"Who then is this?"

Last week, we left the disciples with their jaws on the floor of a ship in the middle of the sea of Galilee.

Jesus had displayed His authority over the storm that hit the disciples. He had taken His followers from the classroom to the field and the disciples did not display faith.

Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?” and turned around to tell the storm to calm down.

The disciples said, “Who then is this....The winds and waves obey him!!!”

The Super Bowl - Don Murray

There comes a personal moment when Jesus becomes more than a good story in a book, or a way of life, but an actual instance of change in our life.

Where is the moment of awe?

Jesus is truly AWEsome.

Wouldn’t the disciples be the ones to recognize Jesus as messiah before anyone else?

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1. The Spirit World Recognizes Jesus as Lord.

This is not the only time that the scriptures show the fear that all demons have for Jesus Christ.

The book of Job shows that even satan himself cannot touch believers unless given permission.

says that Jesus casted out demons and would not allow them to speak.

shows the demons referring to Jesus as the “holy one of God” before being exercised from the man in the synagogue of Capernaum.

The man in this story was tormented, broken, and disbanded from humanity.

In a largely gentile area.

He could not control himself and had given the devil so much of his life that many demons had access to him.

His strength was unmatched. No one on earth could subdue him.

How lonely he must have felt. Hopeless. Lost.

The second the demons recognized who Jesus was, they responded in fear.

They knew the authority that Jesus has. “Jesus, Son of the Most High god”.

There was no matchup in this story. Only fear and submission.

Most of the enemies were encounter today live in the shadows.

In the Spirit world, demons and angels are fighting a battle that already has a victor. There is no scoreboard or points system. There is only victory and defeat.

Believers will encounter demons in their lifetime with or without realizing it.

Why does say “Don’t fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes,”? Because of verse 26 that says “for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from a snare.”

There is a difference between a problem that you have a created (sin) and a problem that has entered your life because of spiritual darkness (demons).

The blessing comes from the fact that we take of both through the same avenue. We let Jesus walk in to the situation.

Our enemy has picked a fight with you and me because he knows that he doesn’t not match up with Jesus.

2. The Spirit World Represents a Problem Over the Spiritual World.

Jesus commanded the demon to reveal his name.

“Legion” - A Roman term used to explain their soldiers.

A legion of soldiers represented an army 6,000 troops or more.

Were their 6,000 demons in this man? We don’t know.

His response was a mix of demon and himself. He had seen the oppression of the Roman government on the people but he was experiencing the oppression of hell.

“Abyss” - The place in Hell designated for Satan and the demons.

Other gospels say that there 2,000 pigs in the herd.

The monetary and physical ramifications for whoever earned this herd were large.

This was someones livelihood.

Jesus revealed that the spiritual issue in this mans life was a bigger problem than sparing the life of the pigs.

Polycarp of Smyrnia, 155 - Polycarp is recorded as saying on the day of his death: "Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? You threaten me with a fire that burns for a season, and after a little while is quenched; but you are ignorant of the fire of everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked."

Christians have been given this important truth. The spiritual state of our lives is more important that our physical state.

We ought to understand that nothing comes close to importance of the church of Jesus more than a person receiving Christ.

The most important tradition of the church that deserves the utmost respect is the practice of making converts to Christianity.

There is no more vital an agenda for the church to live by.

We face a spiritual battle every day and church is tempted to stop fighting or never join the fight at all.

The Holy Spirit can teach you to look past what is physical see the spiritual realties around you.

Most people in our societies can’t understand why we would get involved.

3. The Physical World is Blind to the Spiritual World.

“But the person without the Spirit does not receive what come from God’s Spirit...”

The demonic man was healed, dressed, and at peace. The people who worked with the sheep and the rest of the community weren’t focused on the miracle.

They weren’t comfortable with the change brought to the community. Jesus affected their economy. He affected the status quo. They were used to naked and dangerous man affected by demons.

Jesus was asked to leave and man asked Jesus if he could go with him.

Jesus told him to stay and share all that God had done for him.

It meant more to Jesus for this man to minister in his hometown where people wouldn’t accept him.

This is similar to the places in scripture where it’s easy to say, “Why Lord”?

People who can see should never expect blind people to guide them. We are called to a guide to blind.

Let the ending of the passage serve as either an encouragement to you or a warning depending on who you are:

You might be the man healed by Jesus - Don’t lose heart when people don’t accept you. Even if the people that aren’t accepting you are church people. There is a purpose and a reason for Jesus having you where you are.

The demon possessed man was one of the first gentiles to encounter Jesus in this way. His message would be one of many to pave the way for other countries to hear the gospel. He may never have understand that Jesus made him to be a trailblazer.

You might be the hometown crowd who missed Jesus. - I’ve seen too many church focused on their own status quo to never realize that Jesus is working in front of them.

The people of this community experienced more tragedy in this story than losing their assets.

The disciples who needed a demon to tell them who Jesus is. - Hours before, they were saying, “Who then is this?” It took seeing Jesus have authority over the demons to realize that they weren’t just following a wise prophet. He was and is so much more.

Which character am I most like in this story?