May 01, 2025

8. The Power of the Kingdom

39 minutes

Download: The Power of the Kingdom

Jesus Calms the Storm (4:35-41)

Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee when a fierce storm arises. The disciples panic, fearing for their lives. Jesus, asleep in the boat, is awakened by them. He rebukes the wind and commands the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Immediately, the storm stops, and a great calm follows.

Theological Significance:

This miracle shows Jesus’ authority over nature. It highlights his divinely bestowed power over creation. It also challenges the disciples to have faith rather than fear. Jesus is not just a teacher or prophet — he exercises a unique divine authority from God.

Jesus Faces a Demoniac (5:1-20)

In the region of the Gerasenes near the east side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus encounters a man possessed by many demons (named “Legion”). The man lives among the tombs and is so strong that he cannot be restrained. Jesus commands the unclean spirits to leave. But they plead with Jesus to be sent into a herd of pigs, which then subsequently rush down into the lake, and they all drown. The man is restored to his right mind and becomes a witness to Jesus and the power of Kingdom in the Decapolis.

Theological Significance:

This miracle demonstrates Jesus’ authority over the spiritual realm, especially over demonic forces. It also shows his mission to deliver and restore even the most hopeless individuals. Moreover, the setting of the record (i.e., Gentile territory, graveyards, pigs) highlights the expansion of Jesus’ ministry beyond Jewish boundaries, foreshadowing the later Gentile mission.

Jesus Raises the Dead & Heals a Woman (5:21-5:34)

Jairus, a synagogue leader, begs Jesus to come and heal his dying daughter. While Jesus is on his way to heal Jairus’ daughter, a woman who has suffered from a bleeding condition for twelve years secretly touches his cloak, believing it will heal her. Immediately, her bleeding stops. Jesus, aware that power has gone out from him, calls out to learn who touched him. The woman confesses, and Jesus commends her faith and tells her she is healed.

Theological Significance:

This miracle emphasizes the power of trusting in Jesus and in his kingdom authority. It also depicts how the power of the kingdom is activated by trust. The woman believed that Jesus could bring healing and physical restoration to her body, and it was so! In addition, the woman’s condition also made her ritually unclean under Jewish law, so her touching Jesus and being healed points to Jesus’ ability to cleanse and restore all who come to him, overriding the barriers of old covenant impurity laws for the sake of ministering to people’s need.

While Jesus is delayed by the incident with the woman and the issue of bleeding, Jairus receives news that his daughter has died. Jesus tells him not to fear but believe. And so they continue to Jairus’ home. At the house, Jesus takes the girl by the hand and says, “Talitha koum” (“Little girl, , arise”). And she rises up from the bed immediately, alive and well.

Theological Significance:

This miracle demonstrates Jesus’ authority over death itself. It shows that his power extends not just to healing sickness but reversing death. Trust, again, is central to the theme of this story: Jairus is called to believe (i.e., trust) even when all hope seems lost. The raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead also foreshadows Jesus’ own death and resurrection, which then points forward to the ultimate hope of everlasting life for all those who believe.

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