WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.720 Well, good morning, friends. If I'm hard to hear, then do tell me. If I'm mumbling, I'll try and speak louder. Do feel free to come forward if you want to. 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:15.480 And let me thank you for sharing your pastor with Edinburgh North Church this morning and for welcoming me here. He will come back, I promise. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:22.839 But it's a great thing for our church family to see others who share their convictions about the Bible and their love for the gospel. 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:27.879 And I know they'll be praying for all of you this morning and wanting me to send their love. 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:34.019 Well, do please keep Mark's gospel open at chapter four. Be a great help if you could follow as we go. 00:00:34.219 --> 00:00:37.479 And let's bow our heads, shall we, and ask our father's help. 00:00:40.219 --> 00:00:45.320 Our Lord and God who said, I am the way and the truth and the life. 00:00:46.420 --> 00:00:53.719 We pray you'd forbid us to stray from you who are the way or to distrust you who are the truth. 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:58.479 Or to rest in any other thing than you, our life. 00:00:59.420 --> 00:01:05.359 Teach us now by your Holy Spirit what to do and who to believe and where to find our rest. 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:08.620 For your own namesake, we ask it, Lord. Amen. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:11.780 Well, it's pitch black. 00:01:11.780 --> 00:01:17.599 You've woken utterly disorientated in darkness that is thick and heavy and alarming. 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:25.760 And so you stumble along the wall, desperately trying to feel for a switch, a table, anything familiar. 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:28.540 And then all of a sudden, a flash of light. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:30.939 A car drives past the window. 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.120 The moon peeks out from behind the clouds. 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:36.719 And for a second, the whole room is lit up. 00:01:37.320 --> 00:01:40.740 Just long enough to help you find your bearings. 00:01:42.020 --> 00:01:48.480 Something like that seems to happen every time these disciples get into a boat in Mark's gospel. 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:54.560 Each time that happens, Mark is telling us that they are blind and confused and hard-hearted. 00:01:55.320 --> 00:01:58.400 And then all of a sudden, they're given a flash of light. 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:01.560 This is the first time it happens that way. 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:05.219 And one of the most startling passages, I think, in the whole gospel. 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:13.360 Because just for a second, it's as if the wall between two worlds begins to break down. 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:16.180 The physical world and the spiritual world. 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:25.460 To give us this brief, breathtaking glimpse of Jesus Christ in all his majesty and might and terrifying glory. 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:35.020 One writer describes what the disciples saw this day as like a world suddenly lit up by a flash of lightning. 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:40.080 For a split second, they see things as they truly are. 00:02:40.260 --> 00:02:46.640 Not just who Jesus is, but what he's come to do with his extraordinary power. 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:53.559 This storm is actually the first of four miracles that Mark puts together over chapters four and five. 00:02:53.739 --> 00:02:56.019 And all of them share a big message. 00:02:56.979 --> 00:03:01.199 This Jesus is the sovereign God of heaven and earth. 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:09.219 Come in power to deliver his people from darkness and desperation and death itself. 00:03:09.219 --> 00:03:16.500 Even in the most desperate situations, Jesus Christ is mighty to save. 00:03:17.300 --> 00:03:18.379 That's the big message. 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:25.800 Mark's Jesus is a big, awe-inspiring, frankly terrifying Jesus. 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:35.100 And if we're still in the dark, clinging on to a twee Jesus who's comfortable to have around for a rainy day, 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:39.120 well, it's time for Mark to open our eyes. 00:03:40.140 --> 00:03:43.720 In these two miracles, it's a theme of darkness that comes out on top. 00:03:43.980 --> 00:03:45.500 First, the stilling of the storm. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:49.600 And then a man's rescue from a whole legion of demons. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:56.199 And together, they tell the story of Jesus' triumph over the world of evil. 00:03:57.259 --> 00:04:05.340 This is the day that darkness dared defy him, only to be put firmly back in its box. 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:07.979 They belong together, these two miracles. 00:04:08.079 --> 00:04:09.379 So we're going to look at them like that. 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:13.340 And I want us to learn three very important truths. 00:04:13.340 --> 00:04:20.360 And then take stock about what it means to see Jesus, the way he's lit up for us here. 00:04:21.420 --> 00:04:26.000 And truth number one is something that Mark is not in any way trying to hide. 00:04:27.300 --> 00:04:32.280 This world is full of genuine terror. 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:36.720 People sometimes say terrible things about this passage, don't they? 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:37.800 I'm sure you've heard the sermons. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:41.340 Real faith melts away life's worries. 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:44.560 Real faith calms a troubled heart. 00:04:45.379 --> 00:04:47.819 With Jesus in the boat, you can smile at the storm. 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:48.779 Have you heard the sermons? 00:04:49.739 --> 00:04:51.319 Mark is never that trite. 00:04:51.659 --> 00:04:54.859 Because often, life's storms are real. 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:56.759 And they are scary. 00:04:58.039 --> 00:05:03.579 In fact, there's a big fear that stalks us right the way through this big section of the gospel. 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:07.819 Lurking behind all four miracles is a big fear. 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:12.300 The one we cannot pretend away no matter how much we try. 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:18.219 Every one of these miracles faces us with the prospect of death. 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:24.759 First, there's this little flotilla of boats on a lake, a huge lake. 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:31.099 And we know that half the people in these boats are tough, experienced fishermen. 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:38.480 And yet they're hit by something so unexpected, so terrifying, that they end up genuinely worried. 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:39.840 This is it. 00:05:40.900 --> 00:05:43.420 Teacher, don't you care if we drown? 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:50.300 Then they meet a man whose life is reduced to rags and chains and self-harm. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:52.520 And what does Mark repeat for us? 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:53.160 Look at your Bibles. 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:54.920 What does he repeat three times? 00:05:56.340 --> 00:05:58.900 He's living out among the tombs. 00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:01.960 He's already in the grave. 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:06.819 Unclean, unwanted, good as dead. 00:06:08.340 --> 00:06:10.439 Read on in your own time the next two miracles. 00:06:10.700 --> 00:06:11.860 And it's the same story. 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:16.000 A woman who for 12 years has lived a living death. 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:23.000 And a 12-year-old girl who by the time Jesus arrives is already starting to go cold. 00:06:24.100 --> 00:06:29.199 Death, death, death, death all over the section. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:34.139 And friends, we are not meant to smile at a storm like that. 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:37.300 They've got more in common, these miracles. 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:45.819 Every time people are utterly powerless in the face of something huge and terrifying and uncompromising. 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:50.360 Every one of them gives us a picture of sheer desperation. 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:58.180 Eventually, life is going to throw every one of us a problem we simply cannot fix. 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:03.960 Parents whose aging we can only watch powerless. 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:10.939 Children whose sorrows and struggles and souls we can only pray about. 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:17.920 Think of this man in the tombs. 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:19.279 He's completely isolated. 00:07:19.779 --> 00:07:21.160 Feared by the villagers. 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:25.879 Laughed at by the kids who dare each other to go and have a look in the graveyard. 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:28.540 Hated even by himself. 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:31.060 Day and night, verse 5. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:33.779 He's torturing his own body. 00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:42.699 In fact, he's giving us an eerie picture of how Jesus will end up when this book comes to its climax. 00:07:44.039 --> 00:07:44.719 Isolated. 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:46.059 Naked. 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:47.659 Unclean. 00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:48.739 Skin lashed. 00:07:49.599 --> 00:07:50.399 Flesh torn. 00:07:52.119 --> 00:08:00.399 The reason Christ had to become all that is that the people he came to rescue are living it. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:03.979 But you aren't meant to smile at those storms. 00:08:05.339 --> 00:08:09.939 So life is full of genuine fear and anxiety and trouble. 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:14.219 And you can't make them go away just by believing really hard in Jesus. 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:19.019 And not only that, I'm afraid the truth gets worse before it gets better. 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:25.199 Because number two, this world is full of genuine darkness. 00:08:26.799 --> 00:08:30.159 Mark isn't just telling us here about a series of unfortunate events. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:37.519 No, he's representing both of these very deliberately as attacks on Jesus' kingdom. 00:08:39.040 --> 00:08:44.899 The sea is one of those great famous pieces of Bible imagery running through the Old Testament. 00:08:45.040 --> 00:08:46.080 It's not really a thing. 00:08:46.660 --> 00:08:49.540 The sea in the Bible is more like an army. 00:08:49.920 --> 00:08:50.160 A force. 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:55.220 It represents those forces of darkness and chaos and rebellion. 00:08:55.220 --> 00:09:03.360 The sea is that force which constantly pushes back against the boundaries its creator has set. 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:09.420 Every tide, every wave is like a little challenge to God's rule. 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:16.899 It's why in the Psalms and in Job, the sea is where those terrifying mythical creatures lurk. 00:09:16.979 --> 00:09:19.279 The monsters who only God contain. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:28.240 And now Jesus takes his new people, his 12 disciples, this new Israel he's just called into existence. 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:32.720 And he leads them straight through the middle of that sea. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:41.680 Now, if you've been tuned into Mark, he's been training his readers to keep the prophet Isaiah in the back of their minds. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:46.879 And particularly Isaiah's big rescue story. 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:51.459 Isaiah's promise of a new exodus, a new rescue. 00:09:51.459 --> 00:09:59.079 Right from chapter one, the beginning of the book, he's presented Jesus as the climax to Isaiah's rescue story. 00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:11.960 This is God stepping into history to lead his people out of captivity, out of the wilderness, back through the sea, just like the first time. 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:17.100 But the sea is not willing to give them up without a fight. 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:26.980 Those powers of darkness here, they sense their chance to destroy Christ and his entire kingdom, just one little flotilla of boats. 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:30.200 And so they throw their worst to him. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:34.100 And there's something similar going on with the possessed man. 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:38.840 Verse one of chapter five is a very significant moment in this book. 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:43.019 Jesus has crossed the lake into Gentile land. 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:45.100 It's why they're keeping pigs, isn't it? 00:10:45.800 --> 00:10:56.360 So if you like, what we're seeing here is his first raid into enemy territory, extending the borders of his kingdom, even beyond stubborn Israel. 00:10:56.980 --> 00:11:01.519 And once again, the enemy is not willing to give up his claim. 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:08.120 And so he has a whole legion of demons sent rushing at Christ. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:13.460 I don't think it's an accident that Mark uses such a militarized name. 00:11:13.460 --> 00:11:17.600 Just like the Roman legion claimed the promised land. 00:11:18.180 --> 00:11:21.560 So Satan's legion claims its people. 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:27.100 You see, this world is full of real spiritual darkness. 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:35.500 So full that the enemy claims every one of us sitting in this room, body and soul. 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:38.159 He thinks we belong to him. 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:40.879 And by rights, we should, shouldn't we? 00:11:42.340 --> 00:11:43.139 We're rebels. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:52.299 We're unclean, just like the man in the tombs, contaminated by sin, unfit for God's presence, condemned to die. 00:11:52.299 --> 00:12:07.259 But if we get beyond the twee versions of this story that we're so used to hearing, if we face up to the terror and the darkness properly, then what we're about to see becomes so much more thrilling. 00:12:08.599 --> 00:12:11.459 Yes, there are fears in every human life. 00:12:11.579 --> 00:12:12.839 We cannot pretend a way. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:16.500 The darkness haunting this world is very real. 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:25.159 But thirdly, this world's king puts terror and darkness in its box. 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:37.340 Jesus Christ, the Jesus of Mark's gospel is so spine chillingly powerful that he rules over even the darkest forces arrayed against him. 00:12:38.340 --> 00:12:43.379 Notice his utter indifference to the panic while storms are swirling around the boats. 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:45.559 It's a classic bit of eyewitness detail, isn't it? 00:12:45.559 --> 00:12:48.139 He's fast asleep on a cushion. 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:56.179 Now, we know already that this is the sovereign God of heaven and earth, the one who made the sea and the dry land. 00:12:56.739 --> 00:12:59.819 Nothing lays a finger on him without his permission. 00:13:00.199 --> 00:13:00.839 We know that. 00:13:01.719 --> 00:13:03.679 But the disciples don't know it. 00:13:04.819 --> 00:13:09.159 To them, verse 38, him sleeping there, it seems like he hardly cares about them. 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:16.939 Of course, what that only shows us is that they don't really believe who is with them in the boat. 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:21.419 It's why it's their faith that Jesus challenges in verse 40. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:24.000 He means their faith in who he is. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:26.539 And they should know it by now, shouldn't they? 00:13:26.539 --> 00:13:34.259 If they'd listen to John the Baptist right at the start of the book, they'd know that this is exactly why Jesus came. 00:13:34.599 --> 00:13:41.339 He's the Exodus king, the one to lead the rescue mission, Isaiah's divine rescuing warrior. 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:50.800 And they'd know perfectly well that when God rescued his people back in Egypt, this was exactly how he did it. 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:55.440 He brought them through the sea safe and sound. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:04.240 Several times, that is exactly how Isaiah describes the new rescue mission that was to come, the one Jesus would lead. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:08.279 In fact, Mark's alluding to one of those passages really strongly here. 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:10.639 We read it earlier on, didn't we, as our call to worship. 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:19.820 Isaiah 43, thus says the Lord, he who formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you. 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:21.440 I've called you by name. 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:22.899 You're mine. 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.000 When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you. 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:29.080 The waves will not overcome you. 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:33.860 I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:41.900 Well, here is God's new Israel, 12 men called by name, called to belong to him. 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:51.200 And now verse 36, Mark tells us twice that Jesus is with them and into the water they go. 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:59.520 Even the people closest to Jesus, though, his new 12, they have hard hearts and blind eyes. 00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:03.560 That's the sting, isn't it, of his why are you so afraid question? 00:15:04.340 --> 00:15:10.060 They are in a boat with the God they ought to know by now is here to deliver them. 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:13.639 While the enemy makes his attack. 00:15:14.419 --> 00:15:19.419 And in case we are in any doubt that this is a spiritual battle, Mark is painting for us. 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:21.959 Jesus' actions make it perfectly clear. 00:15:22.959 --> 00:15:25.199 He doesn't command the wind and the waves. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:29.639 He doesn't switch them off as if there were some impersonal force of nature. 00:15:29.819 --> 00:15:30.079 No. 00:15:30.579 --> 00:15:33.839 Verse 39, look, he rebukes them. 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:37.679 It's a word Mark uses in two types of situation. 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:41.859 He rebukes people, Jesus, when he's casting out demons. 00:15:42.439 --> 00:15:46.239 And he rebukes his disciples when they're opposing his mission. 00:15:47.099 --> 00:15:49.120 You don't rebuke bad weather, do you? 00:15:50.199 --> 00:15:55.759 This is the sovereign God of heaven and earth staring down the enemy and shouting, 00:15:55.959 --> 00:15:57.799 who dares defy my rule? 00:15:59.219 --> 00:16:01.299 And just like that, verse 39, 00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:13.139 Mark uses the same word for the silence as he does for the storm. 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:16.199 There was a great squall up in verse 37. 00:16:17.199 --> 00:16:22.439 And if you look at a literal translation, it's replaced with a great silence, a terrifying silence. 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:29.520 Think of Aslan the lion and his mighty roar, except that Jesus doesn't even need to raise his voice. 00:16:30.300 --> 00:16:33.900 Just a word and creation quakes. 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:39.400 It's like a living portrait of that parable of the mustard seed. 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:43.159 Jesus starts as small and unimpressive as it gets. 00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:46.159 A frail human being curled up on a pillow. 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:50.279 And with just the power of a word from his mouth, 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:54.720 suddenly we recognize him as bigger than anything in creation. 00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:58.179 Bigger than our biggest fears. 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:02.199 And it's the same story again with Legion, isn't it? 00:17:02.259 --> 00:17:05.079 Jesus doesn't even have to get close, verse 6. 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:08.779 Legion sees him from a distance and immediately he crumbles. 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:12.579 He crumbles, runs up the white flag and begs like a coward. 00:17:13.879 --> 00:17:17.379 So Jesus sends him straight back where he belongs, 00:17:17.579 --> 00:17:23.859 into a herd of unclean pigs and over the cliff and down into the deep. 00:17:25.500 --> 00:17:28.039 Evil put back in its box. 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:33.539 Or to quote the way, one very technical commentary sums up the whole thing. 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:35.160 Oink, splash. 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:42.220 Here is a God who rules even the terror and the darkness. 00:17:43.300 --> 00:17:49.320 And notice that it's only when people see him clearly that the real terror begins to creep into these stories. 00:17:50.120 --> 00:17:52.340 What's the big surprise both times? 00:17:52.339 --> 00:17:59.500 It's that people are more afraid after Jesus rescues them than they were before. 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:00.399 Did you notice it? 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:02.480 Verse 41. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.939 Jesus stills the storm and then they're scared. 00:18:06.859 --> 00:18:08.279 In fact, the text says it twice. 00:18:08.379 --> 00:18:10.399 They were terrified with a great terror. 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:11.819 Before they were anxious. 00:18:11.980 --> 00:18:12.879 It's a different word. 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:15.140 Jesus uses in verse 40. 00:18:15.260 --> 00:18:16.140 Why are you so timid? 00:18:16.800 --> 00:18:18.040 Now they're terrified. 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:21.600 Who on earth have we got in this boat? 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:24.340 Down in verse 15. 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:25.860 It's the same again. 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:30.000 The villagers have tried for years to control that poor man in the tombs. 00:18:30.300 --> 00:18:32.320 Did you count how many times we were told that? 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:33.480 Verses three and four. 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:35.579 No one could bind him. 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:36.660 Even with a chain. 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:38.740 He's often been chained hand and foot. 00:18:39.059 --> 00:18:40.279 He tore the chains. 00:18:40.380 --> 00:18:41.519 He broke the irons. 00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:43.460 No one could subdue him. 00:18:44.940 --> 00:18:51.700 Here is a man living a subhuman existence with superhuman strength. 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:54.140 A prisoner of Satan, the strong man. 00:18:55.420 --> 00:19:01.519 And yet with a word, Jesus binds him and casts him into the abyss. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:02.779 And verse 15. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:08.819 When people see that, they're terrified as to what it must mean. 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:14.420 Two more miracles to come in this section and it'll be the same story. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:18.799 There is terror and amazement every time, but not terror at the events. 00:19:19.940 --> 00:19:22.879 Terror at the one who can control the events. 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:27.339 For a brief moment, that darkness is lit up. 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:31.679 And people see Jesus Christ for who he really is. 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:40.859 Well, what I'd love to do for the rest of our time is to let every one of us recognize 00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:48.459 why we need a big, scary picture of who Jesus is and what he's like. 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:58.360 It matters because how we think of him is going to shape very profoundly what we expect to get out of the Christian life. 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:05.340 How you think about Jesus is the most practical application we could ever take from a Bible passage. 00:20:05.339 --> 00:20:10.019 And this one forces us, I think, to question our assumptions. 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:17.599 A lot of us go through life with a tame version of Jesus tucked away in our back pockets. 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:25.099 And although it's true that as Christians, we never need to fear God's punishment, his anger. 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:32.719 There is something terrifying or inspiring about this character that Mark is trying to show us. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:38.859 So what difference does it make to see him as he really is? 00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:47.119 Well, firstly, a tame Jesus is a God who might well still the storms of life. 00:20:47.939 --> 00:20:49.759 It's what we want out of him, isn't it? 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:57.460 We want a tame Jesus to be there when we need him and not be too much nuisance when we don't. 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:03.619 That's a Jesus the locals in verse 14 would have been quite happy with, 00:21:03.660 --> 00:21:06.480 a Jesus who hadn't just cost them their livelihoods. 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:13.299 But you see, the Jesus Mark's showing us doesn't seem too bothered about making our lives plain sailing. 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:16.160 He's got a bigger agenda. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:19.119 He might well cost us a few pigs. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:26.099 In fact, it's only being with this Jesus, being close to him that got his disciples into trouble, isn't it? 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:32.180 Do you think those forces of darkness would have kicked up a fuss about a boatload of ordinary fishermen? 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:36.819 No, it's following Jesus that put them under attack. 00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:42.440 Still, that rescued man, he is desperate to stay with Jesus. 00:21:42.599 --> 00:21:43.680 He wants to be close. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:46.700 He wants to get back in the boat when they sail away. 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:49.759 And Mark's telling us that is the right attitude. 00:21:51.080 --> 00:21:57.160 But Jesus has another agenda for him, a much more difficult, much more costly one. 00:21:57.160 --> 00:22:07.259 So far, all over Israel, wherever he's been, Jesus has been silencing people who might witness to his identity, let on who he is. 00:22:07.300 --> 00:22:11.340 It's been part of his judgment over Israel's hard hearts. 00:22:12.040 --> 00:22:14.920 And suddenly in verse 19, it's the exact opposite. 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:34.460 Jesus has an agenda of grace and inclusion for these Gentiles that is far bigger than any one person. 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:38.059 He's not bothered about giving us an easy life. 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:46.360 I don't know about you, but my religious study lessons when I was at school were pretty terrible. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:51.620 I think this is the only Bible passage I remember ever looking at in class. 00:22:51.619 --> 00:23:00.000 And the reason I remember it is that we were all so outraged that Jesus could be this cruel to 2,000 little piggies. 00:23:01.379 --> 00:23:08.359 And for the entire hour of that lesson, I remember the teacher floundering and fudging and trying to make it sound better. 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:12.959 And it's only now I realize what a massive irony that was. 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:21.299 Because if you're feeling the same way, if you're outraged about the poor piglets, well, I'm afraid Mark has played you like a fiddle. 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:27.500 That is exactly the reaction of all the wrong people in this story, isn't it? 00:23:28.439 --> 00:23:32.179 To the villages, at the end of the day, pigs mattered more than people. 00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:35.860 Jesus does a wonderful, amazing thing. 00:23:36.860 --> 00:23:39.560 And they respond with terror and fury. 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:43.500 Because they will not get on board with his agenda. 00:23:44.580 --> 00:23:49.840 They want a tame Jesus who will make their problems melt away. 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:53.279 Whereas Mark is showing us someone very different. 00:23:54.460 --> 00:23:55.840 And friends, that is good news. 00:23:55.840 --> 00:24:01.259 Because while a tame Jesus might well calm the storms of life, 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:07.680 only a terrifying Jesus could carry you through the storm of death. 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:11.099 And that is what Mark is interested in. 00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:17.559 Every so often I do an evangelistic event with students or church groups 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:22.000 where they memorize Mark's gospel and then perform the whole thing in about 90 minutes. 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:23.160 And it's very simple. 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:25.379 No props or costumes or cheese. 00:24:25.379 --> 00:24:26.740 It's just a text of Mark. 00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:32.660 And the way the stilling of the storm is done is somehow incredibly powerful. 00:24:33.120 --> 00:24:38.720 I only know of one person who was converted immediately while she watched the Mark drama. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:42.299 And it happened right there in the silence after the storm. 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:51.500 She saw what Mark claimed about Jesus and realized right then that if it was true, 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:54.180 it was utterly terrifying. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:25:02.779 It meant that this man possessed an order of power and might and awe that just can't be ignored. 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:05.059 And she had to belong to him. 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:08.200 That's what Mark is saying, isn't it? 00:25:09.579 --> 00:25:14.059 Jesus is bigger than the darkest fears you have. 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:16.799 So fear him. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:20.659 And the storm gets put into perspective. 00:25:22.619 --> 00:25:24.859 Friends, we need that sort of Jesus, don't we? 00:25:26.679 --> 00:25:30.659 When our whole nation is losing its head and afraid of the future, 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:33.119 don't we need a God who's scarier than Brexit? 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:40.240 Whose call and his cost for your life is not remotely affected by it. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:41.259 It's deal or no deal. 00:25:41.259 --> 00:25:44.759 Who will never, ever be up for election. 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:47.759 Whose triumph is never in doubt. 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:51.599 When you're grieving, 00:25:53.059 --> 00:25:57.700 don't you need to know there's a Jesus bigger and scarier even than death? 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:05.259 I spent the week talking for the first time with my dad about end of life care. 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:08.059 When will be time to withdraw treatment? 00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:10.220 That is a scary decision. 00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:15.339 I wish he knew there was a Jesus far scarier than death. 00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:25.400 A Jesus like that means that death does not get to lay a finger on someone he loves. 00:26:26.879 --> 00:26:34.000 He's called them by name to belong to his kingdom for all time and all eternity. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:37.119 And who dare defy him? 00:26:39.539 --> 00:26:41.440 Behold your God, says Mark. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:45.599 The Exodus king, the creator of heaven and earth, 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:48.980 come in power to deliver his people. 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:52.259 Open your eyes and see him as he is. 00:26:52.259 --> 00:26:54.879 Because as long as you live in this world, 00:26:55.299 --> 00:26:59.000 you will face things you simply cannot pretend away. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:04.740 But here is a God you can trust to carry you through. 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:09.740 Either the darkness and the fear will swallow us up, 00:27:09.740 --> 00:27:19.039 or we run to a Jesus so enormous and majestic that even death trembles before him. 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:22.460 Let's bow our heads. 00:27:22.460 --> 00:27:32.579 Father God, we pray in your mercy that you would help us see your son and king for who he truly is. 00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:40.840 Help us to love and fear him in a way that puts all other fears in their place. 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:48.879 We thank you, Lord, that already he has triumphed over darkness and death through the cross, 00:27:49.199 --> 00:27:55.399 that no power of hell or scheme of man could ever separate us from his love. 00:27:56.919 --> 00:28:01.039 So we pray that with a big view of Jesus, our king, 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:05.439 you would help us this week to walk in faith. 00:28:06.939 --> 00:28:09.119 We ask it, Lord, for his namesake. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:10.759 Amen. 00:28:10.839 --> 00:28:10.959 Amen.