"What Manner of MAN Is This?"

In the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and Mark Jesus and his disciples piled into a boat and while they were crossing the sea, a great storm arose. The storm was so great that the boat was overcome with water and caused fear to come upon His disciples while Jesus was asleep. They woke Him up seeking His help, He rebuked them, He then got up and proceeded to calm the wind and the sea with His faith.

The Gospel of Matthew 8:27 states, that after witnessing this miracle His disciples were astonished,  "But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

"And he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, "Peace, be still." And the wind ceased and there was a great calm." (Mark 4:39)

Jesus was having a pretty strong day (as was His custom) in the miracle department! He had just cleansed a leper with one touch and the Spirit of Jehovah Rapha (God our healer): He then proceeded to Capernaum and healed the Centurion soldiers' servant because of the man's great faith; after that, Jesus went over to Peter's house and healed his mother-in-law and later that evening they brought many people to Him that were demon possessed and He healed them all. In fact, there were so many sick and demon possessed folk who showed up that Jesus ordered His disciples to get in the boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

It is here where we pick up the story with Jesus and His crew in the boat crossing to the other side of the Sea. Once they got to the other side, Jesus encounter two demon possessed men and the demons pleaded with Jesus not to kill them. The demons asked for Jesus to permit them to got into a herd of pigs feeding nearby. He granted them to go and the demonic spirits then went into the pigs and the pigs charged down a steep hill into the sea and perished. The account of this event was given to the entire city by the men attending the pigs. The Bible says the entire city came out to meet Jesus and when they saw Him they begged Him to leave their area. (Matthew 8:28-34)

What a minute! Are you telling me that after all the Lord God did for the people that day, His reward was to be summarily dismissed, rejected and kicked to the curb? The hard answer is, "Yes He was." Isn't that typical of mankind? This is always the outcome of a hard heart and unrepentant spirit...total rejection of the grace and mercy of the Lord God.

What can we learn from this experience? Jesus was not offended by this treatment. As a matter of fact, He got back in His boat and went home where He immediately healed a paralytic and kept it movin'! Jesus was not offended because He was not acting on His own authority; He was not offended because He was not doing anything for His own glory; He was not offended because He was always in "teacher mode." He was demonstrating to His disciples the cost associated with following Him as He followed God.

Can you imagine an entire city coming out to meet you to tell you to get the heck out of their town? Don't gloss over that point. That's why I call Him "The Belligerent Christ." He is fearless, focused and faithful to perform the Will of His Father.

What manner of Man is this, you ask? He is the manner of Man that has given all Believers the ability to do greater works than He. It is his expectation that we boldly advance the Kingdom of heaven in the earth and He is the manner of Man that has given us the keys to the kingdom. The manner of Man who died for our sins and gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit. The manner of Man whose love and obsession with His people is too remarkable for words. The manner of Man whose faith is greater than fear!

The manner of Man we should all aspire to be in Christ Jesus....Selah.