Day 9 – The King over storms and spirits

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, steady my anxious heart today; help me trust your power and your love when I’m afraid.

Headline

Jesus stills a violent storm with a word, then frees a tormented man—revealing authority that is both terrifying and tender.

Mark 4:35-5:20

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. ² When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³ This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷ He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” ⁸ For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” ¹³ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

¹⁴ Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷ Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

¹⁸ As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Comment

Two scenes, back-to-back, and both ask the same question: Who is Jesus?

First, the lake. A “furious squall,” waves breaking into the boat, seasoned fishermen convinced they’re going down. And Jesus is asleep. They wake him with a question that many of us have prayed in one form or another: “Don’t you care?” (v.38) Jesus rises and speaks—not to them first, but to the wind and the sea: “Quiet! Be still!” And suddenly “it was completely calm.” (v.39) Mark then tells us something surprising: the disciples are not mainly relieved. They are more afraid than before. Not fear of drowning now, but fear of the one who commands the deep. That’s exactly the point: in the Old Testament, it is the LORD who rules the chaotic waters. Jesus does what only God can do—and the disciples begin to realise who is in the boat with them.

Then, the other side of the lake—the Gentile region, a place that feels “unclean” in every direction: tombs, pigs, and a man so broken no one can restrain him. He is isolated, self-destructive, terrifying to others and tormented within. Yet the moment Jesus steps out of the boat, the contest is already decided. The demons know it. “Legion” begs. Jesus commands. The man is restored—sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. (v.15)

And then comes the sobering irony: the townspeople are afraid—not of the demons that ruined a life, but of Jesus whose holiness disrupts their economy and their sense of control. They beg him to leave. The healed man begs to go with him, but Jesus gives him a different calling: Go home and tell what the Lord has done for you. (v.19) The first missionary to the Decapolis is a man who, yesterday, could not even live at home.

Why do we need to hear this today? Because power is frightening if it is random or cruel. But Jesus’ power is neither. He is uncontrollable by us—yet utterly trustworthy. The King who stills storms is the King who restores the shattered.

Reflect

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, forgive my small faith and my quick assumptions about your care. Thank you that you are Lord over wind and wave, and Lord over all spiritual darkness. Please speak your peace into my fears today, and give me courage to trust you when I cannot control what is happening. And where I feel bound or ashamed, bring your restoring grace—so that I may live to tell what you have done for me. Amen.