Lord of All
Scripture Reading — Mark 5:1-20
The people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
Mark 5:17
No power in the world is as great as the power of Jesus Christ. In the closing verses of Mark 4, we read that Jesus stood up in a boat in the midst of a terrible storm and told the wind and waves to be still—and they obeyed!
In our Bible reading for today, Jesus delivered a man who was possessed by many demons. These evil powers could not stand against the power of the Son of God. This is good news for people tormented by powers of darkness of any kind.
But after Jesus healed the man, something strange happened. The people who had lived in fear of the de-mon-possessed man now pleaded with Jesus to leave. We might have expected them to throw a thank-you party, but instead they urged Jesus to go away.
Why would they do that? Were they afraid that Jesus might find additional demons who needed a different home? Did they fear for the safety of their livestock?
Whatever their thoughts, one thing is clear: the presence of Jesus threatened and disrupted their way of life. They didn’t want the Lord of the universe to be near.
Are we much different? Does the presence and power of Jesus comfort us or threaten us? Does his Word make us uneasy? What holds us back from complete surrender to Jesus the Lord?
Lord Jesus, forgive us for resisting your lordship when we have wanted to do things our own way. Help us to surrender our entire lives to you. In your name, Amen.
About the author — R. Scott Greenway
R. Scott Greenway was born in Mexico City in 1964, the fourth child of missionary parents. He graduated from Calvin College in 1986, Calvin Theological Seminary in 1991, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 2002. He and his wife, Kelly, have four children. He pastored the Irving Park Christian Reformed Church in Midland Park, New Jersey, and currently serves as pastor of Caledonia Christian Reformed Church in Michigan. He enjoys a variety of outdoor sports, including hunting and fishing.
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