Matthew 8:23-34 - Humility & Power

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think about Jesus? He is such an interesting person!  He was and is compassionate to people on the fringes of society and certainly demonstrated what love and humility are all about during his life on earth. He is also powerful with authority uniquely his that he wielded in ways that sometimes scared people. Jesus is both the lamb and the Lion. We’re in Matthew 8:23-34, the part of the story where Jesus’ power strikes awe and wonder into the hearts of the people who witness it.

Transcript

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What's the first word that comes to your mind when you think about Jesus? He is such a complex and interesting person. You know it's true. He showed us what compassion actually looks like. He sought out the people who lived in the fringes of society. He demonstrated what true humility looks like as well, and I think that we're supposed to emulate him wherever we possibly can. But Jesus is also powerful with an authority uniquely his. And when he wielded that authority, it scared some people. Jesus is both the lamb and the lion. Welcome to Meet Me in the Word. I am grateful that you've joined me today. We're in Matthew chapter eight, verses twenty three through thirty four, where we encounter two moments where Jesus wields that power and authority, and it absolutely changes the lives of the people who witness it. Go ahead and open up your copy of the Word to Matthew chapter eight, and we'll read these two stories here together. But before we do anything else, let's pray. Jesus, thank you for this wonderful day that you've given. God, we acknowledge that you are the one who is compassionate and kind, but also the one who is powerful. Help us to understand that a little bit more today. Amen. All right, let's read together Matthew chapter eight, starting at verse twenty three. Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat, but Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, Lord, save us, we're going to drown. He replied, You of little faith, why are you so afraid? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. Then the men were amazed and asked, What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him. twenty eight. When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. What do you want with us, son of God? They shouted. Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time? Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs. He said to them, Go. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town, and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. Let's pause and take a moment just to reflect on what the Lord has for us. And once again, if you need a little more time, go ahead and pause this and then we'll unpack it together. All right, let's make a few observations. I think we have a pretty natural, excuse me, a natural break with these two different stories. So we'll begin with uh with the boat story, right? The the time when Jesus was there with his disciples in the boat. And I've got about three things here that I wanted to highlight that I think are helpful for us, not just to like understand the passage. My suspicion is that a lot of you have heard these two stories before, but I wanted to draw out things that are helpful to me in terms of my own relationship and walk with Jesus. So the first thing is that Jesus was calm in the midst of the storm. And I'm I'm just acknowledging that he himself was in a place of such, I don't know, he was so relaxed that he was able to sleep. Now, maybe it was because he was exhausted, and that certainly can play into those dynamics, but he was certainly not in that space where his disciples were. His disciples were panicking, his disciples were very aware of the storm that was around them. And in the middle of all of that, Jesus was relaxed, he was calm. And I think we can learn a little something, you know, about him and about who we can be just by noticing that about him. So the disciples were panicked, Jesus was calm, and and all of this is taking place, and they wake him up. You heard heard the story, and uh, and then Jesus gets um gets up, and he's not just calm in the storm, he calmed the storm, and I think that he calmed the panic in his disciples' hearts, at least in the way that they had been panicking before. And as everything settles, and I can imagine myself being there in the boat with them, and I'm sure I would have responded exactly like they did. That's just what I think would have happened. I I think the the water sweeping over the boat, probably starting to fill the boat a little bit, that wouldn't have made me feel good. It wouldn't have made me feel secure, it wouldn't have made me think, oh, we're totally fine right here. There would have been a sense of urgency and uh and all that in in my own heart. But Jesus calms everything down, and and then it there's this kind of interesting thing to me. It's it's that Jesus, Jesus' power, like we're kind of talking about that uh here today, it's his it's his power and his thor and his authority that brought peace uh to the weather and to their hearts. And when I think about who Jesus is, and I think about him, you know, welcoming little children, and I think about him uh, you know, healing lepers and giving sight to the blind and all of those kinds of things that he did, that's a pretty um, I don't want to just say serene, but it it's a really soothing kind of way of thinking about him. But here it's it's not just that, it's it's the ability, it's the power, it's it's his divine authority that allows him to speak to the world around him and to change what's going on. I think that's a pretty amazing thing that's taking place. And then it transitions here across the lake, over to the other side, uh, to this encounter over by the tombs, right? A natural place to go. That doesn't seem totally natural to me, but but obviously we have cemeteries today, it's a part of our world, and there are these two men that were in the worst kind of bondage. And Jesus steps into their lives and totally frees them, totally restores them. And the encounter is is fascinating to me because he's not really engaging with those men directly, but with the powers that were uh holding them, holding them down, holding them captive and uh and causing them to be destructive to the people around them. So he comes into that, into their lives, he frees them and he restores them, and he allows, or causes, however you want to think about that, destruction to come on the pigs. And that's that's a lot of that's a lot of drama, that's a lot of power, that's there's a lot going on in in this dynamic. And then the townspeople, and it begins with those who would have been watching over that herd of pigs. They see what happens, obviously it gets their attention, and they go and and they they tell that story to the rest of the people in town. And the people in the town come out to find Jesus, and the two men are in their right mind, and and they're just absolutely stunned at what is taking place. And their response was to be filled, I think, with not just shock, but with fear. And with this, it says they they pled with him or they pleaded with him to leave their region. What was that all about? Well, there are a couple of thoughts here. One is just simply that their economy was hurt and they hint is like, get out of here, don't mess with our livestock, that that sort of a thing. Um, but but maybe it's just that they recognized the power of Jesus and they didn't understand it and they didn't know what to do with it, and and even with these two men who were now restored to them, still they they were fearful of a man who could do things that they had never seen done before. I wanted to reflect personally as we think about these two stories. And so here's the first question, because I feel like we get two very different responses to Jesus' power and authority. And in a certain way, they are understandable. Like it makes sense to me why his disciples would be like more okay with it, and while they're caught up in wonder and awe, while they're amazed by him, they're still close to him, and then the townspeople will react pretty differently. So here's here's the question: why do you think the power of Jesus draws some people close while others run from it? Because I think that's still true today. And whether we're talking about the power of Jesus or we're talking about some other aspect of him, maybe the parts that people find, I don't know, less adorable, right? Christmas Jesus is itty-bitty baby. Everybody likes the itty-bitty baby, right? So people seem to be okay with that. But then when we're confronted with the teachings of Jesus or the power of Jesus or the claims of Jesus, or the or the power of the cross, or stories like these ones, some people have a really, you know, adverse reaction to that. What why why is that, do you think? Just something to consider. And then the last bit here is is hopefully an encouragement to you. And I'm gonna go back to that story of Jesus with his disciples in the boat. So if Jesus is calm, you can be calm too. The storm is gonna be there. The storms will come, they'll come again, there probably won't be a a season in your life that lasts super long without any kind of adversity. Adversity will come your way. But if Jesus is calm or if Jesus is relaxed, you can be too. And when we know that he is in the boat with us, we can trust that it really will be good, it really will be okay, it will happen according to his plan. I hope that blesses you as you carry about the rest of your day. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you for this wonderful day that you've given us. God thank you for the way that you care for us and for the way that you wield power and authority. Thank you that there is nothing that is above you or greater than you. We love you. Amen.