41
B u s i n e s s
January 1928
T HE
K i n g .' s
stirred up before the time and interfere with His mission, this man was bidden to “go home and tell his friends how great things the Lord, had done for him." There was no risk, in'this section, of po litical capital being made of the occur rence, the population being mostly Gen tile. • ’ . P ith and P oint Men are like tea. Their real strength comes out when they get into hot water (4:38). . . Our prospects are as bright as His promises (v. 35). ■A storm with the Savior is better than sunshine with Satan. Launch out with Jesus and the devil is sure to blow up a storm (v. 37). Stay in your snug place and there won’t be a ripple. Satan’s dominion cannot be conquered by the worthiest efforts of man (5:3-4). All a child of the devil asks of a child of God is to be let alone (v. 7). Some men would rather get on with a legion of spirits than experience the love of the Savior (v. 1 7). ] S uggestive Q uestions What is our assurance if we find our selves in a great storm into which Christ has apparently led us? (Rom. 8:28.) Do we have any right to fear when we are obeying His call and when He has given us a promise for our pillow? (V. 40. Cf. Isa. 41:10.) What is suggested as to the power back of the winds in this instance, in view of our Lord’s rebuking the wind? (V. 39.) How did the demoniac know who Jesus was? (5:6. Cf. Jas. 2:19-) What additional words does Matthew record concerning the demoniac’s fear of torment? (Mk. 5 :7. Cf. Mt. 8:29.) What “time” is meant? (Jude 6.) Did Jesus answer the prayer of de mons (vs. 10:13) and of the Gadarenes? (V. 17.) And the man who was healed? (V. 19.) Was the man called to be a foreign or a home missionary? (V. 19.) —o— G olden T ext I llustration What manner of man is this, that even the %vind and the sea obey Him? (Mk. 4:4.1). Sosomenes relates that when Mary and Joseph fled into Egypt -with the child Jesus, when they approached the city of Heliopolis, a tree which grew before the gates of the city, and was regarded with great veneration because it was thought that a god dwelt in it, bowed down its branches at the approach of the infant Christ. There is another legend that all the idols of the Egyptians fell with their faces to the earth. Pictures of the flight into Egypt have been found showing broken idols lying by the wayside. But we need not depend upon such legends to answer the question of the Golden Text. Not long ago an unbeliever who was in duced to attend a revival service went forward to the altar to discover whether or not Jesus was divine. He prayed: “Oh, Christ, if thou be divine, reveal Thyself to me now !” In a few minutes he sprang to his feet, exclaiming, “He is God, He is God !” The inner witness of the Holy Spirit had answered the question for him.
would remind one of the result of Satan’s victory over Adam. Certainly these scenes would not contribute to a cheerful state of mind, and thus the evil powers control ling him would have all the more influ ence. The man seemed to have superhuman strength. No fetters nor Chains could hold him (vs. 3-4). At the very sight of; Jesus, this crazed man suddenly began to worship, but strangely cried out: “What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? I adjure Thee, by God, torment me not” (v. 7). . With subtle purpose, the forces of Sa tan got ahead of men in acknowledging Christ the Son of God. In all demon cases1, we find this acknowledgment, re gardless, of the popular opinions concern ing Christ. These confessions must have been due to a common supernatural in fluence. Outside of demon cases there are only two ,persons of whom it. is, recorded that, at first sight, and with no .natural means of information, they recognized the deity of Jesus. .These are Simeon .and Anna, ¿both of whom were indebted to special illumination of the Holy Spirit. Even John the Baptist had to have special signs to assure him. • He who had just spoken peace to winds and waves has no difficulty in calm ing a man under the control of demons. To get the man to distinguish his own personality from that of the spirits pos sessing him, Jesus asks the man his name. “My,,name is Legion, for we are many,” came the answer (v. 9). Note his inward distraction. His own identity is blended with that of the. spirits. He is but half conscious of his own personality. He cannot forget the “we.” The demons, becoming more distinct from the human personality, lead him to cry out “Send US into the swine,” for a ■ great herd was feeding nearby (vs. ll- 12). Mark the fact that the request came from the demons. It was Satan’s desire. Demops prefer anything to disembodi ment. Jesus simply “gave them leave” (v. 13). Is not Satan often permitted to have his way? Is the loss of a herd of pigs anything to some modern calami ties? And is not God working out His own purposes in all such permittances? Some tender-hearted skeptics worry much about the pigs that would not stand the presence of the demons and jumped into the lake. They would have been butchered anyway and what is this de struction compared to the slaughter of hogs to satisfy the meat appetites of one city in one day? Others grieve about the loss to the owner. But what right had the Jew to keep hogs when it was forbidden by the law? He probably would not eat pork, but he was raking in the shining shekels from the Romans. Perhaps he learned his lesson. Again it may have been an object lesson to the Sadducees who de nied the existence of spirits. The demoniac was delivered, but the citizens, for fear of losing a few more pigs, suggested that his Deliverer depart for other coasts. Wouldn’t you think they would have urged Him to stay awhile and heal their sick? Such is the unreasonable ness of sinners, and it’s easy to get rid of Jesus.. The demoniac of Gadara became the first missionary to the regions of Decap- olis :(v. 20). While in many cases Jesus enjoined silence lest the priestly party be
the church, but they would not care to live where there was none. The only true place o'f security is in the boat where Christ manifests His presence. "There arose a great storm, and the ‘waves heat into the ship so that it was now full’ (v. 37). But remember-^“//e was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow” (v. 38). If He can sleep, then all must be well. Tne Son of God will have His way in the whirlwind. The very trumpeting of the hurricane is God’s great orchestra. If we’re out on the great waters doing His will, a storm can only aid His purpose and drive us nearer shore. But mark the hubbub! They rudely awaken Him. They utter a protest—not a prayer. “Carest Thou not that: we per ish?”;, ,(v., 38). That very day He had been telling them of some “zvho have no root in themselves and so endure but for a time” (v. 17). And now a storm had arisen ,in the path in which He was lead ing them, ‘‘and they were offended.” No doubt when they had heard His teaching, they had congratulated themselves that it had no application to them. Now they are all up in the air. “He arose and rebuked the wind.” Un to the sea, He simply said: “Be still” (v. 39). He puts emphasis upon the noise of the occasion. How often our fright is due mostly to noise! Now that He is able to make Himself heard, He turns to His disciples and asks: “Why is it that ye are so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” (v. 40). Alas! Fear can give no reasonable ac count of itself when He is in the boat and His promise has been given. He is the Pacifier of tumults both without and with in. With 365 “fear nots” in the Bible— one for every day in the year, what can we say to Him when He asks : “Where is your faith?” The disciples could only look at one another and exclaim: “What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” He is the Master of worlds, Whose presence assures His chil dren safety (v. 36) ; Whose power upholds all things (v. 39) ; Whose peace is ’ the calm of heaven (v. 39) and Whose pa tience with our unbelief is marvelous (vs. 40-41). . We turn now to another kind of a tempest—an outbreak of the kingdom of darkness. It is not strange that there should have been peculiar manifestations of demon powers at the time of our Savior’s appearance on earth. Evil forces seem to have been held in reserve for that critical period, then to make their fiercest assaults upon men. Not only is it seen in the many cases of demon possession but in the strange spiritual darkness that was over all men, especially the religious leaders. ' It was like the dense. darkness before the dawn of day. It cannot be doubted but that there are demon cases in our own time. See "Demon Possession” by John L. Nevins, 40 years a missionary in China, also ‘‘Demonism Verified” by Hugh W. White. The most remarkable instance of dem on possession is the one recorded in chap ter 5; the demoniac of Gadara. No sooner was Jesus out of the ship than He was met by “a man with an unclean spirit" (v. 2). He spent his time, we are told, among the tombs. The fondness of both maniacs and demoniacs for ceme teries is well known. What an appro priate place for a demoniac! Every grave
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