“THE OTHER SIDE"

“THE OTHER SIDE"

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them,“Let us cross over to the other side.”
Mark 4:35

Beloved Unchained Family, highly estimated friends:

When the Lord Jesus summoned His disciples to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, (or Lake Genesareth), they were in a mix of surprise and astonishment. After all, things were pretty good on “this side”. Most of the disciples lived close by, Jesus was quite popular already, signs and wonders were performed all over, everything looked great! But suddenly, - and at night - the Lord decided that something important was going to happen on the other side. The Captain was about to educate and impart on them an unforgettable lifetime training.

However, during the crossing of the lake, something frightening catches them all by surprise, they were hit by a fierce storm, while Jesus was sleeping on a pillow, after an exhaustive and wearing day of ministry. Terrified with the fury and severity of the tempest, the disciples quickly and indignantly woke up the Master, Who promptly rebuked the wind and the waves and quickly placidness was completely restored, for the stupefaction and consternation  of the faint-hearted professional fishermen.

Bringing the narrative to our modern context, an important question arises: why does Jesus lead us into leaving our comfort zone, our pre-arranged coziness, and challenges us to explore the other side? Why, in the same way He did with the disciples, who were ok with their status quo, Jesus would require from us something that could “disturb our agenda?”

I believe the answer for these question is a multiple one, but I would like to point out only 3 of them:

1.OBEDIENCE TO JESUS

When you read the whole story (Mark 4:35-41), you will notice that they had to “leave the multitudes”, and Jesus discerned that in order to teach them something new, they would have to create some space out of the ordinary busyness of life.

The obedience was an important lesson because the majority of the disciples were fishermen, and they knew that the crossing of the Sea of Galilee could be potentially very dangerous, especially at night, besides that, what could possibly be interesting on the other side that they have here? Nevertheless, they obeyed Jesus, anyway. The Lord was actually examining their willingness to observe His ways.

2. OMNIPOTENCE OF JESUS

The Lord Jesus also knew beforehand that the Father would be glorified with the powerful manifestation of the calming of the storm witnessed by the disciples. Had they not been on the boat, they would have missed one of the most powerful displays of the ruling of the Lord over anything created, and that episode certainly made their faith increase, being even today one of the most well-known stories of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and surrounding areas.

3. OPPORTUNITY WITH JESUS

The west region of Galilee was predominantly Jewish-dominated, while the other side of the sea was inhabited predominantly by a gentilic population. You can easily identify that by the large herd of swine in Gadara, which were animals absolutely impure for the Jews.

The main reason Jesus took His disciples to the region of Gadara was for them to witness the deliverance of a man who was terribly demon-possessed with unclean spirits - a legion of them - coming from Satan for a long time.

Jesus wanted to demonstrate and make absolutely clear to His disciples that one man was important enough for Him, even knowing that the whole town would expel Him afterwards; He came to the other side with the unrelenting mission to show compassion and introduce the power of the Gospel of the Kingdom to those in complete darkness.

I wanted to put this lesson in perspective for our current time today.

Sometimes all we want is to stay where we are, no changes, no readaptations, no transition at all, whereas the Lord Jesus wants to lead us onto the other side, where we will experience a new level of obedience, witness a fresh manifestation of His power, and be able to take the good news of the gospel to other places where there is so much pain and need.

Is the Lord challenging you today? Is he poking your heart to consider even a little risk for the sake of great learning and more proximity with Him? Listen to His voice, consider in prayer what He wants to accomplish through your life, and think about it: maybe a great and life-changing experience is just waiting for you on the other side, something that will never happen, if you stay only, on this side.

Wishing peace, health and many blessings to your body and soul,
Pr. Joshua Mateíne