Faith: Just a little will do! - Mark 4:35-5:20

1 Faith: just a little will do! Mark 4:35-5:20 20191006 Do you see the most meaningful venture in your life as increasing your faith in Jesus? Introduction: One of the characteristics we learn about Jesus through the study of God’s word is that he was a great story teller. People of every age have loved to hear a good story. The format of how the story has been conveyed has varied over time. The way we convey stories in this age, is sadly, diminishing rapidly. Our insatiable appetite to be entertained without really engaging the mind is ruining the more traditional role of the story and the importance of the story teller. This was not the case at all in the days Jesus graced the earth with the presence of his physical body, nor was it the case not to long after Christ ascended, during the time when Mark assembled the work, which we look at here before us today. So how was it that Jesus taught the people? It is what we have just proceeding our current section of Mark. He taught them in parables, those short stories, made up of everyday common life events that had deep theological truths weaved into them. A common phrase used by Jesus was, “the kingdom of God is as, or the kingdom of God is comparable…” The authors of Scripture readily point out that the people, and often even the disciples, did not understand what the parables meant. Does that ever make you wonder what caused the meaning to remain unknown? It does me. I could be wrong, but I think in large part it has to do with the transcendent nature of God. Jesus so often is sharing about how God works in his parables. God is involved in the life of people. Jesus, God incarnate, in the flesh, demonstrates his deep love and desire to be involved in the life of people! What does he want in return for his involvement? What exactly does God want in return for his involvement in their life? What exactly does God want in return for his involvement in your life? Well, the answer to that question is revealed to us in our story today. You have probably already guessed it but what God wants and what we want are not always the same thing. When we are brutally honest, we know this to be tragically true. But brutal honesty doesn’t come easy to us as un-persecuted Christians. In reality as un-persecuted Christians we can do a pretty good job of thinking that what we want and what God wants are the same thing. In fact, we are more pharisaical then we ever like to admit. What do I mean by this? Let me put it to you this way, who here is mostly comfortable with the current state of affairs in your life? Mostly comfortable – meaning life is manageable, the terms are understandable to you – dare I say even controllable by you? You control your schedule, you control what you eat, you control your means of income, you control in some form or fashion the people in your life. This, like it or not, is in large part – us, who we are. And this is what I mean by being pharisaical – approaching God on the terms that we think are most favorable toward us. If you haven’t picked up on it, this is not good. It causes us to miss out on the pure joy of being led by God, of communing with God and others in real and meaningful ways. Leaving us hollow, superficial, and ineffective in sharing the good news about Jesus. So, what does God want in return for his involvement in your life? We begin to see the answer as we look at his involvement in the life of the disciples and the life of the demon possessed man in our text this morning. The passage begins: Text: “35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”” 2 This had been a busy day for the disciples and for Jesus. The crowds were flocking to him. Imagine being one of the disciples, suddenly for them following Jesus was looking like a sure way to popularity, even fame. But instead of just settling in for the night Jesus says we are going across the sea. Very obediently, we see in verse 36, Text: “36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.” No lengthy packing, prepping, or planning – no, just getting in the boat with Jesus. Everyone else wanted to be near Jesus, and they were selected to be with him (Mk 3:14). What a high they must have been riding! In the boat with Jesus! Application: Do you get this way when you get to be with Jesus? To open his word, to pray and converse with him? Illustration: I had to make a conscience effort of this personally this past week, at least on one occasion. The one I am thinking of happened when I had gone to a county office for some help, it was a busy harvest day, I had other places to be, and guess what the customer service was like? Let me give you a hint, the open window where the clerk was supposed to be sitting was vacant, and no way to summon help appeared to be present. I was rapidly becoming impatient. Then I thought, instead of trying to take control of this situation, like yelling in the window, or dialing the phone number to the office with my cell phone, or knocking loudly – since no bell was present, I would just pray. I would take time to enjoy talking with Jesus. Don’t get me wrong I wanted to take control, but managed to have some constraint, to see an opportunity present and not pass it up. Now, I don’t do this every time, but I am being sanctified little by little and on that morning in front of that little window I enjoyed time with the Lord. Mind you, it didn’t cost me much, nothing like we see next. Text: “37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.” This was an extraordinary storm, it was at night, and very much had the full attention of everyone on board --- except Jesus. Text: “38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Fully human and fully God, after a full day of teaching and healing, Jesus is asleep at a time when the boat is beginning to fill. He is probably doused with water from the squall, and yet he was at peace, and asleep. But his disciples rouse him with their call. They question whether or not he even cares! Text: “ 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Fully human and fully God, present at the creation, the author of Hebrews even states plainly, how God created the world through Jesus (Heb. 1:2). And what does he do, he exhibits dominion over the creation by calming the storm by commanding it to be so with his very words. What Jesus does is a miracle and yet the real emphasis of the passage hits with what he says next. Text: “40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 3 What comes to your mind when you read this stinging reply from Jesus to his disciples? What comes to mind when you hear Jesus say why are you so cowardly or fainthearted? Just think for a moment, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Mark immediately proceeding this account records Jesus saying: “30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”” Emphatic: He is in essence saying don’t you see the kingdom of God is here! I am here with you! I am in the boat and I am enough, with me you will not perish! With me you will not be destroyed for I am powerful to save! But the disciples are still learning. They are not grasping totally what is going on and through the study of Scripture we know their boldness comes in much fuller measure only after the day of Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit which we studied in the book of Acts. Text: “41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” What was it therefore Jesus wanted from his disciples? By extension what does he want from you and me? Does he want you to take control? No, He demonstrated plainly who was in control – he doesn’t need you to be in control. No my friend, he is comfortable with his role as Sovereign. What he desired from those in the boat is what he desires from us; he desires us to have faith in him! But like the disciples our lack of faith is our rebuke. Our fear of death, loss, or ruin often robs us of our joy of being with Jesus and hinders our growth in faith. So, here are these disciples of Jesus. Convinced they were going to die out on the lake. Jesus demonstrates power over nature, and the sea was calmed. What happens next? They have their sidebar conversation – who then is this? And yet, somehow the trip continues and they arrive as Jesus intended on the other side. They were probably relieved to have Jesus engage with someone else for awhile as they attempted to gather their thoughts together about the night. That is what Jesus does as they land on the other side in the country of the Gerasenes (v1). On the side of the sea where a heavy Greek influence is present and many Gentiles reside. Text: “2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.” Jesus isn’t met by a crowd of people he meets one man, but within this man is a crowd from the spiritual realm, a man with an unclean spirit – a demon, or as we see in the text a legion. Church, I don’t want you to think suddenly now that we have moved beyond the calming of the sea that we have reached a less interesting part of the story, because we have not by any means. If you want to see how much emphasis the Biblical writer gives to the account just look at the weight of the page before you. How much ink is dedicated to the calming of the sea verses how much ink is recounting Jesus’ interaction with the man possessed by Legion. 4 In our mind I think we tend to make this switch because the physical world is what we can have a shared experience in. We can together face a snow storm or be tossed around in a boat or attempt to navigate the Columbia Gorge when it is iced over. When it comes to the spiritual battle that rages within a person – we don’t really know what to do. I even struggle in how to best describe it to you so lets see what God’s word says about such a situation and see what we can learn together. Text: “3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.” It is said we are suffering from a mental illness crisis in our nation. I don’t doubt that for a moment. I do however look at this description given in Scripture and I see many similarities with what is often attributed to mental illness. One of those similarities is the living conditions. People don’t choose to live among tombs, places known for death and decay. Yet this is where the demoniac was. He was also isolated, unable to be subdued he was away by himself. Hurting himself and crying out. So often in our mental illness crisis those suffering are subdued not by chains and shackles but by the use of mind altering drugs either prescribed or otherwise. (any room here for application in how we interact with those with mental illness or unclean spirits?) Share the love of Christ with them. Share the truth about their identity as an image bearer of God and how they have worth. They have so much worth that Jesus, God’s own Son died for them so they might be washed clean, no longer to be ashamed This man runs to Jesus. As we try to understand the description of this man from the text it is difficult, because he is possessed. So, it is not often clear who is actually speaking, the man or the demons or for that matter who is in control – for instance his approach to Jesus. Is it the man or the demons or some combination? Text: “6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” Do you see what I mean? The physical act of coming to Jesus could very much be the man – desperate for freedom from his oppressors. I could be the demons controlling the man, forcing him before Jesus because Legion recognized who had come – Jesus, Son of the Most High God. Just as Jesus was present for the creation of the physical world, he was present for the creation of the spiritual world which Legion was part of. Jesus has just as much power over the spiritual realm as he does over the physical realm, he is the Sovereign. As the Sovereign, Legion beseeches him. Text: “10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” As the Sovereign, Jesus acts. 5 Text: “13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.” Bizarre indeed, but just consider the strength of the man, an image bearer of God, to resist the destructive nature of the demons within him. The pigs, within moments of being possessed by the unclean spirits were unable to resist and they were destroyed. The man is set free by Jesus, and the demons? The Bible describes that when an unclean spirit departs it goes to waterless places seeking rest, but finds none (Matt. 12:43). All of this is witnessed and experienced and needs to be made sense of somehow. Text: “14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.” The herdsmen would have never seen such a thing take place and yet now this huge herd of pigs is destroyed. The wealth of the region just plummeted. It was like a stock market plunge but this was a livestock plunge. Quickly the word spreads. What is the result? People come to see what happened. Two pictures are available to them. These same two pictures are available to us. First, the formerly demon possessed man, the man who was isolated, cast out, really a pariah, who prowled about among the dead in the tombs was rescued. He had been saved! He was in his right mind! No longer crying out or cutting himself but sitting there. Second, the carnage of thousands of drowned pigs. Horrendous sight no doubt. Herdsmen now without work and investments lost. They had attempted to control the demon possessed man. Who do you think had used the shackles and the chains? He was uncontrollable, he was unwanted, and he was better left alone. The pigs needed to be controlled, and the animals were rather easily handled by the herdsmen. All was as it should have been -- until Jesus came. Now the uncontrollable man, an image bearer of God, was sitting there self-controlled, clothed, even in his right mind. The controllable pigs, their future sales, their predictable production all wiped out. With these observations from the text, let me ask; How do you reconcile economic gain or loss when compared to an eternal soul? Much of our world says the soul is not worth anything if it stands in the way of job advancement, school completion, or even the widespread economic growth of a nation. In a secular worldview the scales are weighed differently. We live in an increasingly secular society. Have your scales been impacted by your association with the secular worldview? Let me pose this question. What area of your life, if control was handed over to Jesus, would change from its current state? What area? Why are you afraid of what he might do? Is your control that important? If it is, then you can identify with the people of the country of the Geresenes. They took in the whole story and decided having Jesus around was too costly. So, they begged him to go. They had no room for him. Are you in effect doing this same thing? I hope not. Because look what Jesus does in response to their non-existent faith. 6 Text: 18a “As he was getting into the boat,…” Jesus is ready to leave. He is not pushy. He wants to be involved in your life, but just like the eastern shore of the sea of Galilee, if he is not seen as of any real value. He will leave. He doesn’t require much, just a little faith. But thankfully one person there is not ready to let go of Jesus. Text: “18b the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Two salvation pictures have been observed in the text today. The first was upon the sea and the second took place in the lonely regions of the tombs. What differentiates the two, well the disciples had never really tasted or known death or what it meant to be a pariah. The demon possessed man, however, was utterly lost. If Jesus had not of acted on his behalf nothing would have changed. Do you understand why the disciples were rebuked by Jesus? It was because he was with them on the boat and as long as he was with them they would not perish. They did not understand this and that is why he said have you still no faith? Meaning no faith in me! The man who had been demon possessed did nothing to garner the favor of Jesus, just as I hope you realize you have done nothing to garner the favor of Christ. The man was desperate and in need and Jesus approached the place where he was and had mercy upon him. Jesus exercised dominion over the spiritual realm and cast out the unclean spirit that had tormented him. Now this man knows experientially that it is enough just to be with Jesus and he begs to come with him. This is all Jesus wants from his disciples, he wants them to desire to be with him -- just as he desires to be with them. This is all he wants from you my friend. He wants to be with you. Isn’t this what makes for more excellent relationships? A contentment to be in the presence of another? Because of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection we are not confined to following him around to experience being with him. Jesus spoke to his disciples about this as he neared the end of his earthly ministry. John 16:4–11 Jesus is faithful to keep his promises. We have no clear indication from Scripture that the man who had been possessed by Legion was a recipient of the Holy Spirit but we do have the clear indication that this man was most interested in obeying Jesus. Therefore, he was wanting to do the will of God and was by extension then very near to God (Mk. 3:35). Text: “20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” Jesus cannot be confined in the way he decides to act. In some cases, he tells those who are healed to not say anything. In this case he tells the man to go make proclamation, to preach what Jesus had done for him. This man is immediately obedient. He does not hesitate for he has the message of good news that people all over the region marvel at. Conclusion: 7 Our passage today covered less than a 24-hour period of Jesus’ life in ministry on earth. He demonstrated power and authority over the physical and spiritual realms. And in peering into this day in the life of Jesus what did we see? We saw a relational God who wants to be involved in the lives of people, just as he has wanted to do from the beginning! Who stands in the way? You better not blame unclean spirits, for they cower at the name of Jesus. If you are a follower of Christ then you have the promise of 1 John 4:4 “for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” So who stands in the way? It is us. We are so often like the people of the region of Geresenes, we take in the evidence, we look at the cost of what it means to have Jesus in control and we just can’t relinquish to him. O, brothers and sisters I do beg of you like the man begged of Jesus give up your petty attempts to control your life and be satisfied with being with Jesus. For as we observed together this morning, God wants us to have our most meaningful venture in this life to be an everincreasing measure of faith in Jesus! For our faith in Jesus, although it may be as small as a mustard seed is the enough.