Luke 8:22-39

We are looking at, it's page 865 in a Pew Bible.

We are looking at verses 22 to 39 this morning.

Last week we saw Jesus teaching about the power of His Word, and today we'll see His

Word in action doing its work, its powerful work.

So let's read together Luke chapter 8, beginning at verse 22.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

One day He, that is Jesus, got into a boat with His disciples, and He said to them,

Let us go across to the other side of the lake.

So they set out, and as they sailed, He fell asleep.

And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.

And they went and woke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing.

And He awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.

He said to them, Where is your faith?

And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, Who then is this, that He commands even winds and water, and they obey Him?

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons.

For a long time He had worn no clothes, and He had not lived in a house but among the tombs.

When He saw Jesus, He cried out and fell down before Him and said with a loud voice,

What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

I beg you, do not torment me.

For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.

For many a time it had seized Him.

He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but He would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.

Jesus then asked him, What is your name?

And He said, Legion, for many demons had entered Him.

And they begged Him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside,

and they begged Him to let them enter these.

So He gave them permission.

Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs,

and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

When the herdsmen saw what had happened,

they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

Then people went out to see what had happened,

and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone,

sitting at the feet of Jesus,

clothed and in His right mind.

And they were afraid.

And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.

Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Him to depart from them,

for they were seized with great fear.

So He got into the boat and returned.

The man from whom the demons had gone begged that He might be with Him.

But Jesus sent Him away,

saying,

Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.

And He went away,

proclaiming throughout the whole city

how much Jesus had done for Him.

Well, this morning's passage is not exactly a walk in the park on a beautiful spring day.

It's not pleasant advice given to well-adjusted people with lots of future potential.

This morning's passage is about when life goes off the rails,

hurtling out of control,

heading toward destruction,

overwhelming,

unmanageable,

chaotic.

In that situation,

what difference does Jesus make?

Now, some of you might say,

my life isn't perfect,

but it's going pretty smoothly right now.

I don't really need that kind of divine intervention right at this point in my life.

But think about how suddenly and unexpectedly

trouble can come upon us.

A routine doctor's appointment

results in a worrying diagnosis,

which calls for tests and treatments

and more tests and more treatments

and missed workdays

and mounting hospital bills,

complex medical decisions,

and a disrupted family life.

Or a seemingly stable marriage

flares up in angry conflict,

mistrust and miscommunication

and accusations and defensiveness,

and now there's talk of separation

or even divorce.

or a pleasant drive

along the shoreline,

interrupted by

a repeated ringtone

or a stream of text message alerts

announcing that a loved one

has been in an accident

or been arrested

or worse.

Our external circumstances can change

with hardly a moment's notice,

and suddenly we can feel like

we're sinking into confusion

and helplessness.

We're struggling to keep our heads above water,

blown and tossed

from one side to another.

But it's not just our external circumstances

that can change suddenly

and unexpectedly.

It's also our internal world

that over time can become unmanageable

and chaotic and overwhelming.

Maybe you have anger

and frustration

that comes from feeling powerless

and voiceless,

disrespected,

unheard,

beaten down

over and over again.

And every once in a while

it erupts outwardly in rage.

Or you contain it

and suppress it

in bitterness.

Maybe it's anxiety

or depression

hangs over your life

like a fog

that won't lift

for days

or months

or even years.

Perhaps it mixes

with self-pity

or it morphs

into self-sabotage

or even suicidal thoughts.

Maybe it's an addiction

to drugs,

alcohol,

pornography,

sex,

even food.

You know it's not good for you,

but you still feel the cravings.

And whether you indulge them

or not,

you never feel satisfied.

You always want more.

Maybe you've been in and out

of rehab programs

and outpatient treatment

and group therapy

and one-on-one counseling,

but you keep feeling the pull

and you keep being drawn back

into your old habit.

This morning we're looking

at two stories.

The first one describes

an external circumstance,

a raging storm on the lake

that threatens to tear the boat apart

and drown the disciples.

It comes upon them suddenly

and unexpectedly.

The second story describes

a raging storm inside a man,

an internal chaos

that threatens to tear

his very humanity apart.

This morning I want to look

at three things.

I want to look at the nature

of these storms.

I want to look at Jesus' authority

over the storms.

And third,

I want to look at our response

to Jesus.

So first let's look at the storms

in turn.

Both of these stories begin,

verse 22 and verse 26,

with references to sailing

across the lake.

Verse 22, Jesus says,

let's go across the lake.

Verse 26,

they complete their journey

across the lake.

Verse 37,

they return.

So this whole section

is a unit,

across the lake

and back.

Now the journey

across the lake

begins peacefully,

uneventfully.

Perhaps they're tired

after a long day

of teaching,

Jesus teaching the crowds,

Jesus even goes to sleep,

but then a storm arises.

Notice the strong language

that Luke uses

to describe this storm.

A windstorm

came down on the lake.

Now that's literally

a good description.

The Lake of Galilee

is seven miles long

or seven miles wide

by nine miles long.

It's pretty large.

And it's 700 feet

below sea level.

But 30 miles north,

there's a 10,000 foot tall

mountain,

Mount Hermon.

And so the air currents

coming from the mountain

surrounding the lake

can often come down

onto the lake

and create storms

that appear

seemingly out of nowhere

with little warning.

The boat was filling

with water.

They were in danger

of drowning.

The waves were raging.

Now remember,

Jesus' disciples,

several of them

were fishermen.

Okay?

These were not

inexperienced tourists

prone to hysteria.

They knew how to

keep a boat afloat.

But here they were,

crying out like babies,

Master, Master,

we're perishing.

We're going to die.

It's all over.

It's like Psalm 107

describes it.

They mounted up to heaven.

They went down

to the depths.

Their courage

melted away.

They reeled

and staggered

like drunken men.

They were at their wits' end.

The storm threatened

to tear apart the boat

and drown them

forever in the sea.

They were facing

an external circumstance

beyond their control

and they were absolutely terrified

and there was nothing

they could do

to stop that storm.

Maybe you can relate

to that experience.

Maybe you've been there.

Maybe you feel like

you are there

in the middle of a storm

that's not your responsibility

and out of your control

and there's

really nothing you can do

to change the weather

and you feel like

it's going to break you apart.

But that's not the only storm

in this passage.

Look down at verses 27 to 33.

In some ways,

an even more terrifying storm.

Luke introduces us

to a man from the city

who had demons.

And you might think,

well, if he's from the city,

why isn't he in the city?

Well, Luke tells us,

the second half of verse 27,

he's not living in the city

because for a long time

he's been running around

naked and homeless

and living in the graveyard.

Now, the graveyard back then

was not like a modern cemetery.

Peaceful, dignified,

freshly cut grass,

nicely arranged flowers.

The graveyard back then

was a series of limestone caves

on the hillside

that were used

to temporarily store

dead people's bones.

It was considered unclean,

the kind of place

you avoid as much as possible,

sort of like a toxic waste site

or an abandoned housing project

with windows boarded up

and broken glass

all over the road.

That's where this man was living,

a place unfit

for human habitation.

And furthermore,

this was Gentile territory.

The country of the Gerasenes

was where foreigners lived.

It was the wrong side

of the tracks,

the wrong side of the lake.

And that's why

they were raising pigs.

Pigs were unclean

in the eyes of the Jews.

Most likely,

they were raising pigs

in order to feed

the Roman occupying armies

who intimidated

and oppressed

the Jewish people.

You see,

this is a place

where no respectable individual,

let alone a religious leader,

would ever choose

to come and hang out.

If you notice,

the Pharisees have been present

in almost every story

that we've looked at

over the last three months.

The Pharisees,

the scribes,

the lawyers,

the teachers,

they've been criticizing Jesus,

they've been observing Jesus,

they've been sometimes

talking with Jesus,

and here,

they're nowhere to be found

because they would never dare

go there.

It's that kind of place.

When the man saw Jesus,

he cried out

and fell down

and started shouting at him,

Why are you messing with me, Jesus?

I beg you,

don't torment me.

He recognizes Jesus' authority,

but he resists it

at the same time.

It's like a drug dealer

doing his business

on the corner

who looks up

and sees the narcotics squad

approaching from all directions

and shining their spotlights

in his face.

And he says,

No!

I know who you are.

You're out to get me.

I don't want to see you.

You're my enemy.

In verse 29,

Jesus had commanded

the unclean spirit to leave.

And in verse 29,

Luke gives us

a little bit of a glimpse

into this man's past,

into his history.

He says,

Many a time,

the demon had seized him,

overpowered him,

taken control of him.

People tried to lock him up,

but he could never be contained.

He would break the chains

and isolate himself

in solitary places.

Verse 30 tells us

it wasn't just one demon,

it was a legion of demons.

A legion was a Roman military unit

of 5,600 men.

This man was inhabited

by an army of demons.

Now, some of you might be asking,

Well, what exactly is all this

about demons?

Is that just a primitive way

of speaking about

what we know to be

mental illnesses?

The answer is no,

or at least not always.

The New Testament

distinguishes between

sicknesses,

including things like epilepsy,

which are not always

attributed to demons.

It distinguishes between

sickness and demonic activity.

So not all physical

or mental

or emotional disturbances

are caused by demons,

according to the Bible.

But according to the Bible,

demons are real.

There are evil spirits,

and they can and do

oppress and attack people.

But consider what it would

have felt like

to be this man,

just as he's described.

Once he had a family

and a home.

Now he is alienated

and homeless,

finding shelter in caves

full of dead people's bones.

Once he would have had friends

to eat and drink with.

Now he's broken off

all his relationships.

He's destroyed them all.

No one seeks out his company.

Once he interacted freely

with people in society.

Now they just try

to lock him up.

And he breaks the chains

and scares them off.

Once he felt like

a human being.

Now he lives

like a wild animal.

Once he wanted to live,

and now he just wants to die.

No one cares about him.

And even if they did care,

no one could help him.

These are the storms

that Jesus confronted.

Both externally

and internally.

But what we see

in this passage

is that Jesus is Lord.

He has authority

over the storms.

He's the master

and commander

of the storms,

both externally

and internally.

And at one level

this is deeply comforting.

Consider Jesus' response

to the storm on the lake.

Unlike the disciples,

Jesus wasn't confused.

He wasn't fretting.

He wasn't afraid.

He wasn't despairing.

even in the midst

of the storm.

And sometimes

that truth in itself

can be a comfort.

The next time

you're anxious

and restless

about something

that you can't control

and you're not

responsible for,

ask yourself,

is my Lord

and Savior

Jesus Christ

the ruler

of all creation,

the commander

of the wind

and waves,

is he sitting up

in heaven

wringing his hands

and biting his nails

and anxiously waiting?

Of course not!

And so speak to yourself

with that truth.

I have a Savior

who knows me

and cares for me

and even though

I feel completely

overwhelmed by anxiety,

I can't sleep,

he is watching over me.

He knows the end

from the beginning.

He is not anxious.

He is not restless.

Jesus simply spoke a word

to the wind

and the raging waves

and they ceased.

They obeyed his command.

They listened to his voice.

The result

was

one person's words,

a mysterious,

supernatural calm

that testified

both to the

sovereign power

of God

and to the

deep peace

and security

that belong

to those

who follow him.

In Isaiah 43,

God says to his people,

do not fear

for I have

redeemed you.

I have summoned

you by name.

You are mine.

When you pass

through the waters,

I will be with you.

And when you pass

through the rivers,

they will not sweep

over you.

And we can know

that that promise

is true

if we've looked

to Jesus

in faith

because he has

linked his fate

with ours.

He's with us

in the boat.

He's promised,

I will never leave you,

never forsake you.

If we perish,

he perishes with us.

And that's why

ever since the early

days of Christianity,

the church

has been symbolically

represented as a boat

like Noah's Ark

in the midst

of the flood.

You can even see

that idea reflected

in traditional church

architecture.

If you look up

at the ceiling,

it's basically like

we're sitting

in an upside-down boat.

And that's why

the main part

of a traditional church

is called the nave,

which is from a Latin word

navus,

which means boat.

If you're with Jesus

in the boat,

he's with you.

And he's your protector.

And he's your refuge.

And he'll carry us

safe to the other side.

And consider also

the comfort

of Jesus' response

to the storm

inside the man.

Jesus confidently

approached this man

who everyone else

was terrified of.

Maybe some of you

can relate to the man

in the graveyard.

Maybe you've burned

bridges over and over.

You've sabotaged

countless friendships.

You've alienated

family members

and former spouses.

You've destroyed

everything that once

was yours.

And your life

feels like a hollowed,

emptied-out shell.

Or worse,

perhaps you feel like

you've been invaded

by hostile forces.

Maybe you've opened

yourself up

to evil spirits.

Maybe you've felt

the dark spiritual

forces oppressing you.

It's a miracle

you're even in church

today,

but even though

you're in the building,

you feel ashamed

and worthless

and unredeemable.

If that is you,

you are not too far gone

for Jesus to come near.

You are not too messed up

for Jesus to heal

and restore.

Jesus does not stand

far away at a distance

looking at you

with disgust

or disdain.

Jesus does not wait

for you to make yourself

more presentable.

He approaches you

with fearless confidence

and with saving grace.

Verse 36,

Luke says,

the demon-possessed man

had been healed.

That same word

can be translated

saved

or made whole.

If Jesus could save

and heal

and restore this man,

surely he can save

and heal

and restore you.

However disturbed

and afflicted

and restless

and alienated

you may be,

however full of anguish

and rage

and fear

and hatred

you may be,

however deeply

you have been locked

into self-destructive patterns

that you can't seem

to stop,

however much

you've hurt other people

and broken past relationships

as this man certainly had,

Jesus is stronger

than all the forces

of evil

that afflict you,

stronger than all

the resistance

you hold inside you

and he has come

to set his people free.

this man is an extreme example

in an extreme situation.

But the whole story

is simply a picture

of what it means

for anyone

to become a Christian,

to pass from death

to life,

from fragmentation

to wholeness,

from restlessness

to peace,

from alienation

to everlasting union

with Jesus Christ.

Look at the extent

of the change

that took place

inside this man.

At the beginning

of the story,

he had many demons.

At the end of the story,

the demons were gone.

At the beginning

of the story,

he wore no clothes.

At the end of the story,

he was clothed

with dignity

and honor.

At the beginning

of the story,

he fell down

and shouted at Jesus

in the posture

of an enemy.

At the end,

he's sitting

at the feet of Jesus

in the posture

of a disciple.

At the beginning,

he was alienated.

At the end,

he was accepted.

At the beginning,

he was out of his mind.

At the end,

he was in his right mind.

Is there anything

Jesus can't do?

Now, I know

the transformation

doesn't always happen

immediately

and completely

like it seems

to happen here.

Even in this story,

there's resistance.

The demons

didn't immediately leave

the moment Jesus

appeared on the scene.

It took some

back and forth.

Maybe you're still

resisting Jesus'

authority

over your life

at some level.

Surrender to him

today.

Today.

He's the rightful

Lord over all creation.

He's come to reclaim you,

to restore in you

the image of God

that you were created

to bear.

His grace is greater

than your sin.

His redemption

and the hope

that he has

for your future

is greater than

all the mess

you have in the past.

Now, I know

that for some of you,

it's so hard

to believe those truths

because your sin

seems greater

than God's grace.

Your past

seems bigger

than God's

redeeming power.

your addiction

seems to define you

more than your

identity in Christ.

Your shattered

relationship

seems so far

from ever

being rebuilt.

But I pray

that today

that you would

see Jesus,

the persistent

and victorious

and merciful Savior,

and that you would

believe and trust

in him

with all your heart

and with all

your soul.

Jesus' authority

over the storms

can be a deep

comfort.

But before we go on,

we also have to admit

that Jesus' authority

over the storms

can be deeply

unsettling as well.

Notice how both

Jesus' disciples

in verse 25

and the people

of the Gerasenes

in verse 35

responded to

Jesus' authority.

authority.

They

were

afraid.

Same words,

both of them.

What was so

unsettling

about Jesus'

authority

in both instances?

Consider the storm

on the lake.

Jesus calmed the storm

with a word.

Surely that is comforting.

But he also

led his disciples

into the storm

in the first place.

Did you notice

verse 22?

Jesus said to them,

let us go across

to the other side

of the lake.

Do you think

he had no idea

what he was getting

his disciples into?

And even if you

would say,

perhaps Jesus

in his human nature

did not

see what was coming,

he was living

in absolute trust

and obedience

to God,

his heavenly father

who surely did.

However you think

Jesus' human

and divine natures

worked together

in what he knew

and what he was

conscious of.

The storms we face

are not outside

of our Savior's control.

The trials we experience

do not take

our heavenly father

by surprise.

Sometimes he

intentionally steers

our ship

right in the middle

of them.

J.C. Ryle

wrote in his commentary,

if we are true Christians,

we must not expect

everything smooth

in our journey

to heaven.

We must count it

no strange thing

if we have to endure

sicknesses,

losses,

bereavements,

and disappointments

just like other people.

By affliction,

God teaches us

many precious lessons

which without it

we would never learn.

He shows us

our emptiness

and weakness,

draws us

to the throne

of grace,

purifies our affections,

weans us

from the world,

makes us long

for heaven.

On the resurrection

morning,

we will all say

with the writer

of Psalm 119,

it is good for me

that I was afflicted,

that I might learn

your statutes.

That's why Jesus

asked them in verse 25,

where is your faith?

It's not that they

had no faith at all.

It's that their faith

wasn't yet mature.

They weren't yet

fully living into it.

The word of God

was in them

but it hadn't penetrated

all the way down deep.

And so when they

faced a time of testing,

they panicked.

They acted out

of desperation

instead of trust.

They did turn to Jesus

in their desperation

and that's good.

But Jesus is warning them,

don't be like

the rocky soil

that we looked at

last week

that receives

the word with joy

but has no root

that only believes

for a little while

and then when trials come

falls away.

Storms will come,

Jesus says.

They're part of the course

I have laid out for you.

You see,

Jesus' authority

was unsettling

to his disciples.

It was also

even more unsettling

to the people

of the Gerasenes.

Verse 37,

all the people

of the surrounding

country of the Gerasenes

asked him to depart

from them

for they were seized

with great fear.

You might say,

why did they respond

that way?

Well, for one thing,

a large herd

of pigs,

a significant chunk

of the regional economy

had just been destroyed

with Jesus' permission.

Why did Jesus

have to destroy

all the pigs

in the process

of healing the man?

Wasn't that

gratuitous violence

against innocent animals?

Or depriving

hard-working herdsmen

of their livelihood?

Wouldn't pass

with either party,

right?

What would Jesus

do next?

I think we can see

at least two reasons

why Jesus permitted

the demons

to destroy the pigs.

Number one,

to demonstrate

the magnitude

of the deliverance.

Who would have known,

would everyone

have believed,

that this man

had been taken over

by a whole army

of demons

if they hadn't gone

and entered

the large herd of pigs?

If Jesus just drove

out one demon,

well, there were

other exorcists

who claimed to do that too.

Or maybe the guy

was just crazy

and not really possessed.

But when all the pigs

ran off the cliff

into the lake,

there was no more

disputing the magnitude

of what Jesus had done.

But the second reason,

I think,

is to force the townspeople

to clarify their priorities.

Which matters more?

A large herd of pigs?

A big chunk

of the regional economic assets?

Or one lost

and tormented human soul?

Who's now clothed

with dignity,

thinking clearly,

and sitting peacefully

at Jesus' feet?

Jesus cares more

about the restoration

of one lost

and tormented soul

than he does

about the GDP

of downtown New Haven

or the United States.

Jesus is willing

to empty out

your personal savings account

without asking

your permission

in order to carry on

his work of redemption

in the world.

And that's unsettling.

Jesus' authority

knows no boundaries.

It's deeply comforting,

but it can also be

deeply unsettling.

And so that brings us

to our third point.

What's our response

to Jesus?

We've seen the nature

of the storms.

We've seen Jesus' authority

over the storms.

How do we respond

to this Jesus

and to his comforting

and yet unsettling

authority?

We see three responses

in the story to Jesus.

First, we see

the disciples' response.

They were afraid

and they marveled.

Verse 25.

This is not a bad response,

but it also

doesn't get them

very far.

Or let's say

it doesn't get them

all the way to the end.

However,

they are asking

the right question

in verse 25

when they say,

who then is this?

Because Jesus

has just done something

that according

to the Old Testament

and according

to common sense,

only God can do.

Psalm 107,

which we read earlier,

says,

they cried out

to the Lord

in their trouble

and he delivered them

from their distress.

He made the storm

be still

and the waves

of the sea

were hushed.

Jesus just did

what only God

could do.

And if you read

the New Testament Gospels,

you see this happening

all the time.

Jesus claims

to forgive sins,

but only God

can do that.

Jesus calls himself

Lord of the Sabbath,

but according

to the Bible,

God instituted

the Sabbath.

Jesus calls himself

the bridegroom,

but that's how God

described himself

in the Old Testament

as the faithful husband

to his bride.

When Jesus says things

that only God should say

and when he does things

that only God

has the authority

to do,

you have to ask

the question,

who then

is this.

C.S. Lewis said,

you can't just say

he was a good

moral teacher

if he said things

like that.

A man who said

and did things

like that,

you must conclude

either that he was

a lunatic,

he was out of his mind,

or that he was

a liar

and a deceiver,

or that he was

the Lord

who he claimed

to be,

God himself.

Who then is this?

Have you answered

that question?

Ask that question

until you answer it.

Second,

we see the garrisoned

people's response.

They asked him

to depart.

Leave us alone,

Jesus.

Go away.

We're afraid

of what you'll do next.

We don't want you

to disrupt our lives

too much.

Our lives are going

pretty well right now.

We don't want to lose

any more pigs.

Or perhaps,

we don't want you

to heal any more

crazy people.

Because then we'll

actually have to

treat this guy

like a human being.

And not just try

to lock him up

like an animal.

They allowed

what was unsettling

to them about Jesus

to dominate

their picture.

And in the process,

they missed

and rejected

his incredible offer

of saving grace.

But finally,

we see the man's

response

in verse 38

and 39.

And that's where

Luke ends the story.

And Luke wants

to end there.

We know that this

is intentional

because it's not

strictly chronological.

In fact,

this whole story,

Luke sort of goes

back and forth in time.

He doesn't go

play by play.

He emphasizes

certain things

by how he tells

the story.

And he emphasizes

at the end

of the story

this man.

Because in verse 37,

it says,

Jesus got into the boat

and returned.

But then verse 38

and 39

leave us with this

parting,

it's sort of like

the parting shot,

the last scene

in the movie.

The thing that Luke

wants to stick in your mind

more than anything else,

this conversation

between Jesus

and the man

from whom the demons

had gone.

The man begged

that he might be

with him.

This is actually

the third time

in this story

that someone

has made a request

that has begged

Jesus or asked

Jesus for something.

In verse 31,

the legion of demons

begged Jesus

not to command them

to go into the abyss.

That is the bottomless pit,

the place of punishment

for evil spirits.

And Jesus said yes

to their request.

He gave them permission

to go into the pigs instead.

Verse 37,

the people of the Gerasenes

asked him to depart

from them.

And Jesus said yes.

He got into the boat

and went back

across the lake.

But here in verse 38,

the best request

of them all,

Jesus,

I want to be with you.

And Jesus says no.

Isn't that by far

the best request

of them all?

Doesn't this man

deserve to have Jesus

answer his prayer

more than anyone else

in the story?

Doesn't he understand

Jesus better

and love him more?

And yet Jesus says no.

Because he has

something better in mind.

Go home

and tell them

how much God

has done for you.

Well,

he doesn't just go home.

He proclaims it

through the whole city.

He becomes the first

Christian missionary

to the Gentiles.

And the content

of his message

shows that he knew

the answer

to the disciples'

question,

who is this?

Because when Jesus said,

go and proclaim

how much God

has done for you,

verse 39 says,

he went proclaiming

how much Jesus

had done for him.

He recognized

that Jesus has done

what only God

could do,

that Jesus is

God in the flesh.

Joel Green

put it this way,

Jesus gave

the former demoniac

the very task

that Luke would exercise

in the writing

of his gospel,

namely,

narrating

and proclaiming

God's mighty acts,

a high and holy

calling.

to stay behind

for the sake

of his family

and friends

and his city,

for all the people

who he had formerly

tormented and frightened,

so that they,

for all the people

who initially

rejected Jesus,

so that they too

might know

the saving

and healing

and transforming

power of Jesus

the merciful Lord.

In conclusion,

I want you to consider

how intentional Jesus

is through this

whole story.

Jesus took

his disciples

all the way

across the lake

through a raging storm

that almost killed them

to a bad neighborhood

and an unclean graveyard

where no one else

would dare to go

in order to rescue

and redeem

this one

demonized,

tormented man.

And once he healed

the man,

he got back in the boat

and went back

across the lake.

Mission accomplished.

It was the one thing

he came to do.

That's how much

he valued this man.

That's the length

he went to

to reach him.

Today's Palm Sunday

when we remember

the intentionality

of Jesus

and the lengths

he went to

to come and reach

each one of us.

How he rode

into Jerusalem

and he was hailed

as king,

but knowing

that the crowds

who welcomed him

would soon turn on him.

and on Good Friday

how he carried

the cross

up the hill

and hung there

for six hours

enduring the storm

of human rejection

and mockery

and brutal pain

and divine judgment

for our sins.

That's how much

he loved us.

Do you see how far

he came

for you

to rescue

you

and me?

Brothers and sisters,

if you have experienced,

if you have even begun

to experience

Jesus' healing

and transforming power,

go home

to your family,

to your friends,

to your neighborhood,

to the graveyards

of this city

and tell the world

how much Jesus

has done for you.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Jesus,

we praise you.

We acknowledge you

as the Lord.

We praise you

for the comfort

that that gives us

when we pass

through the waters

you have promised.

I will be with you.

You can speak

to the raging waves.

Be still.

And we thank you

that you can speak

to the depths

of our souls,

the pain

and torment

and shame

and anger

and self-destruction.

you can speak

to all that.

You can speak

peace

and life

and hope.

We pray

that we might

encounter you today

either for the first time

or at a deeper level.

We pray

that you would give us

the love

and obedience

that this man

demonstrates

at the end of the story.

to long

to be with you

above all else

and to obediently

go and proclaim

how much

you have done

for us

and how great

is your mercy.

In your name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.