22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
An unknown time later Jesus got into a boat with his disciples to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As they sailed Jesus slept. Then a storm arose that filled the boat with water and they were in danger. They woke Jesus in fear that they were going to die. Jesus rebuked the storm and it brought immediate calm (which does not happen immediately after a storm). Then He asked them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid, now not of the storm but of the One in whose presence they stood. Who is it that is able to command the natural elements and they obey Him except God alone (Ps 107:29). Why was Jesus asleep? He was tired, but He was also completely confident that He would get to the other side. Why? Because He knew that God had a mission for Him and nothing would happen to Him until it was time. Jesus was preparing His disciples for the mission He was going to give them. They would have to go out in faith that God would be with them no matter what they encountered along the way. As believers, we too can live with the faith that nothing will happen to us that is outside of God’s sovereign control and until He calls us home nothing can touch us.
After a calm second half of their voyage, they reached the country of the Gerasenes (sometimes called Gadarenes or Gergesenes) a predominantly non-Jewish area. There they met a man who was possessed by many demons. He lived homeless and naked among the tombs. When He saw Jesus he fell down and called out, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son. of the Most High God?” The disciples had marvelled after the storm asking who they were in the presence of. This man (at least the demons inside him) immediately recognised Jesus and who He really is. The demon pleads for Jesus not to torment them. When Jesus asked his name, he said his name was Legion because he was one of many demons that possessed the man (a legion was four to six thousand troops). They begged Jesus not to send them to the abyss (Rev 9:1). Instead, they pleaded with Jesus to allow them to enter a herd of pigs that were nearby. After granting them permission they left the man, entered the pigs and the pigs all rushed down the steep bank and into the lake and drowned. The herdsman saw all that happened and ran to tell those in the city. When the people came out and saw the previously possessed man clothed and of a sound mind, they were afraid and asked Jesus to leave. The man had the right response of immediately sitting at Jesus’ feet and desiring to follow Him. The townsfolk’s response was not joy over a member of their town healed but a fear that pushed Jesus away. As Jesus left, the man begged to stay with Him, but Jesus sent him home to spread the news about what God had done for him. He obeyed. What would you be prepared to give up to see someone saved? Would a large herd of pigs, which probably represented considerable wealth for the whole town, not just an individual, be too much?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Elijah and the Widow: 1 Kings 17