Mark 5:1 "They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones."
This introduction to the next stage of Jesus ministry is a thought provoking transition from the disciple’s encounter on the boat. Imagine their state of mind, having just been shaken by the storm and then terrified by the manifestation of Jesus’ power as He spoke to the storm with the same authority that He used to heal the sick and cast out demons. Their minds are reeling! Their emotions are agitated! They have so many unanswered questions swirling around in their heads and look who is there to welcome them to this new city. Have you ever heard the saying “out of the frying pan into the fire!?”
Immediately upon landing in this new territory Jesus and His disciples are encountered by a man so severely demonized that he is known by the entire community. This man is not only a trouble to himself but he is a man with a history. The whole town knows him. They have tried everything they knew to do. The story says that they had often tried to bind him with chains but that no chain could hold him for long. Consider that, repeated attempts at forceful restraint could not contain this damaged human being. He lived there on the edges of the community as a constant reminder to them of their powerlessness. They were continuously confronted with the fact that they could not help this broken life.
This is the setting that the disciples are immediately thrust into after the experience on the boat. Don’t you think that after such an intense time on the water they deserved a break? They have been traumatized by the storm and terrified by the Lord’s response and now this. No rest for the weary. No season of respite because of the hard time they have just been through. Have you ever felt like you were deserving of a season of rest only to find that your life circumstances kept applying more pressure not less!? McDonald’s restaurant used to emphasize this thinking “you deserve a break today, so get up and get away…” The point of this story is portion of this story is that life doesn’t always allow us a holiday on our time schedule!
Jesus knowingly took them into this intense season to develop their maturity of faith. Perhaps the two events are even connected somehow. Consider the possibility that Jesus knew the disciples were going to be greatly shaken by their encounter with a man with such demonic bondage that He allowed them to experience a revelation of the extent of Christ’s power on the boat before placing them in the situation with the demonized man so that they would not be overwhelmed by the experience. Perhaps He needed to prepare them by so fixing minds on His power that they would not be intimidated by the power of Satan in their hour of need. Perhaps the same is true in your situation. In that moment when the pressures of life seem relentless and you are struggling to make it through, perhaps in His mercy God is pressing you to a new level of faith. Notice that back in the boat Jesus never comforted the disciples in their fear. He confronted both their fear and their lack of faith. The very two components that would be most challenged by the next experience that they would have as they reached the other shore.
Do not be overwhelmed by the storm you are going through but realize the work of God that is seeking to train you! Do not complain in the seasons of unrelenting pressure that stretch you seemingly beyond your capacity to cope. Instead reach into the heart of God in faith and inquire of Him. “What are you preparing me for Lord? Help me to learn the lessons that I need for the next victory to come?” Every day is God’s classroom for the day after! Every event is God’s hand at work to equip you for an overcoming life of faith!
No comments:
Post a Comment