Written by,
Robert Johnson
Have you ever felt like you are in a stalemate, you’ve been in the same spiritual position far to long? Believe it or not it has nothing to do with God, it is the self. Jesus one day makes a personal declaration, “Let is go to the other side.” At times we must rest in faith nothing that God have made provisions for us, we simply need to transcend out of one place to another. “If I can just make it to the other side.” Yes it can be a frightening experience but this is where faith comes it –
How many times does it feel like you are in a storm and Jesus is asleep?” “What boats are you in at this point in your life?” “What are the storms that are tossing your life around?” None of this is necessarily bad. It’s just that the boat becomes a metaphor for all kinds of things rather than simply what it is — a traveling vessel. A means by which to get from one place to another. Maybe the boat is simply a boat. Maybe the point is that Jesus is just trying to get us to the other side.
Because left to our own devices, we’d rather stay where we are. That’s human nature. But it also seems to be the nature of faith. We can’t seem to hear Jesus’ invitation — “Let us go across to the other side.” How easy it is to stay in our comfort zones; to default to our pet theologies; to remain in what is known, even though that which is known has become unbearable. We would rather ignore the desperate need for change than make the change happen. So we sit. And we wait. For what? The right time? For someone else to make the first move? Maybe this is why Jesus doesn’t give the disciples any time to think about the trip — “On that day … ” We would think about it forever. “Thinking about it” is always one of our best excuses.
Here’s the problem, as if there is only one, with Jesus. He seems rather dissatisfied with letting us live on one side of the lake for too long. So he takes the disciples to the other side. And getting to the other side is no easy trip. Nor should we expect that to be the case. When we over-sentimentalize or spiritualize this story we end up overlooking the obvious — that this boat trip was a means by which to get from one place to another. And, something equally as obvious — that change, trading spaces, is rarely without its challenges. Getting to the other side means a boat ride for sure, a torrential downpour, and dead calm. That’s what happens when Jesus tries to move us from one place to another. But that’s also the nature of change – the boat is a type of Holy Spirit with will move them from one place to another –
We see this in the ministry of Noah and the ministry of Moses – God is in control!
If the disciples had said to Jesus, “Well, what if there is a storm?” they would have never gotten into the boat because there are always storms on the Sea of Galilee and when you least expect it. If the disciples had said to Jesus, “Well, first tell us what’s on the other side?” they would have never gotten into the boat because what ended up happening in the country of the Gerasenes?
You just can’t make this stuff up. “Wait, what? We are going to encounter a demon-possessed guy who lives in the cemetery. And you are going to send his demons into a herd of two thousand pigs. And then the pigs are going to go jump in the lake?” Who would believe that?
The hardest thing is getting into the boat. You just have to get into the boat – it represents a newness/new birth –
Because the necessity of the healing of the Gerasene demoniac necessitates a relocation. Not only a change of place but a change of space that puts us in the rather uncomfortable presence of the possessed.
You know this well, I imagine. I know some of you are changing calls. Or maybe you are asking your congregation to cross to the other side of the lake, to make a change that definitely resembles a lake-crossing adventure, of sorts, perhaps of squall-like proportions.
The promise of this text is not just that Jesus is with you. Notice that Jesus does not say “You go over to the other side,” but “Let us go over to the other side.” Jesus was there all along, no matter what Jesus was doing, whether that be preaching about parables or sleeping on a pillow. The promise of this text is also that there is something on the other side that Jesus knows about — and needs to get us to.
Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.”
Perhaps the act of faith is not just the trust that Jesus will still the storm. The act of faith is taking Jesus’ invitation to heart. The act of faith is getting into the boat. The act of faith is believing that another side is not only possible, it is essential.
All the stories and examples in the Bible point to a greater Revelation – Jesus is coming back one day, are you ready to go to the other side – as in the text, Jesus stated let us go to the other side. Beloved Jesus has already gone and one day will return to accompany us to the other side – don’t question, don’t allow you faith to waiver, procrastination is an enemy of man! ”If I can just make it to the other side.”
Allow me to close with this story – When Jesus died and was buried he was in his grave clothes with a napkin neatly folded on his face. According to some scholars within Judaism, manners and customs it is said with the master is eating at the table and when with finished his plate he balls up the napkin to throws it to the side meaning, I’m done. When the disciples came in to look at the body of Jesus in the tomb the napkin was neatly folded and placed to the side. According to manners and customs, that means The master is not finish, don’t touch his plate he’s coming back!
Before He establishes His kingdom on earth, Jesus will come for His Church, an event commonly referred to as the “Rapture.” At that time the dead in Christ will be raised and living Christians will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and be with Him forever. In this resurrection, those who have died in Christ will have their redeemed souls and spirits united with a body similar to Christ’s glorified body. Christians living at the time of this event will not die, but will be changed to be like Christ. This expectation is a motivation for holy living, as well as a source of comfort. No man knows the day or the hour when this will take place.
After the Rapture of the Church, Christians will be brought before the judgment seat of Christ. He will reward them on the basis of the works they have accomplished. This is not a judgment to determine their salvation but a reward for labor on Christ’s behalf. The Rapture will also inaugurate a period that the Bible characterizes as the “great day of His wrath,” “the great tribulation” and the “time of Jacob’s trouble.”This time of unprecedented difficulty will affect Israel and all nations. Its purpose will be to prepare Israel for her Messiah.
At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus Christ will return with the hosts of heaven as well as the Church to establish the Messianic Kingdom on earth. His Kingdom will last for a thousand years. At this Second Coming, the Antichrist will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Satan will be bound for a thousand years. The nations and their representatives will be judged. Israel will be restored to her land, never more to be removed. Christ will reign with firmness and equity. His kingdom will be marked by material and spiritual blessing, since the curse upon the earth will be removed.
The Messianic kingdom will close with apostasy and rebellion. God will crush this uprising in the last battle of the ages and Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire. All those who rejected the Word of God will be resurrected. They will be judged by Christ and cast into the lake of fire, the place where they will suffer final and everlasting punishment.
After this judgment there will be a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness is the norm. There will be a new Jerusalem and the everlasting presence of God among all the redeemed –
