Mark 4:35-5:43
The Master Over All
John Kenneth Galbraith, a well-known economist talked about the devotion of Emily Wilson, his family’s housekeeper in his autobiography:
It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. The 36th president of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson was calling from the White House.

“Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson.”
“He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb.”
“Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him.”
“No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you.”

When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. “Tell that woman I want her here in the White House.”

Emily Wilson understood the meaning of following her master’s order. So what is ‘master’? According to the definition of the word ‘Master’ from the Webster’s dictionary, it is: One that has control over another or others.

We are going to witness our Lord and Savior Jesus is the Master over all – the Master over nature, the Master over the supernatural, the Master over disease and the Master over death. He is worthy to follow.

A. THE MASTER OVER NATURE
Mark 4:35-41 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
The Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. It lies approximately 680 feet below the Mediterranean Sea. When the cool currents rush down from Mt. Hermon which is 9200 feet and collide with the warm air that comes from the Mediterranean Sea right in the middle of this Sea. It produces violent winds without warning that cause high waves on this seemingly peaceful lake.

Did Jesus know that the storm was coming? Of course He did! The storm was a part of that day’s curriculum. Jesus can be trusted in the storms of our lives. Many people have the idea that storms come to their lives only when they have disobeyed God, but this is not always the case. Jonah ended up in a storm because of his disobedience, but the disciples got into a storm because of their obedience to the Lord.

Pastor and author Gayle Erwin tells the story of a boat trip across the Sea of Galilee with a tour group when the wind, rain and waves began to kick up. A young man on the boat thought “What Would Jesus Do?” and stood up to rebuke the storm. When he spoke out, “Peace, be still” the rain and wind kept coming but the engine of the boat immediately cut out.

There are three things I’d like to point out:
1) Jesus told them that they were going to go over to the other side, not drown in the middle of the sea.

2) The Lord Himself was with them.
They had already seen His power demonstrated in His miracles, so they should have had complete confidence that He could handle the situation. For some reason, the disciples did not yet understand that He was indeed the Master of every situation.

3) They could see that Jesus was perfectly at peace, even in the midst of the storm.
This fact alone should have encouraged them. Jesus was in God’s will and knew that the Father would care for Him, so He took a nap.

How often in the trials of life we are prone to imitate the faithless disciples and cry out, “Lord, don’t You care?” Of course, He cares! He arose and rebuked the storm, and immediately there was a great calm.

The greatest danger in this trip to the other side of the Sea of Galilee was not the sudden storm, but the unbelief of the disciples. The greatest danger in our lives is not the things happen around us, but the unbelief of our hearts toward what God can do.

At this point, the sea was in complete calm. The only things that were still shaking were their hearts and knees from the fear of realization that Jesus was not an ordinary man.

Jesus is the Master over nature.

B. THE MASTER OVER THE SUPERNATURAL
Mark 5:1-13 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” 8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. 11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
That is what I call ‘Deviled Ham.’ If there were those pathetic animal rights group people around, can you imagine what they would say about Jesus? “You pig killer!”

The Gadarenes were the inhabitants of Gadara, and this is the land that was given to the tribe of Gad on the east side of the Jordan River.

In this chapter, we encounter one of the most vivid and gripping portraits of evil in the entire Bible. The first person we meet in the opening verses of this chapter is the demons’ prisoner.

He was demonized, hopelessly and helplessly under the domination of demonic powers. His body was so controlled by satanic influences that it was merely a base of operations for the demons. Even his vocal chords were under their control.

How did this happen to him? We are not told specifically how a person becomes demon possessed, other than the inference that it must be by some sort of invitation, whether offered deliberately or not. Superstition, fortune telling, occult games and practices, spiritism, New Age deception, magic, using illegal drugs and other things open doors of deception, and present a real demonic danger.

Recently I read an article regarding this:
More than 4,000 teens, in three nationwide studies, were interviewed by the Barna Group about their exposure, through the media and otherwise, to the “supernatural world.”

73% of America’s youth have engaged in at least one type of psychic or witchcraft-related activity, beyond mere media exposure or horoscope usage – the most common being use of a Ouija board and reading a book about witchcraft or Wicca. More than 25% of teens have played a game featuring sorcery or witchcraft elements.

Many teens say they even have had experiences that could only be described as supernatural or spiritual: such as communicating with a dead person, participating in a séance, casting a spell or mixing a magic potion, palm reading, and the list goes on.

Listen to me, young people and old people; if you dabble with any of these things, you are playing with the fire of the devil. Stop it now.

Never underestimate the destructive power of Satan. He is our enemy and would destroy all of us if he could. Like a roaring lion, he seeks to devour us. It is Satan who is at work in the lives of unbelievers, making them to be children of disobedience.
Mark 5:14-20 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. 18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
The owners of these 2000 pigs had one main interest – making money – and they were afraid that if Jesus remained any longer, He would do even more “damage” to the local economy. Our Lord does not stay where He is not wanted, so He left. What an opportunity these people missed!

Why did Jesus not permit the healed demoniac to follow Him? The man’s request was certainly motivated by love for the Lord Jesus, and what a testimony he had! But Jesus knew that the man’s place was in his own home. This man became one of the earliest missionaries to the Gentiles.

Jesus is the Master over the supernatural.

C. THE MASTER OVER DISEASES
Mark 5:21-34 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. 25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” 29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” 31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, Who touched Me?’ “ 32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
Jesus returned home to Capernaum. Among the new crowd two people were especially anxious to see Him – Jairus, a man with a dying daughter and an unknown woman suffering from an incurable disease. It was Jairus who approached Jesus first, but it was the woman who was first helped.

Physically this hemorrhaging disease is taking a toll on the poor woman. I wouldn’t doubt that she became skin and bones from loss of blood. Emotionally she was losing hope for her health. Time after time she returned home from doctors with her uncured body. Financially she ran out of her money due to the medical bills. And socially, according to the law, she was ceremonially unclean, which greatly restricted both her religious and her social life. What a burden she carried!

But she came to Jesus with one faith. What kind of faith did she have? It was weak, timid and perhaps somewhat superstitious. She kept saying to herself that she had to touch His clothes in order to be healed. Jesus honored her faith, weak as it was, and healed her body.

When we believe, He shares His power with us and something happens in our lives. There were many others in that crowd who were close to Jesus and even pressing against Him, but they experienced no miracles. Why? Because they did not have faith. It is one thing to hang around with Jesus, but quite something else to trust Him.

Jesus is the Master over diseases.

D. THE MASTER OVER DEATH
Mark 5:35-43 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” 40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.
Poor Jarius! It must have been torture for him to see Jesus take time out to minister to this woman while his daughter suffered. God is never slow, but He often seems slow to the sufferer.

The bad news sank the heart of Jairus. But Jesus told him to believe. Believe what? Jesus. All Jairus could think was that his daughter is dead. There is no more hope. Why bother with Jesus? But he still took Jesus to his home where his dead daughter is.

The professional mourners laughed at Jesus’ comment. Unbelief laughs at God’s Word, but faith lays hold of it and experiences the power of God. Jesus did not make a spectacle of this miracle. He was sensitive to the feelings of the parents and grieved by the scornful attitude of the mourners.

With simple words, Jesus who is God Himself overcame death and brought life back to the little girl.

I found a few interesting aspects from Jesus’ approach in these two situations:
• Jarius had twelve years of sunshine that were about to be extinguished.
• The woman had twelve years of agony that seemed hopeless to heal.
• Jarius was an important man, the ruler of the synagogue.
• The woman was a nobody. We don’t even know her name.
• Jarius was probably wealthy, because he was an important man.
• The woman was poor because she spent all her money on doctors.
• Jarius came publicly.
• The woman came secretly.
• Jarius thought Jesus had to do a lot to heal his daughter.
• The woman thought all she needed was to touch Jesus’ garment.
• Jesus responded to the woman immediately.
• Jesus responded to Jarius after a delay.
• Jarius’ daughter was healed secretly.
• The woman was healed publicly.

Jesus is the Master over death.

E. APPLICATIONS
We have just studied that Jesus is the Master over nature, the supernatural, diseases and death. If Jesus is truly the Master over our lives, it puts us in the position where we must have obedience to our Master. We cannot say, “Jesus is my Master and the Savior,” yet not obey His commands. That contradicts each other.

1) Ask yourself, “Is Jesus the Master over my life?”
If the answer is ‘Yes’, you must do what you have learned today and what the Bible teaches. But if the answer is ‘No’, you can still become His follower by accepting Him into your heart. However, if you choose to not to follow Him, please keep this in your mind clearly: You just rejected Jesus. That means that you are against God and you are for satan.

2) Jesus is the Master over all and we don’t need to fear.
This does not mean that God must always rescue His people from danger or heal every disease. But it does mean that He holds the ultimate authority and that we don’t need to fear. After all, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

3) The greatest danger in our lives is not the things happen around us, but the unbelief of our hearts toward what God can do.
 
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