Mark 5:1

Mark 5:1 says, And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Jesus and the disciples crossed over the sea to escape the crowds for a while.  Jesus wanted to be alone with the disciples at times so He could teach them more thoroughly what it truly meant to be a disciple.  We today as Christians need time alone with Jesus to understand more what it means to be His disciple.  Of course, we really cannot be with Jesus physically, but we can be with Him spiritually through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Verse two adds, And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, The way across sea was not restful for the disciples, because they as yet did not truly understand Who He was, but by His power they reached the other side, only to be confronted with a demonic man.  We might think that when Jesus delivers us from a troubling situation that we deserve a break, but we like the disciples and Jesus instead might find ourselves confronted with an even more troubling situation.  Verse three states, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:  Verse four adds, Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.  People had attempted to bind this man with chains, but he broke the chains.  He was a man to be feared, and yet he was a man that the disciples and Jesus were confronted by.  I don't know if the disciples were afraid or not, but considering their attitude on the boat, I believe they probably were. Sometimes, we may be confronted with by scary person or situation as we share God's word, but I believe whether we are afraid or not will be a result of whether our focus is on the situation or on Jesus. Verse five continues, And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. This man was not only a threat to others but to himself as well.  He was cutting himself with stones.   We may have never been that demon possessed, but until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are a danger to ourselves spiritually, and possibly to others too if we stand between them and God.  Verse six states, But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, This man, who was a terror to others, ran to Jesus when he saw him afar off and worshipped Him.  The man had been a threat to others and to himself, but he did not run at Jesus to harm Him.  Matthew Henry says that what men could not do with chains, which was to restrain the man, God did by His invisible hand.  No matter how terrible a person may be, if they recognize Jesus Christ for Who He really is and come to Him by faith, He will heal them spiritually.  It is not enough to just acknowledge Jesus as a great man, but we must come to Him recognizing that He is the only One Who can save us, and we must acknowledge Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse seven adds, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. The demon, or as is later stated the demons, in the man cried out in a loud voice asking what he had to do with Jesus, acknowledging Him as the Son of God.  The demon recognized what too many people refuse to recognize, and that is that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. The demon, so powerful in the world and so terrible to those around him, had no power before Jesus and asked that He not torment him.  There is no being that can stand before Jesus Christ and be more powerful than He is, not even Satan himself.  Verse eight continues, For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.  There was not great battle.  Jesus simply said, Come out of the man, thy unclean spirit, and that was the extent of the battle.  We may see movies where demons almost defeat those trying to cast them out of a person, but I personally believe that if someone is doing this under the guidance and authority of Jesus Christ that there will still be no great battle.  The power of Jesus has not diminished.  As a matter of fact, Jesus said One even greater was coming, and that is the Holy Spirit.  The first step for the man was to recognize Jesus, and then to come and worship Him in faith.   

 

 

 

 

Mark 4:35

Mark 4:35 says, And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.  Jesus was still being followed by a multitude, and He told the disciples that it was time to go over to the other side of the sea.  Even if we have multitudes coming to us to hear about Jesus, we still need to be open to the possibility that He may lead us somewhere else.  Verse thirty-six adds, And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.  The disciples sent the multitude away and took Jesus in a ship to cross over the sea.  They may not have known exactly where Jesus was taking them, but they were obedient to His leadership, and so must we be today as followers of Christ.  Verse thirty-seven continues, And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  While Jesus was asleep, a strong storm arose, which was in danger of sinking the ship.  Even with Jesus close to them, the disciples were afraid because they focused on the storm.  Today, we may be in the middle of a great storm, but our focus should always be on Jesus and not the storm.  We know that even if we are focused on the storm that Jesus is not asleep.  Verse thirty-eight states, And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? We also know that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, is with us at all times, so we should never have a need to worry, no matter what is going on in our life.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  Jesus got up, and told the sea to be calm, and it was.  Verse forty continues, And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? After their reaction to the storm, Jesus then asked the disciples why they were afraid and if they had no faith.  If we are afraid when the storms come in life today as Christians, then we might need to ask ourselves where our faith is.  Verse forty-one adds, And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? The disciples still did not fully understand Who Jesus was, so they questioned His ability to have the sea obey Him.  If you are in the middle of a great storm as a follower of Christ today, then it is time to focus once more on Jesus.  He is more powerful than any storm, so we need to simply keep our faith in Him. 

Mark 4:30

Mark 4:30 says, And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?  Jesus asked what He could compare the kingdom of God to.  Verse thirty-one adds, It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: When we think of the kingdom of God, we may often attempt to describe its grandeur, but Jesus compared it to a mustard seed.  I believe our emphasis should not be on heaven and how great it will be, but on spreading the seed of the gospel.  Verse thirty-two continues, But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. Jesus said the mustard seed was the smallest seed when planted, but that it grew into the largest of herbs. The gospel of Christ is a small, simple to understand truth, but when it is planted and accepted in the life of an individual, it should grow to be more important than anything else.  Verse thirty-three says, And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.  We are told that Jesus spoke to people in parables as they were able to hear them.  I don't believe that Jesus was attempting to hide the truth, but that in order to understand His teachings people had to put their faith in Him and allow the truth to be revealed to them by God.  We will never understand God's word until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  For too many people, the gospel and all of God's word will never be more than a story, no different than any other ancient story, but as Christians, the gospel has taken root and should grow daily as we study God's Word.  Verse thirty-five adds, But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.  We are told that Jesus did not speak without speaking in parables, and that when He was alone with the disciples, He expounded His teachings to them.  We need to gather together in worshipping God, but we also need time alone with God so that as we study God's word, the Holy Spirit can expound it to us.

Mark 4:26

Mark 4:26 says, And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground.  Jesus compared the kingdom of God to something simple to understand again.  Like a man planting seed, we are to plant the seed of the Gospel.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.  After a man plants seed, he then goes about his everyday life.  He doesn't sit watching the seed to see what will happen.  Once we plant the seed of the gospel in a person's life, we should go on living our everyday life.  While the man who planted the seed was sleeping, the seed was bursting out in new life.  We cannot make the gospel bear fruit, but God does that, just as He causes the seed to bring forth new life.  Verse twenty-eight continues, For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. The growth from the seed isn't immediate but comes in stages.  First there is the blade, then the developing ear, then the full-grown ear.  We cannot expect new Christians to be fully developed when they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.  They are fully saved, but they will need to be nurtured in their faith, some more than others, as we all do.  Verse twenty-nine concludes, But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. When the fruit is fully developed, it is harvested.  I believe the gospel bears fruit when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, but the true harvest will not come until a person dies or until Jesus Christ returns.  Until then, we should all continue to develop in our Christian life.  We as Christians have the responsibility to spread the gospel, but we cannot force it to bear fruit.  Of course, the first step is to accept the seed of the gospel when it is planted.