Article 2017-10 A Scary Short Outreach
Chapter 37: A Scary Short Outreachl
Introduction
Christ’s missionaries need to be prepared for anything, all the time. Even a short-term outreach into enemy territory can be demanding. Because such outreaches invade enemy-territory, resistance has to be expected. In our story here it occurs as a storm. Although Jesus knew what lay ahead, He didn’t tell His disciples. In spite of the worst crises Jesus never loses control for a minute. During scary circumstances He tests our quality of faith in Him. To our surprise, not everybody is happy when missionaries deliver demoniacs.
Scripture reference
Others went out on the sea in ships … a tempest … lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depth; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end (Ps. 107:23,25-27)
The story
One day Jesus told His disciples that they would sail on the lake. The disciples agreed. It would be nice to be away from the crowds for a change. So, they walked down to the boat. As usual they embarked on Peter’s boat, since that was the biggest. Jesus told Peter to head due east, while He made Himself comfortable at the backside of the ship, putting a pillow beneath His head.
Within minutes He slept, through the slight rippling of the waves, but mainly because of the hours of prayer during the night. After a while the breeze increased. The sun hid behind a cloud and the temperature dropped. It started to rain and the wind increased violently. Jesus slept. The disciples started to scoop the water of the waves that had grown in height, out of the boat, but it seemed in vain. The water level increased by waves that broke over the vessel’s side boards. The sail tore, the mast squeaked. The disciples looked at each other in bewilderment and when another wave sprayed them all at once they panicked.
Scripture reference
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper … They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven (Ps. 107:28-30)
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is you faith?” he asked his disciples (Luke 8:24,25)
The story, continued
‘Master, Master! We’re perishing!’ they shouted at the sleeping Rabbi. He woke up at once, stretched, yawned and smiled. He stood up, stretched His hand over the water and calmly – His voice could hardly be heard over the noise of the raging waves – said ‘Quiet!’ Immediately the wind ceased. The waves receded. The clouds withdrew and the sun came through. Had there not been so much water in the boat the disciples would have doubted that it had been a real storm. They were perplexed. ‘Where was your faith, friends?’ He asked in the same quiet voice, now audible again.
The disciples were seized with alarm and reverent dread. ‘Who is this,’ they said among themselves, ‘that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’ Soon they reached the lake’s east side where they disembarked, drying their clothes, being watched by some pig herders.
When they had come to themselves Jesus explained that a worse storm was about to break. Hardly had He said this, or a terrifying screech came from the graveyard behind the hill where they sat. A scary, bewildered, unkempt man stumbled around the corner, the remainders of iron chains still dangling from his arms and ankles. The disciples were seized with fear. ‘Come out of him,’ Jesus said with the same quiet voice, but full of authority. ‘What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the most high God?’ he shouted with a shrill voice. ‘What’s your name?’ Jesus asked. ‘Legion!’ the man, drooling and fidgeting, said in an unusual low, threatening voice. ‘Please don’t torture us before the time! Can we enter those pigs?’ ‘Go,’ Jesus said simply. The man was thrown to the ground and seconds later the huge herd of swine ran down the slope, into the water and drowned. The man was free and healed. The disciples gave him a decent robe and helped him wash and remove the shackles from his limbs. ‘Lord, please let me follow You,’ he begged. But Jesus said. ‘Not yet. I want you to go to your village and tell the people what I did for you. Reluctantly the man went. The pig-herders ran ahead of him and reached the village first, where they told the pig owners what had happened. They hardly had attention for the delivered demoniac when he arrived a little later. Then they sent a delegation to the hills, asking Jesus to please never return…
Comment
Going through scary experiences is no sign of spiritual immaturity, on the contrary. People that are able to stand the test are tested; no teacher tests those who are not ready. Mere converts would be swept overboard; true disciples face the hard tests.
They sailed to a region called ‘Decapolis’, or ‘The Ten Cities’. It was ‘only’ a short-term outreach. Yet it was a serious one, because it went into Gentile territory. Jesus ministered to a man, possessed of more than six thousand demons. The devil knew that he was outnumbered against God’s Son. In what must have been a panic-council with his local minions, he decided that a storm might deal with the problem, especially since the tired Man fell asleep. If they could catch Him off guard… Losing grip on an entire region was something to fight for. Satan wasn’t relinquishing his valuable asset without a battle.
Jesus valued that His disciples learned some lessons about spiritual warfare, and the seriousness of invading enemy territory, even if only for some hours. Missionary outreach carries a price-tag.
One Bible translation speaks about ‘a whirlwind revolving from below upward swept down on the lake’. This formula ‘from below’ says much. Although weather- and climate conditions can cause storms on Lake Galilee, the true cause in our story was most likely spiritual opposition in advance; we just saw why.
Was Jesus taken by surprise? No. He had already heard from His Father what was going to happen and how to deal with it, hence His unconcerned, innocent sleep.
Had He warned His disciples, He would have jeopardized the value of the test. Faith must be tested continually, to be stretched to maturity.
The lake represents life’s circumstances: usually quiet and predictable, sometimes scary and disturbing. The boat represents one’s prayer life, from where life’s course is determined. Normally, a boat should be elevated above the water, as one’s prayer life should operate above life’s circumstances. In our story the opposite threatened to happen: ‘the boat filled with water’ and ‘they were in great danger’.
Such circumstances suddenly seem to pop up out of nowhere, threatening our (spiritual) life. Jesus, Who lived permanently above His circumstances, was unaffected; that’s why He could sleep in peace. The disciples still had to learn that. They found themselves confronted with waves, higher than their boat. Sometimes our prayer life, that should float on top of the circumstances, is inundated by them. So much water had come into their boat that they were losing the battle. The lie of the water became the wrong confession on their lips: ‘we’re drowning!’
Often the same happens to us: for some time we are so inundated by adverse circumstances that we believe we’ll be beaten by them. Our circumstances then start to rule our prayer life, instead of vice versa. Their prayer should have been ‘Lord, we’ve been unable to manage, will You please help?’ Instead they uttered the untruthful confession ‘Master, we’re perishing!’ Understandable? Absolutely! But wrong nevertheless. Why? Because they were on their way to God’s purpose for that day – which they had probably forgotten.
Some of the disciples might have bailed out for the day, had they known what lay ahead. Wouldn’t you have excused yourself ? All of us remember chapters in our spiritual lives that we would rather have skipped, had we had the chance… Our biggest challenge during life’s storms is to recognize the lies of our adverse circumstances and throw them out. So we elevate our prayer life – which contains the truth of God’s word (here represented by Jesus) above those circumstances. It is replacing these adversities and our incorrect interpretations with eternal truths of God’s word.
Fortunately we have ‘the Lord on board’ when we can’t cope. Will we give in to panic or exercise faith? The disciples panicked and Jesus’ question ‘Where is your faith?’ was justified. We must trust Him before we see solutions to our problems, before He changes our circumstances, before He stills our storms.
During written exams, we need to give the answers before the examiner scores our test. At times in our spiritual lives we are in real danger. Then we may appeal to Jesus to do the impossible. His purpose with us is underway. He will not allow us to perish.
Scripture reference
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him” (Luke 8:25)
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10,11)
Comment continued
Jesus did something His disciples hadn’t seen before. In awe they wondered ‘Who is this?’ Through this crisis they got to know yet another side of their Master. Whoever sees no storm, will not become acquainted with Who stills them. Whoever knows no shortage, will not get to know Him as Provider. The healthy person will not know Him as Healer. The result of crises in life is to get to know Him better. We sing ‘to know Him more’. Then, when He allows this, we cry out, because we learn that through storms only. Intimacy with God doesn’t come cheaply. Knowing Him and the power of His resurrection never happens without also becoming like Him in His death, Paul said.
Discussion & dialogue
- Why can spiritual opposition be expected when enemy-territory is being penetrated for evangelism purposes, even during short-term outreaches?
- Discuss what sort of spiritual opposition may be encountered, with regard to the disciples, the tools, the means of transport, etc.
- What may have been Jesus’ major disappointment, at the end of this outreach?
- Which 7 of the 10 themes feature in this story and how? (Answer: see Teacher’s Guide)
