Sunday
School Lessons
Commentary by Walter Albritton
March 16
Jesus Reveals His Power
Mark
Key Verse: What manner of man is this, that even the wind and
the sea obey him?
– Mark
I can never forget
that moment when I saw for the first time the
The sea was much
larger than I had supposed. I discovered that it is, in fact, about 14 miles
long and six miles across. There was a strong wind the day we went for a short
boat ride. An experienced seaman told us that squalls sometimes develop
quickly, without warning, when the winds come up.
Mark describes such a
furious squall as a great storm that threatened to sink the boat, causing the
disciples to fear for their lives. They were afraid and frustrated to find that
Jesus was asleep in the rear of ship. Weary of ministering for hours to others,
Jesus was getting much needed rest.
Complaining that Jesus
seemed not to care about their plight, the disciples woke Jesus in the hope
that he could save them. Jesus arises and rebukes the wind and the sea,
commanding them to become peaceful and be still. Immediately, the wind and the
waves obeyed his voice.
This demonstration of
Jesus’ power should not surprise us. After all, since Jesus is the Creator,
should he not have power over his own creation? Mark wants us to understand
that Jesus is the Son of God and his power and authority have no limit. Indeed,
the disciples have no need to be afraid as long as Jesus is with them.
The real issue here is
not about Jesus’ power over nature but the need of the disciples to replace
their fear with faith. Jesus confronts them about their lack of faith, which
allows them to be handcuffed by fear. Fear paralyzes. Faith liberates. Faith in
God is the antidote to fear.
Mark uses another
incident to demonstrate the power of Jesus, our Lord’s encounter with the
demon-possessed man living among the tombs. So not only does Jesus have power
over the natural world, he also has power over the demonic.
Some people cannot
embrace the reality of demon possession. They believe that belief in demons was
the result of first century ignorance and superstition. Personally, I have no
trouble believing in the existence of the demonic, both then and in our present
world.
There are hideous
examples of evil committed all the time for which demon possession seems the
most plausible explanation. To explain incidents of violent evil as “mental
illness” leaves unanswered the question of what produces mental illness.
I am content to accept
what Jesus believed – that the Evil One is responsible for the demonic power
that seeks to destroy life and separate people from life in God.
In a world like ours,
where fear threatens to engulf the human race and the demonic forces of evil
seek constantly to bind us in the chains of sin, what good news it is that we
can turn to Jesus for help!
He is the Son of God,
the Creator, and our Redeemer. He alone can heal the disharmony of our souls
and give us peace with God.
With the hymn writer
we can affirm, “When the storms of life are raging,” Jesus, precious Jesus,
stand beside us. Calm our fears, and break the demonic chains that bind us,
that we may become free to live to the fullest a life that honors you!
Receiving such help
from our Savior, we cannot afford to sit and enjoy it. We must seek the grace
we need to overcome our fear and share this good news with our neighbors and
friends. + + + +