The Glory of His Journey to Gergesa

The Power of Christ · AD 29

He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

Psalm 145:19

In the winter of AD 29, as His first full year of ministry drew to a close, Christ displayed His authority over the laws of nature, the powers of Satan, and death itself. His journey to Gergesa began with a day of teaching in parables beside the Sea of Galilee and continued through a terrifying night crossing to the far shore. There He stilled a storm with a word and freed a man from a legion of demons — proving that His power is terror to the proud but refuge to all who fear Him.

Read: Mark 4:1–41; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:22–39

Teaches in Parables by the Sea

On the very day His family had called Him mad and the Pharisees had charged Him with demon possession, Christ went out to teach by the Sea of Galilee. Peter's house was far too small for the crowds streaming into Capernaum, so Christ taught from a boat just off the shore, the sloping hillside serving as a natural amphitheater. Because the multitude came with mixed motives and mostly without true faith, He spoke to them in parables.

He told of a sower whose seed fell on the path, the rocks, and the thorns, yet still bore fruit in good soil cultivated by the Spirit. He compared the kingdom to a net gathering every kind of fish, and to a field where an enemy sowed weeds among the wheat — pictures of the false and the true who will not be separated until the day of judgment.

Christ spoke in parables to bring both clarity and confusion, for He is the Light that illumines the humble and blinds the proud. To those who loved the truth His parables were light; to those who hated it they were riddles. It was not any defect in the seed but the hardness of the soil that kept it from fruit — so He warned, “Take care then how you hear.”

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Matthew 13:35

Calms the Storm

When evening came, Christ told His disciples to cross to the other side of the sea. He had an appointment with a Gentile who could do nothing to help himself, and He would not wait until morning — willing to leave the ninety-nine to seek one lost sheep. Exhausted, He fell asleep on a cushion in the stern as they set out.

Suddenly a fierce storm swept down from the northern mountains, and the little boats began to fill with water. Even the seasoned fishermen among the disciples lost hope, certain they would die. In panic they woke Him: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

At once the wind died and the waves flattened to glass — the sea now reflecting the restful heart of Christ. Then He turned to His companions: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Were they not safer in a raging tempest with Him than in their own beds without Him? Their fear of the storm was nothing next to the greater fear that gripped them once they realized who was in the boat.

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:39

Heals the Demoniac of the Gerasenes

They arrived safely near Gergesa, in the region of the Gerasenes on the eastern shore, where swine and Gentiles roamed the countryside. Right on cue, a naked, crazed man came running from among the tombs. Possessed by many demons, he could not be bound; he had wrenched apart every chain and broken every shackle, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

Though the man had no idea who Christ was, the demons did. They cried out in terror, begging not to be tormented or sent to the abyss. When Christ asked the man's name, the spirits answered for him — the powers of darkness trembling before almighty God.

Christ permitted the demons to enter a herd of pigs feeding nearby, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned. The terrified herdsmen fled to the town and told everyone what had happened. Here was proof that Christ holds even a legion of demons at His mercy.

And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”

Mark 5:9

Rejected by the Gerasenes

The townspeople came out and found the man they could not control now sitting at the feet of Christ, clothed and in his right mind. But instead of rejoicing, they were seized with great fear. They had glimpsed a power greater than the one that had terrorized them, and it intimidated them.

As Christ stepped back into the boat, the delivered man begged to come with Him. But Christ commissioned him instead to go home and tell everyone how much the Lord had done for him. Though the man could not go with Christ, the Spirit of Christ went with the man.

The small fleet sailed back across to Capernaum. Christ had been gone less than a day, yet He had accomplished His purpose — calming both the restless storm and the restless man. Out of love, He had gone far out of His way to rescue a single lost sheep.

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Mark 5:19

For Reflection

Down, down, down Christ came — to be rejected by man and to call His followers to share in His rejection. In His journey to Gergesa He proved He has authority over the laws of nature, the powers of Satan, and death itself. Yet if we reverently fear the Lord, we need not fear the storms of life, the powers of Satan, the power of death, or God's judgment. Those who fear Him find that His power is not their terror but their refuge.