Luke 8:24-25
“24 And they [the disciples] came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then Jesus arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!””
Luke 8:36-37
“36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.”
Fear is a complex human emotion. It can be positive and healthy, but it also can have negative consequences. Fear can ensure our safety, but it can also impact lives in negative ways. In just twelve verses fear transitions from a joyous moment of wonder to a total rejection of Jesus.
The disciples were filled with wonder after watching Jesus calm a raging storm. While the inhabitants of the Gadarenes region felt threatened by Jesus after he healed a man who had been filled with demons. Both are fear-based reactions. One honors the power of Jesus, the other rejects it.
In Luke 8:36 the “means” of healing the demon-possessed man had been to cast the demons into a herd of pigs, who subsequently jumped off a cliff. The Jewish inhabitants of the area may have felt as though they were being “judged” by this Jewish Rabbi, Jesus. Pigs were considered unclean under Jewish law. Jesus did more than cast demons out of a man. He was also cleansing their economy and reminding
them to honor the Lord. This made them afraid. People fear judgement. They asked Jesus to leave the area because they did not want to honor God.
You could say the disciples were saved from a terrifying storm, so of course, they wouldn’t leave Jesus. But don’t forget, He rebuked them for not having faith. They were being Judged too. They chose to marvel at what Jesus had done and acknowledge Him as Lord. When they heard Jesus speak to the storm, they were hearing the voice of God as recorded in Genesis 1:3 “Then God said. Let there be light.” They continued to think and talk about the power and wonder of what they had seen. The fear of judgement didn’t overcome their desire to honor the Lord.
Proverbs 9:10 says:
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Both groups feared the Lord. But only one took His rebuke well and honored
Him. Let’s zoom out a little on Proverbs 9 and examine the context more fully.
Proverbs 9:8-12
8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”
This describes the two situations with total clarity. The disciples were rebuked and chose to love Jesus. The leaders around Gadarenes were “scoffers” and chose to reject His correction. Both groups saw an amazing miracle. One group took Jesus for themselves. The other decided to “bear life alone.”
In context we can understand Proverbs 9:10 to mean: Fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom for those who can handle being corrected by Jesus.
Can I ask you a question?
How do you handle being corrected by the Lord?
Often we want to see His power overcome a tough situation we are facing. But we don’t want Him to tell
us how to live. The Lord doesn’t work that way. When you get Him, you get all of Him. Both the power and the purity. He deals with the problems you face and the problems you cause. His redemptive presence changes everything.
In John 15:14 Jesus says “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” It’s evident If we can’t handle the Lord’s commands, we aren’t going to grow closer to Him.
Is there something you are afraid the Lord is asking you to give up?
Is there something you are afraid He will ask you to do?
These aren’t healthy fears, they are fears that will limit you, hurt you and keep you from growth.
We all have choices to make.
I hope you’ll choose to grow closer to Jesus through obedience.
He doesn’t want you to bear life alone.
If you were encouraged by this devotional, head over to our website and track along with our current series on discipleship. We are going through the Gospel of Luke for this series of six messages, each with a study guide available. Every week I will be posting a devotional here that relates to the topic we are covering.
This week, It’s important to obey Jesus as He cares for you. Do you feel that you obey the Lord as He watches over you?
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