Jesus, Lord of All

By John Frye

One of the most amazing set of parallels is that between the stilling of the storm on the sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41) and the exorcising of the legion of demons from a man of Gerasenes (Mark 5:1-20).  The turbulent storm on the sea is parallel to the terrifying existence of the demoniac. The disciples race to Jesus in the boat; the demoniac runs to Jesus in Gedara. Jesus simply speaks a commanding word to the violent storm and he does the same to the demoniac by saying, “Come out of him!”The results are similar. First, just as the winds cease and the sea calms, the man sits at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. What a contrast! The man was reduced to a naked animal roaming the tombs (the place of death) and crying out in ineffable pain. He became a terror to the townspeople. When Jesus speaks, the man instantly and dramatically changed. The townspeople are afraid. Both external threats (the storm) and internal threats (the demons) are not too much for Jesus to conquer. All threats to human life are under the command of Jesus of Nazareth.

When my oldest daughter was about 4 years old I took her to a kiddy carnival in a mall in Dallas, TX. She was so happy to ride the very child-friendly rides at the park. One ride was a miniature roller coaster. “Daddy, I want to ride that one!”  We got the ticket and she was strapped into the little cart. As the ride went around the small oval track, Leah began to cry. The sharp turns and little hill scared her. As she came by me, I shouted “This is fun”and I was smiling. Leah caught my eye. She took the next sharp turn and cried even more. I shouted, “This is fun!”as I smiled. She came around the turn and she looked happy. When she got off, she said, “Again, Daddy! Let me ride it again.”What was the change? She caught my eye. Daddy was happy; she could be happy.

In the storms of life, the most important thing is to catch our heavenly Father’s eye. My daughter, Leah, caught my eye. She saw me smiling and heard me saying, “This is fun.”It changed her experience of the scary ride. When we catch our heavenly Father’s eye, will our perception of the present circumstances change? I think so. Who has charge over the winds and the waves? Who loves us the most? These are the questions most important in a terrifying situation.

In both external threats (the storm)  and internal threats (the demons), the LORD of all, is Jesus of Nazareth. He alone can merely speak and make a dramatic difference in our experience. We can rest in his sovereign and compassionate authority.

Most of us are not demon-possessed, but we wrestle with worry or obsessive concerns for ourselves or others. Perhaps some of those others are loved-ones. Jesus can speak and make a dramatic and eternal difference. Do we believe it? There is One Who can simply speak the word and all is changed. The liberated man in Gedara was told to go and tell his family and friends all that the Lord had done for him. Mark observes that the man went and told all that Jesus had done for him. Jesus is Lord.