The Power of God's Kingdom Present

Video: https://youtu.be/HH-A8j0FX68

In the Gospel of Mark’s 4th chapter, Jesus has just given us a few stories or images to show us what the Kingdom of God will look like and how God’s Word might utterly change our lives. We all know that stories and images are important to help us understand. They allow us to visualize, relate and understand things that we may never have been able to otherwise. Yet Jesus knows that faith and God’s Kingdom is not just a matter of mental ascent. The reality of God’s Kingdom which is powerful and life changing is physical, it is being made manifest through a dependence on God and for us we will see it when we practice a courageous faith. 

Today, we hear about four amazing miracles. The disciples, as they often did, rode a boat across the sea, when a giant storm hit. They were battling it, as the wind, the waves and the rain threatened to tip them over and drown them. Jesus strangely seemed to be resting through all of this. With nothing else they can do they turn to Him and ask for His help questioning whether He cares. Jesus gets up and just says a few words and the storm stops. The disciples are scared and amazed, wondering who Jesus is. Jesus says to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still not believe?” As if to say, after everything you have seen Jesus do, do we not realize that we have no reason to be afraid.

Then there is the demon possessed man. The people of his town have tried everything they could to shackle him, to stop him from hurting himself, but nothing they do can restrain him. It is interesting that in this moment, neither Jesus nor the narrative actually differentiates between the man and the demon’s inside of him. The man comes and yells at Jesus and yet it is the demons that answer. A reminder to each of us, how our demons can be so much a part of us that we don’t know the difference. Jesus has commanded them to come out of this man, when Jesus finds out that the demons in this man are legion. They are an army, a great and huge force. Jesus agrees to send them into pigs, which promptly run off a cliff and die. The town’s people when they hear about this and see the freed man are afraid of what this means so they tell Jesus to leave and Jesus tasks the man with telling these town people what God has done for them and the mercy that this was. 

Then we get the story of a religious leader who turned to Jesus to heal his daughter. This may be a bit confusing at first, because the religious leaders have practically only been hostile towards Jesus and yet even the most hostile when they are in real need can turn to Jesus. This happened to the apostle Paul too. Jesus goes with this Synagogue leader, who is named, because Mark’s readers would know him. On the way a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, who had suffered under the care of doctors and who had spent everything she had trying to be cured, reaches through the crowd, just to touch Jesus’ cloak. She is healed, just from touching an article of Jesus’ clothing and Jesus knows right away. Jesus stops, even though He has pressing business with a sick little girl, to find out who touched Him. In this immense crowd, this would have been a joke to anyone listening and watching. There were so many people touching Jesus and yet only one was healed. Jesus tells us why, it was this woman’s faith that healed her. 

At this moment, we find out that Jairus’ daughter has died. We like those with Jesus would probably think it is hopeless now. We might even ask, why did Jesus stop when this was obviously really important, but Jesus reminds them, “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. So, He goes to this girl and finds the professional mourners there. He tells them to stop because the girl is not dead, she is sleeping. They know full well she is dead, but they don’t realize that for God new life is like waking up from a dream. So Jesus calls her His daughter and tells her to get up. Jesus asks them not to tell anyone and to give her something to eat. Just a reminder to all of us that the work of Jesus and His miracles and Kingdom are not just Spiritual, but all of these amazing new realities have been for our bodies as well as our spirit. 

Now as we have looked at these stories again, I want to draw your attention to a pattern. First, in all these cases there was nothing anyone could do about it. The disciples fought the storm, the citizens tried to tie up the demon possessed, the doctors tried to heal the woman, and the people could only mourn the little girl. Each time, it didn’t matter what people did, they failed at the insurmountable task before them. 

Second, they turned to Jesus because they had nowhere else to turn. Third, Jesus does the seemingly impossible: He calms the storm, casts out the demons, heals the bleeding woman and brings the little girl back to life.

Fourth, their response to God’s amazing work is fear. It may have been everything they ever hoped for or wanted, but when we really recognize God’s Kingdom in our midst, we can only react with fear, because it means that everything has changed. If Jesus can control the greatest storm that even professional fishermen could not sail through, what does that mean for the storms and chaos in our lives? If Jesus can cast out a legion of demons that people couldn’t even physically restrain, what does that mean for the demons and forces that try to move us? If Jesus can heal the woman that no medicine, no doctor or money could heal, what does that mean for our sickness and problems? If Jesus can bring back to life a little girl that was dead and all was left was for us to mourn and give up, what does that mean about our lives, death and the hopeless realities that so often try to consume us.

Fifth, Jesus points us towards faith. He challenges our fear, our lack of faith, or our inability to trust wholly in Him. He says to us, take into account everything you have seen and heard about me and put some trust into what God can do for you. Trust that even if Jesus seems to be resting, waiting, if He is in your boat then there is no storm to fear. Trust that if God is in your village or town, there is no force or demon that will lay claim over you. Believe that something as simple as touching His clothes has the power to heal, restore relationships, build a new life. Believe that nothing is insurmountable to God, that no death or pain is the end. Rather, believe and follow Him and we will see the unimaginable. We will see the things we would laugh at because they seem more like jokes than reality. 

It would do each of us well to read these stories slowly by ourselves. To relate to the people in them. Really asking ourselves, what in our lives will make us feel like these people. What storms or sickness or demons or loss have we faced? What things have I depended on my own power, or talent or money, or experts to accomplish? What has been hopeless, or insurmountable? What has isolated us? Then ask how could we have trusted and shown faith in Jesus Christ more? Did we even turn to Him? Do we trust that He will protect us through it? Do we have faith enough to believe all we need is to touch His cloak, or hear His word or get a crumb from his table. 

And finally, the last part of the pattern is that Jesus’ amazing work always comes with a word from God’s mouth. Jesus says to the storm and to all of us: “Calm, be still”. Jesus says to our demons: “Come out of this man or woman, you impure spirits/forces/desires”. Jesus says to the bleeding woman and to all those faithfully reaching out: “Daughter, son your faith has healed you. Go and be freed from your suffering”. Jesus says to the concerned parent and all of us worried for anyone or anything we care for: “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. Jesus says to the little girl, and all of us who are dead or lost to the world: “little girl, little boy, I tell you, get up”. God’s word is powerful, just as it can be compared to the new seed that planted in us can mean new life, His word living, spoken and heard by us can mean all of this and more. This word that we have at our fingertips and that we read every Sunday. This word that we can hear in the silence of our prayers. This word that God is whispering to us in our joyous times, but yelling in our struggles can mean resurrection, life a new, redemption, hope and so much more because God’s word can and has done the impossible. We need only to turn to Jesus, listen and step out in a courageous faith that says we will step forward trusting that God is with us working with us. This new life and new hope is the power of God’s Kingdom as it becomes present with us and like so many other things, Jesus is offering it to us. AMEN