and small mountains. Warm air tends to become trapped in the basin over the water which is often met by cooler air masses coming through the higher ground around the lake. This clash of air masses loaded with humidity can produce sudden and violent storms producing waves as high as ten feet as evidenced in 1992 in a storm near Tiberias. These storms were often deadly to anyone on the water when they occurred. The journey across the lake was about a thirteen mile float for the disciples and was met by one of these rushing air masses causing waves that were breaking over the boat (4:37) and filling it with water. Who cannot really understand the anxiety of the disciples at this point? They are full of fear and believed they would perish if something was not done. Jesus is fast asleep and apparently unconcerned as Mark points out. How many times have we been tempted to ask God the same question they have here, Do you not care that we are perishing? (4:38). After being awakened Jesus rebuked the wind which calmed the sea as well. Matthew and Mark point out that Jesus asked the disciples why they were so timid. Luke says He asked them, Where is your faith? (8:25). King David had said, In peace I will both lie down and sleep. For you alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety (Ps. 4:8). Proverbs 19 says The fear of the Lord leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil (19:23). Jesus had said to the disciples, Let us go over to the other side (4:35). Faith in Him and the understanding that God would fulfill His plans for them could have given them some confidence that they would not perish on the lake. Jesus had total trust in the Father. This is one of the points a disciple needs to draw from this account. God is always watching over us, and we can trust Him with our very lives, even if He decides it is time to take us off the earth. In this case it was not time for Jesus or the disciples, and Jesus thought they should know that. They are fearful and amazed at Jesus at this point (Lu. 8:25). They had seen Jesus perform miracles of healing and changing water to wine, but His authority over the wind took their level of fear and respect a level deeper. Mark and Luke say they wondered, Who then is this? (4:41; 8:25), while Matthew says they wondered, What kind of man is this? (8:27). They were even now beginning to understand the special calling and anointing Jesus had from God in a greater way. Psalm 135:6-7 says, Whatever the Lord pleases, He does Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries. Jeremiah said God brings out the wind from His storehouses (10:13). Psalm 65:7 says it is God who stills the roaring of the seas. Any familiarity with the Scriptures would have informed the disciples that God controls the wind and the seas. Watching Jesus do it would strike fear and questions into their hearts. Jesus wants His disciples to know that He is God, and they can completely trust Him to care for them as they give their lives to serve Him (Matt. 6:25-34). Jesus Delivers Gerasene Demoniac Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39 The exact location of this event is uncertain as described above. Most, or all, experts of Bible geography place Gadara on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. There are signs of an ancient harbor south of the Yarmuk River that some believe to be the remains of a great harbor 2

at Gadara which, based on its size, served a large population. Some ancient documents even attest to the existence of tombs in this area at one time. So the context of this event is that Jesus is taking His disciples across the lake into a Gentile area known as Decapolis. The tombs would be the houses of all sorts of unclean spirits to any Jew, and to make it worse there were herds of swine in the area. This is the first time Jesus has taken His disciples to a fully Gentile area for ministry. They have recently watched Him argue with the Pharisees about His authority over demons (See Jesus Heals Demon-possessed Man, Rebukes Pharisees above), calm the wind and the sea, and heard Him teach parables about the kingdom. Now He brings them to this area to show great power and authority over Satan and his domain. This Gentile region would be the haunt of powerful spirits of wickedness. Mark says the demons saw Jesus from a distance and ran up and bowed down before Him (5:6). Matthew says two men were there and possessed, and responded the same way. There is really no conflict in this. Matthew is probably reporting two men because he is writing to his Jewish audience and to them the fact that two men were there is an argument that By the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed (Mt. 18:16). Mark and Luke are simply reporting one man as the main one, but are not excluding the possibility of a second man being there. The disciples would have been amazed again as the demons came running up to Jesus a bowed. We see from this also that the demons know who Jesus is and were identifying Him as Jesus, Son of the Most High God (Mk. 5:7). In this statement we see theological truth that Jesus is the Son of The Most High God and not just any god. He is referred to as the God of the highest heavens (Dt. 10:14). The spirit world recognizes that Elohim is God of all gods, even over their master. James says that the demons know who God is and shudder at the thought (James 2:19). Now the disciples are aware of all this. The man, or men, was filled with multiple demons as indicated by their response to Jesus asking for their name: My name is Legion; for we are many (Mk. 5:9). After He commanded them to come out the demons began to beg Him not to send them out of the country, so He gave them permission to enter a herd of swine nearby in the mountains, probably the Golan Heights. Mark says about two thousand pigs then rushed down the steep bank into the sea (5:13). Perhaps this is to show God s displeasure with the eating of pork in this area. Perhaps Mark and Luke wanted to show the Romans in their target audience that their practice of using pigs in their sacrificial service for atonement was useless, and that Jesus was the way to actual atonement for sin. The disciples would have marveled at all these events. Those who tended the herd of swine ran to tell everyone in the city what had happened (Mk. 5:14), and the delivered man was seen sitting at the feet of Jesus asking if he could follow Him. Jesus told him to Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you (Mk. 5:19). Sometimes we do not understand why God has us do things a certain way when we would want to do what we consider the better way. Why can t we simply follow Jesus wherever He goes? In this case Jesus had another plan. The next time Jesus came to this region there was a multitude of over 4,000 people who came to Him, probably because of the 3

testimony of the healed demoniacs (Mk. 8:1-10). A disciple of the Lord simply does His will whether we understand it or not. Return to Capernaum Matthew 9:1; Mark 5:21; Luke 8:40 After delivering the Garasene demoniac Jesus gets back into the boat and takes the 13 mile trip across the lake back to Galilee and His hometown of Capernaum. Because of all the miracles He had done there Luke tells us the multitude welcomed Him back because they had been waiting for Him. Mark says the multitude gathered about Him; and He stayed by the seashore. All this is evidence that His ministry was touching many lives and creating much interest at this point, especially in Galilee. Jairus Asks Jesus to Heal His Daughter Matthew 9:18-19; Mark 5:22-23; Luke 8:41-42 One of the people in the crowd was a synagogue official named Jairus. The job of an official was to sort of officiate at the synagogue meetings. They would decide who did what in the synagogue (See Acts 13:15). They were much like a priest and were well respected in the Jewish culture. Most of the synagogue leaders were not in agreement with what Jesus had been doing and teaching (Luke 13:14). Jairus must have been desperate to come to Jesus for help. Luke tells us Jairus had only one daughter, and she was about twelve years old (8:42). Mark and Luke say the girl was at the point of death (Mk 5:23). Matthew says she was dead (9:18). This is probably because Matthew takes a more general approach in his narrative and is simply making the point that the girl was dead before Jesus got to her. Even though Jairus occupied the high social status of synagogue official all three gospel writers tell us that he came and bowed down at the feet of Jesus. At that point he is in the same position as the cured Gentile demoniac sitting at the feet of the Master (Luke 8:35); one man out of great thankfulness for what Jesus did for him, the other out of great need for Jesus to do something. You can sense the urgency Jairus must have had as he fell at the Lord s feet and entreated Him earnestly to come help his daughter (Mk. 5:23). He believed his daughter s condition was next to hopeless and without much time to do anything about it. According to Matthew Jairus had some faith in the Lord s ability to help in this situation (9:18), if he could only get Him to hurry. How frustrating it must have been for him to have Jesus agree to come see his daughter and then be restricted in their movement by the multitude of people following Him and pressing in on Him (Mk. 5:24). Woman with Hemorrhage Touches Jesus Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:24-34; Luke 8:42-48 Jesus had created quite a stir in the Galilean region, to the point that many people wanted to get near Him as evidenced by the crowd pressing in on Him. Many had come to believe that He could heal their diseases and feed their bodies. One woman in particular had good reason to get to Jesus. Mark tells us this lady had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, 4

but rather had grown worse (5:25-26). According to Jewish law this woman was considered unclean, and anyone who touched her was also unclean (Lev. 15:25-27). She actually should not have been in the crowd, but rather she should have been separated to avoid making others unclean (Lev. 15:31). She knew this, and also knew that Jesus should not touch her either, so she was trying to slip through the crowd unnoticed in faith that if she could just touch His garments she would get well (Mk. 5:28). The woman s desperation, and desire to be well, caused her to risk humiliation and punishment just to get to Jesus. Often God allows the circumstances of life to create a desperation in us that motivates us to seek Him. This woman cared about nothing else other than touching Jesus. The circumstances of her life brought her to this point. In that sense, her hemorrhage, financial stress, and brokenness were working in her favor to drive her to a deeper search for God. Perhaps we should not always have anxiety and be in such a hurry to change the circumstances of our lives. Maybe they are there to create a desperation for God in us, which is always of more concern to the Lord than our circumstances. He can change those at any time! This woman s faith told her all I have to do is touch Jesus and I will be OK. The gospels tell us she was able to get to Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak (Matt. 9:20). There is such provision in Jesus that this is all it took for her to be healed. Nothing need be said. No verbal interaction or even eye contact was necessary. A condition that had been twelve years in the making was instantly reversed by that simple touch of a garment, not even Jesus Himself. God has everything we need in the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe and the unfathomable riches of Christ (Eph. 1:19, 3:8). Sometimes all we need to do is touch it, but the desperation we need to press through everything around us is not always present. We need to ask God to even produce that in us. Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus stopped and turned knowing that someone had touched Him, and asked, Who is the one who touched Me? (Luke 8:45). His disciples respond by saying The multitudes are crowding and pressing upon You. Yet there was a difference in the way this woman touched Him from the rest of the crowd. She touched Him in such a way that power went out from Him. Again we should note that it was the nature of this touch that released the power in Christ. The faith and perseverance of the woman made her touch different from all the rest who were pressing upon Him. It was these qualities that released the power to her. She was not arrogant or haughty in any way, but rather fearing and trembling when Jesus turned to look at her (Mk. 5:33). Some of her fear would come as a result of having broken the Law in the respect to cleanness. She was not supposed to touch anybody. In humility and fear she falls before Jesus and tells Him the whole truth. Jesus tells her that her faith has made (her) well and she should go in peace (Mk. 5:34). He demonstrates here that He is not worried about her uncleanness, and is more concerned with her well-being. He also demonstrates that He does not turn away anyone who comes to Him in faith. The crowd may have expected Him to rebuke this woman for making Him unclean. Instead He assures and comforts her. 5

We need to note also that Jesus was aware of power proceeding from Him. This power is called the power of the Lord in Luke 5:17. Acts 10:38 says Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power. Paul says he preached the gospel in power and in the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:5). There is no other way to do the work of God except in the power of His Holy Spirit. Even Jesus was dependent on it. A disciple of Christ must realize they are without any ability to do God s work in their own strength, and must depend totally on the in-dwelling power of the Holy Spirit to enable them to bear real fruit for the kingdom (See Acts 1:8). Jairus Servants Report His Daughter s Death Mark 5:35-36; Luke 8:49-50 Mark and Luke report that while Jesus was speaking to the woman healed of the flow of blood, servants from Jairus house came and told him the thing he feared and was trying to prevent has come upon him; Your daughter has died (Mk. 5:35). He had feared this would happen, and would now be struck with severe pain and agony as any loving father would at the loss of an only daughter. Undoubtedly he would have felt frustration over the fact that the crowd had slowed them, and then Jesus had stopped to help another woman. Like Mary and Martha, he probably thought, Lord, if you had hurried when I told You, she would not have died (See John 11:21, 32). Jesus overheard the report from his home and tells him, Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she shall be made well (Luke 8:50). God s power is not limited by our timing. He does not have to respond according to our understanding of life, or life s events, in order to bring His will and power into a situation. Jesus did not hurry to get to Lazarus before he died, and he did not hurry in this situation either, yet He was able to heal both of them. Jesus Gives Life Back to Daughter Matthew 9:23-26; Mark 5:37-43; Luke 8:51-56 The words of encouragement from Jesus were enough for Jairus to continue with Him back to his house. All three gospels tell us that Jesus allowed only a handful of people to enter the house with Him after putting out the crowd that had already gathered. Since bodies decomposed quickly, family and friends would have gathered around the family even as the girl was lying sick in anticipation of her death. Once she died they started lamenting with weeping and playing flutes as was the custom in Palestine. Jesus tells them to stop weeping and depart for The child has not died, but is asleep (Mk. 5:39). Perhaps He wanted to distract from the publicity that would come from raising someone from the dead by suggesting that she was simply asleep (See verse 43). Luke says they laughed at Him (v. 53). Once everyone had left the room except His disciples and the girl s parents He took the child by the hand and told her to arise (Mk 5:41). Like touching the woman with the flow of blood this too would have been a violation of the Law as touching a corpse was one of the worst forms of uncleanness and required the person to remain unclean for seven days. Just being in the same house would have made all of them unclean (See Numbers 19:11-14). Again Jesus shows He is not as concerned with the requirements of the Law as He is about the people. He is also demonstrating to His disciples the heart and mindset He wants them to have in their ministry once He commissions them. 6

Immediately at the Lord s word the girl is made alive and got up and walked. Jesus tells them to feed her. The girl s parents were amazed (Luke 8:56). Even in light of the faith Jairus showed in going to Jesus he did not expect to see what just happened. Jesus has demonstrated that He has authority over death as well as sickness. He probably does not want this to spread and cause more consternation from the other synagogue leaders, so He instructed them to tell no one what had happened (Luke 8:56). It didn t work! Matthew says this news went out into all the land (v. 26). His reputation and legend continued to grow. Jesus was not interested in becoming only a worker of miracles. He was more interested in the message being conveyed by His words and these signs. He wants all who put faith in Him to know that He has authority over disease and death, and is the resurrection and the life and he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies (John 11:25). The Lord is more concerned that we know Him and His truth than He is that we simply know His miracles. If we seek Him for miracles we become as those who followed Him simply because of what He could do for them in this life (John 6:26-27). A true disciple seeks God alone for who He is and as the source of all joy and satisfaction. This material written by Rick Borage 7