Who Is This Man?

Now that the holiday shopping season is in full swing, every man now needs a careful strategy. He needs to find that one toy that he can convince his family that he needs. If you call it a tool that you will use for the rest of your life, then you will have a solid argument why you should get it. Often these tools—man toys—come with outrageous claims. Hand tools are more durable, power tools cut faster, guns shoot straighter, and somehow everything is 25% lighter and 50% stronger than the competition. But there is one way to find out- go out and test it. Often the results are less than stellar. The excitement over the promises of the product are often swept away by the reality of its performance.

In the Gospel of Mark, the author makes some outrageous claims about Jesus. He is the Son of God, the promised deliverer, who has authority over Satan and demons. Jesus himself claims to have the power to forgive sins, something only God can do. Is Jesus really God? Does he have divine authority as he claims? In our passage today, Mark puts Jesus to the test, so to speak. We will see Christ’s authority over the violent forces of nature, an army of demons, and over death itself. This divine authority is unnerving. Jesus delivers on his claims.

As we walk through this text, watch the different responses to Jesus. Fear is the common thread that draws these accounts together. Notice why people are afraid. I’ve broken out text into three sections- Jesus’ authority over nature, demons, and death.

1. Authority over nature (4:35-41)
Jesus and his disciples head across the Sea of Galilee, which they will do again in chapter 5. A severe windstorm hits, which was common for that body of water. Notice, the disciples, some of whom are experienced fisherman, think they are going to die. Contrasted with the disciples is Jesus, sleeping. Their words to Jesus are harsh- “don’t you care if we die?” Jesus quickly dispatches the storm. The great windstorm is replaced by a great calm.

Why are the disciples afraid? Jesus reprimands them for their fear and lack of faith. They were terrified of the storm. They thought they would never reach shore again. I think we would all be scared out of our wits. But when Jesus stops the storm, they are VERY afraid: “they feared exceedingly.” Why?

Let’s say you go to Alaska for vacation, and you are hiking in the wilderness. All of sudden you spot a grizzly bear. Not a small black bear, like we have around here, but a 1,000 pound, 9’ tall grizzly bear. He sees you and charges toward you. You’re glad your will has been written, and prepare to be mauled. Right before the grizzly takes a fatal swipe at you, he looks behind you, suddenly stops, and runs away as quickly as he charged at you. Trembling, you turn around, and you see…

I’m not sure what you would see. But it would have to be more terrifying than a half ton grizzly. The disciples had just encountered one of the most terrifying forces on this earth: the violence of nature. Think of the city-leveling power of tornadoes. We cannot contend with nature!
All of sudden, they are faced with a man—a man who was asleep just a few moments before—who has more power than the storm that threatened to tear them apart. “Who is this man?!” Yes, you should be very afraid.

I’ve heard this passage applied like this: when you go through the storms of life, you want Jesus with you in the boat. He will calm your storms and calm your fears. I think not. You don’t want Jesus in your boat! It’s terrifying! The Bible teaches many other places that God is with his people whatever we may face. But this short passage demonstrates for us the unique authority and unstoppable power of the Son of God. And if we encountered him for who he is, we might prefer to sail by ourselves.

2. Authority over an army of demons (5:1-20)
Jesus had just dispatched the forces of nature with a word, now he encountered a man who could not be controlled by anyone. Think of this man’s menace to society. But also, see the awful state of the man himself. Cutting himself with rocks and crying out day and night. These demons had driven this man to the lowest depths of pain and suffering.

In the previous chapters of Mark, Jesus had quickly dispatched the demons. But this is the first time there is a conversation. The demons “adjure” Jesus not to torment them.” These demons are almost commanding Jesus- the combined forces of Satan against Jesus. Jesus asks for their name. It is Legion. A Roman legion was about 6,000 soldiers, and the demons then possess around 2,000 pigs. This man is tormented by thousands of demons.

The demons want somewhere to go- not to torment in hell, but the pigs would work. At the word of Jesus, the destructive power of the demons is unleashed into the pigs. The pigs run into the sea and are drowned.

In reading commentaries about this passage, there is often a lot of fuss about the pigs. Doesn’t Jesus care about animals? Doesn’t he care about the people whose livelihood he destroyed with a word? The text is silent on this, so I will be too. This text is about the authority of Jesus and his rescue of a tormented man. If the people are upset about the loss of the pigs, the text doesn’t say. Again, why are they afraid? They see the previously demon-possessed man, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. That terrified them.

Think back to the story of the grizzly. In that area where these people lived, nothing was scarier or more powerful than this demon-possessed man. Now a guy arrives on a boat who suddenly defeats the demons. And the man is not killed, but restored. Presented with a power beyond what they can imagine, they ask Jesus to leave.

Notice what the man wants to do. This is a Gentile area, so presumably this man and the people are not Jews. He begs to “be with Jesus.” Jesus tells him, “No, go tell people about what I have done for you.” And the man does- he goes and publishes, or proclaims the great things Jesus had done for him. Look back 3:14- Jesus calls the disciples to “be with him…and to preach.”
We see this Gentile man, once torment by demons, desiring to follow Jesus. He goes out and preaches, which is what the disciples do in chapter 6. The disciples wonder- who is this man? The demon possessed man does not wonder. He knows the power of Jesus and tells others about it.

3. Authority over death (5:21-43)
Here we have two stories, sandwiched together. Do you notice the fear? The fear is different. Not fear of Jesus this time, but different.

Jairus is an important leader in his community, one of the elders at the local synagogue. He knows that Jesus can heal, so he asks him to come heal his daughter. She is not just sick, she is near death. If Jesus can come quickly, he can save his daughter. All of sudden, the scene shifts, from Jairus and his daughter, to an unknown woman.

We’ve all had that experience, when we are in hurry to go somewhere, or have something very important to do, then all of sudden: delay. The traffic is the worst when you are in a hurry, and your friends are the most chatty when you are the busiest. Mark leaves the urgency of the seriously sick girl, and focuses on a woman with a chronic illness.

Compared to Jairus, this woman has about the opposite social status. She is not named, and she comes to Jesus, not publically like Jairus, but covertly. Her issue of blood left her with physical suffering and weakness, and financially impoverished. Because of her bleeding, this woman had been ceremonially unclean for the last 12 years- and it left her a social outcast.

She touches Jesus’ garment and is instantly healed- something the doctors failed to do for 12 years. The woman is quickly discovered, and comes in fear before Jesus, falling at this feet. Her fear, is not necessarily a fear of Jesus, but shame. She had been discovered. Her touch would have rendered Jesus unclean. She had been found out. The shame she had born the last 12 years, the shame of discovery, is quickly dissolved by the words of Jesus- “Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace.”

The faith of the woman is now compared to the faith of Jairus, as he hears the news of Jesus’ death. Jesus overhears what they are saying and says, “Do not fear, only believe.” Clearly, Jesus’ power only extended over the living. He could not do anything for the dead. But Jesus ignores their words, he ignores the mourners at the house- and tells them that the girl is only sleeping. The girl is certainly dead, but not for long. He takes a small group by the girl, and grabs her by the hand. Touching a dead body would have rendered Jesus unclean, but in fact she was alive. Alive by the power of Jesus. This is a complete reversal. Death to normal life- walking around and eating.

Application
I would like to spend some time looking at the authority of Jesus Christ, and the call for faith in him.

1. The authority of Jesus
The Bible is often stereotyped with the God of the OT as an angry ogre, thundering from mountains, striking down people at a whim, and generally being impractical and boorish. Then arrives Jesus, like a gentle breeze compared to the hurricane God of the OT. Finally, God wears sandals, speaks kindly, and has flowing locks of brown hair. The gentle hippie Jesus, who holds your hand and sings kumbaya. This distortion has projected on to the Bible at various times in church history, and is nothing new.

Page by page, Mark has presented us with the unique power and authority of Jesus. There is no one like him. When people see him power, the tremble in fear.

Hebrews 2:1-3, contrasts the old covenant with Israel, with the new covenant we have in Jesus. The message from Mount Sinai contrasted with the gospel message about Jesus.

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

Such a great salvation. What we have in Jesus is much more weighty that the message of the OT. It should terrify us more, because it is so much more.

2. The call for faith
If you reading the Gospel of Mark seriously, you cannot ignore Jesus. Ignoring Jesus is impossible and logically stupid. No one who encountered him on this earth ignored him. The crowds adore him, and the religious leaders hate him. His disciples follow him, and his family thinks he’s crazy. Whether 2,000 years ago or today, you cannot afford to ignore the unique power and authority of Jesus.

Look at the responses to Jesus. The call is to faith, not fear.
-The disciples have very small faith, and a lot of fear. They don’t really get who Jesus is.
-The people who saw the demon possessed man freed, ask Jesus to leave. “Don’t mess with us Jesus, we don’t want you around. You’re too powerful.
-The demon possessed man: faith. I want to follow, I want to proclaim Jesus.
-The woman: I know Jesus will heal me. I just have to touch his garment
-Jairus- like the disciples, faith mixed with fear.

Where are you? Fear or faith? Do you want follow Jesus, or would you prefer if Jesus stayed away, because he will flip your life upside down? For us who follow Jesus, we will confess that our faith in him is often mixed with fear. “Who are you Jesus? What have you done to my life? Can you do what have promised? This problem is too big for you to handle, Lord.”

Even though Jesus has all the power in the universe, look what he does. He saves the disciples and calms the storm. He is gentle with their misgivings and fear. He rescues a man under the cruelest bondage of Satan. He heals a woman who had suffered for 12 years. He doesn’t berate her for sneaking up on him. He calls her “daughter,” the only time he does this in any of the gospels. He takes a dead girl by the hand, and raises her to life. In this passage, wherever Jesus goes, he stills the raging of nature, Satan, and death. He brings calm. He gives peace.

Through the eyes of faith, Jesus is the most fantastic person ever. But through the eyes of fear, he is the most terrifying person ever. You cannot ignore Jesus. You either ask him to leave, or you ask him to save you. Those who come to Jesus for the healing of their sin-sick souls hear: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”