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Sowing the Gospel in Darkened Lands
Jonah 1:1-17, Mark 4:35-5:20
When he was a pastor in England, William Carey was convicted to reach the unreached. Aside from his Bible, he spent much time studying the world atlas. Why? To know unreached people groups around the world. In a sermon, he called the church to reach the lost for Christ. His 2 points were: expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God. But there was strong opposition. One pastor even said that God would save the heathen without his help. In spite of that, a missionary society was founded which eventually sent him to India. He went when others would not. He believed Christ’s parables. He knew those who hear and understand would be saved. They’d give up all for the kingdom, which would grow. But who can hear, unless someone is sent? So after teaching in parables, Christ himself went forth as the sower to sow gospel seed - to attempt great things for God. There are 2 propositions in this message. Firstly, faithless people must trust their faithful prophet. Secondly, oppressive demons won’t triumph over the omnipotent deliverer.
Firstly, faithless people must trust their faithful prophet. Verse 35 - “And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.” Which day was this? The long Sabbath day where Jesus healed in the synagogue, was rejected by the religious elite, and taught parables to the multitude. Yes, some seed fell on hard ground. But others seemed to fall on better ground. His disciples seemed to hear. But his work was not done. As the faithful prophet, he’d sow the gospel seed in pagan lands. And as he did so, he strengthened the faith of his disciples. That same evening, he told his disciples to cross to the other side, which according to 5:1 was the pagan land of the Gadarenes. He went to reach the unreached. Now through God’s prophets, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Ezekiel; God always had a word for the heathen. But only 2 were sent to preach to them. Elijah went to Zarephath in Sidon, Jezebel’s country; and God blessed the widow and her son. The widow even declared - “Now I know that you’re a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” Faithful prophet; good seed on good ground. The other prophet was Jonah, a Galilean prophet sent to Nineveh. But he didn’t want to go. He didn’t want these pagans saved from judgment. So he fled to sea on a ship. God sent a great storm; the sailors were fearful, but Jonah did nothing to help them. When they realized he was the cause, instead of saving them by telling them to return to shore, he told them to throw him overboard. He’d rather die than obey God. But they cared for his life that they rowed harder. He didn’t care for them, but they cared for him. Yes, finally they did cast him over board to save themselves. But despite his hardness, God sent a whale to save him from drowning. But it took him 3 days before he saw God’s mercy and repented of his rebellion. Now, compare that with Nineveh. It was so large a city, it’d take 3 days to get through it. But they repented on the first day. Bad prophet, but good seed and good ground. But here, the greater Galilean prophet, would sow the gospel in pagan lands. Would it be good or hard ground?
But before that, he had to deal with his own faithless people. Their faith was shaky and they falsely accused him. In verse 36, after sending away the unbelieving multitude, he made his way to the other side. His disciples - more than just the 12 - followed him in little ships. As they sailed, there was a great storm of wind. Verses 37-38 describe how bad it was - waves threatened to sink the ship. But Christ was fast asleep on cushions at the stern. Sound familiar? The disciples accused him, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Now, was that true? Compare Christ the faithful prophet with Jonah, the unfaithful prophet. Jonah was on a big Tarshish ship; our Lord was on a small boat. Jonah was headed away, asleep, secure that he escaped God. But Christ headed to pagan lands, asleep, exhausted from the work of God. Jonah didn’t care for the sailors, the Ninevites, or his own soul. But our Lord cared enough to sow seeds on the other side. You see, these disciples should’ve known who Christ was. They’d heard his teachings, seen his miracles - but were still unbelieving. Did they truly have ears to hear? The Lord accused them in verse 40 - why are you so fearful - meaning, they shouldn’t have been. Why don’t you have faith? Meaning, while their hearts were better ground than the wayside, was it good ground? While Jonah’s sailors all prayed to their own gods, Jonah didn’t pray. And why didn’t the disciples come to him earlier? They all knew his power. And when they did, they accused him of not caring. But did the Lord not care? Of course he did. So he strengthened their shaky faith.
He showed his faithfulness to his faithless disciples. Verse 39 shows 3 actions. He arose, rebuked the wind, and told the sea - “peace, be still.” Immediately, the wind ceased. There was great calm. Yes, another prophet did the same. He arose and spread his arms to split the Red Sea. But Christ was more than a prophet. He arose. This phrase is repeated in the Old Testament to describe God. Numbers 10 and Psalm 68 - let arise God and let his enemies be scattered. Psalm 3 and 44 - arise Lord and save us. He also rebuked the wind and calmed the storm. Psalm 93 - God is higher than the flood and waves; they fled when he rebuked them, Psalm 104. And Psalm 107 - he makes the storm calm and stills it. In the Old Testament, the sea was often used to portray evil. Which is why in Revelation, the beast emerged from the sea. So while Jonah the unfaithful prophet gave into wickedness and went into the sea, Jesus calmed the wicked sea storm because he cared for his disciples and the lost. He was the good prophet and sower. What does Christ arising, rebuking, and calming tell us about him? He’s more than a man. He’s the faithful God. But despite seeing this, what did his disciples call him? Verse 41 - “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” They still saw him as a man, when he was obviously more. The Lord did this to increase their faith - would they hear, see, and understand? Would they know him for who he was and trust him? What kind of heart did they have? But him calming the wicked sea storm was precursor to his deliverance from a greater evil.
Secondly, oppressive demons won’t triumph over the omnipotent deliverer. After they got to the other side, we see clearly the devil was active - we see his power over the hearts of men. This was Decapolis - a region with 10 pagan cities. When he came out of the ship, immediately a man with an unclean spirit met him. Luke 8 says he was possessed a long time. And the effects were clear. He was naked and he lived in unclean places; in the tombs among the dead and decaying. Verses 3-5 says no man could restrain him. Yes, they tried. They bound him with chains and shackles - like a prisoner. But he was more than physically imprisoned. He was spiritually imprisoned by unclean spirits. Not just one, but many, verse 9; calling themselves Legion - a military unit comprising of over 4000 soldiers. And as such, no one could bind or tame him. He broke free. Perhaps that’s why he lived in the tombs, probably driven away. He was so destructive he was banished. And now, he could only hurt himself. Consider his oppression - free from physical imprisonment, but spiritually enslaved. Verse 5 - always, night and day, whether he was in the mountains or tombs, he was crying and cutting himself with stones. Time, space, and man were unable to cure him of demon possession. He was tormented. This is what the devil does. John 10:10 says the devil as a thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. 1 Peter 5:8 describes him as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. John 8:44 says he was a murderer from the beginning. Why did Jesus tell the disciples to go to the other side? He’s the faithful sower who cared. Here was a tormented man desperately needing the gospel and disciples desperately needing to understand this. Christ not only demonstrated power to them - that he was more than a man who stilled the storm. But he was the powerful God having power over the devil. He’s the stronger man who enters the strong man’s house to bind him.
So here, we see Christ’s power over the devil. In verses 6-7, he came to Jesus and fell down bowing himself. Listen to his words - “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” The demons knew who Jesus was; that he was God and final judge. But they commanded him not to torment them - meaning the place of final torment. Yes, they commanded Christ - “I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” Yes, the demons knew who he was and trembled; but rebellion still continued. Their hearts were beyond hard ground. And also notice how hardened they were. Not only did they command him, but had the audacity to try to limit him. They didn’t want to be sent to the place of torment, but they didn’t want to be sent out of the country, verse 10. They wanted to remain there because they had their way with the man. No man could bind them. No one had controlled them before. So they thought they could bargain with Christ. They even suggested in verse 12 - send us into the pigs. Remember, this was not Jewish territory - the people reared and ate pigs. Tombs and pigs. Unclean spirits. What would Christ do? Would he be limited? Would he listen to them? How would he show his power? Lo and behold, verse 13 says that Christ gave them permission to do just that. They were cast into the pigs, the pigs ran off the cliff, 2000 of them and died. Now, suspend for now the question why Christ allowed the demons to remain in the land. See instead, Christ’s power to free this tormented man from oppression. He was more powerful than a legion of demons. He cared. He showed compassion. He freed this man. The stronger man had come to bind the strong man. Not even a legion of strong men could withstand him. So whereas no one could bind the man, Christ could bind them all.
But here, we see something even more wonderful - the power of a changed heart. After Jesus sent Legion into the swine, they ran off the cliff into the water, drowning the pigs, verse 13. But notice what happens next. The townspeople came because of eyewitnesses. They came from city and countryside. And what did they see? Verse 15 - they saw “him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.” There was a change in the man. He was no longer spiritually imprisoned, and needed not to be physically imprisoned. He was no longer naked, but clothed; and he was seated, not crying or cutting himself. What else? When Jesus was about to leave, the man wanted to follow Jesus, verse 18. He’d seen the master, he experienced the compassion, he wanted to follow. But when the Lord told him to sow the gospel seed instead - to go home, tell his friends how great things God had done, and to tell of God’s compassion - the man did. And we see the power of a changed heart. Verse 20 tells us that that he went to the region of Decapolis declaring the great things Jesus had done for him. He didn’t only go to his own town. He went to the whole region - a huge area. And the result? All men did marvel. This means that there was good ground. There was faith. And it also tells us that from one changed heart, others were spared the torment of Legion. After leaving the pigs, they could torment others. But their influence was greatly reduced, when what Jesus did was published, and ALL men marveled. Good seed from another good prophet fell on good ground and bore fruit.
But don’t miss this either. The man was not the only one transformed. Verse 16 tells us that when the townsfolk came, they heard from them who had seen what happened to the man and the swine. Who were these who had seen? These were distinct from the swine-herders. Was it not the disciples? Those who had also come in small boats? Those who had previously been fearful and faithless. They too were now witnessing, sowing the seed. Good seed, from good sowers, but we see that here, the ground was still hard. These people pleaded with them to leave. They loved their swine more than their souls. And all they had to do was see the proof before their eyes. The man was freed. Good seed, hard ground.
What are some lessons for us? Our Lord had taught in parables. But he also trusted the meaning of the parables. He believed that the kingdom will grow when the gospel is received by hearts who hear and understand. Not all hearts will receive it. There’s hard ground and good ground. And sometimes, good ground takes time for the gospel to work through - like the heart of the disciples and even Jonah. Sometimes, it takes very little time for the gospel to work through - like the possessed man, or like Nineveh. Yes, among the good ground, some take in quick, some take in slow, some take in slower. But some take no time before the gospel is rejected - like the Gadara town and country folks. They loved swine more. Hard and thorny ground. But the kingdom will grow - sometimes surprisingly, like the Decapolis region. The saved man had no trouble speaking about the compassion of Christ - he believed. He saw the change. Some were slow to understand - like the disciples. They asked if Christ cared. The man saw straightaway it was the Lord - God worked in him. The disciples still marveled if he was just a man even though he calmed the storm. The demons knew he was more than a man, but rebelled in heart. But how deliciously ironic it was. Their rebellion got them no where. In the end, they were rendered powerless. The torment they hoped to escape - the lake of fire - was foreshadowed as they plunged into the Galilean lake.
So how can we apply this? Unbelieving friends, who come to hear this gospel, there’s only one deliverer. He’s compassionate. If you believe in him, repent of your sins, he’ll free you from spiritual torment, from sin and the power of the devil. How about to Christ’s beloved congregation? There’s a lesson in here about faith and kingdom growth. And we don’t have to go far to apply it to ourselves. The kingdom of God will grow. The Lord has a will for our church. But he includes us in building it. By faith, how are we involved in kingdom building? There’s much missions work to be done - both local and overseas. Do we trust that God’ll use us to bring forth the gospel? Are we available to cross over to the other side? To attempt great things for God because we expect great things from him? Then, there’s the great building project before us. With millions to be spent. There’s a gospel endeavor before us. Yes, we must have wisdom and discretion. But we must have faith. Wisdom and faith. More wisdom, and more faith. Faith causes us to attempt great things for God. But we must have wisdom. Let’s not be quick to call faithlessness wisdom (and vice versa). But remember this - a fuller knowledge of Christ leads to a fuller faith. So we must be sure we trust Christ as God - to expect great things from him and attempt great things for him. The Gadarene man was delivered from much, which is why he responded much. The disciples were fearful and faithless, which is why they responded as they did. So when we talk about spending money, renovation, planting a new congregation, let’s learn to trust him. Certainly, some of us are weaker in faith. And others stronger. As we know more about him, his compassion, boldness, and heart for the kingdom - let us attempt great things for God.
1. Faithless People Must Trust Their Faithful Prophet
A. The faithful sower will sow the gospel
B. Their shaky faith and false accusation
C. His faithfulness toward his people
2. Oppressive Demons Won’t Triumph Over the Omnipotent Deliverer
A. The devil’s power over the hearts of men
B. The power of Christ over the devil
C. The power of a changed heart
Conversation for Change:
- Comparing this account to the parable of the sower, even those who believe (and call him Master) struggle with their faith in Christ (4:24-25). How does a fuller understanding of Christ lead to a fuller faith? In your own struggles, what aspect of Christ do you think you need to believe more in and why?
- How would you honestly evaluate your faith and kingdom mindedness, by your investment (prayer, time, service, substance) in kingdom expansion?
- We see the difference between the disciples in the boat and the Gadarene man. We also see how the Gentiles loved swine more than salvation. How has the knowledge of your needs and salvation affected your life and witness?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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