Our Response to God

Matthew 8:23-34:

²³ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men

²⁸ And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, ^F24 two demon-possessed ^F25 men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³⁰ Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” ³² And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.


I know. That's a lot of Scripture to throw out there, but I've been thinking about our response to divinity and these passages break my heart.


So the disciples have been following Jesus. They like the guy. He's been doing miracles all day, and a few days before, he was giving them a lengthy discourse on morals. People are flocking to Jesus. Everyone wants to talk to him, be healed by him, see him, and the disciples have been called by God to get to hang out.


And we, as American Christians who have been told our whole lives that Jesus is the Son of God, take that knowledge for granted. Sometimes I catch myself thinking that the disciples knew Jesus was the Messiah from the start. 


They didn't.       


So they're on a boat and a storm comes while Jesus is sleeping. You know the drill. Disciples: afraid. Jesus: sleeping. Disciples: wake Jesus. Jesus: rebuke wind and the disciples. Storm ends.


Sometimes, we get so familar with the story that we stopped being shocked. This is a crazy storm. They're on a little boat being tossed around. HOW ON EARTH IS JESUS ASLEEP?!? Jesus' sleep pattern is more than biological here. Its theological. Don't you think he had a lesson to be taught here? People don't sleep through heavy turbulence --- especially when waves are splashing on top of you.


So Jesus rebukes them, and that's a blog unto itself. The key, today, is their response. The disciples stand in awe, wondering what kind of man he is.


What kind of MAN he is. That's what the disciples think. They've seen miracles. They've heard amazing speeches. They've seen the world obey him. And they wonder if maybe its in the water in Nazareth. They see his finest divinity and dwell on his humanity.


How many times have you heard someone say that they would believe in God if he would work a miracle. How many times have I played Gideon asking God for some miraculous sign and then another. Its not the miracles that bring us to belief; its God's grace that opens our eyes. The disciples had enough evidence; what they needed, was some faith.


So that's sad enough by itself, but Matthew highlights our depravity by what story he chooses to follow it. So, the disciples, with Jesus, get off the boat in this place that no one goes to. There are crazy men living in tombs: it's like a scene from a B movie.


Look at what they say. "What have you to do with us, O Son of God?"


I looked. That's the first Christological statement in Matthew. Who says it? Demons.


That should humble you. The disciples, who have seen the awesome power of Christ, think about his humanity. The demons upon seeing him come out and speak to him AS GOD. 


What do we need in order to believe? What silly things are we waiting on God to do before we'll claim him as our Savior? 


It gets worse. Jesus sends the demons into a flock of pigs, who kill themselves. The herdsmen men run away. The passage doesn't clarify their emotions. We don't know if they were angry, scared or amazed. What we do know, is what they talked about.  The passage says they "told everything, ESPECIALLY what had happened to the demon-possessed men"


They lost their whole herd of pigs, yet they focus on the men. They lost their jobs, but what they dwell on is not the animals, but the men who are freed from their demons. They focus on the MIRACLE and not the damage.


Yet, the next verse tells us that those from the city found Jesus and kicked him out.


Now, if you were focusing on the healing and the miracle that happened, would you ask the man to leave? I don't think you would. You ask someone to leave when they cause problems. Like killing your herd of pigs.


The herdsmen focused on the miracle. The town on the pigs.


My big point: Even when the situation is the same, our response to Jesus is different. 


No amount of evidence changes the way we view God. We will either believe in him with all that we are, or we'll wonder what kind of man he is. Either we'll dwell on his goodness, or we'll focus on our burdens. So, how are you going to respond to God?