“And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships.” (Mark 4:36)
In trying to picture exactly what happened, we imagine that this was the boat Jesus preached from. And as soon as the multitude left, the fishermen just took the boat out. The Scripture says, “even as He was in the ship,” probably meaning sitting or resting after preaching to the multitude, however He happened to be. It had already been determined that they would go to the other side. “And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.” (Mark 4:35) There was no need to tell the fishermen that now they could go to the other side. They intuitively knew that now that He was finished preaching, they could go to the other side. It may have been that it was their intention to leave when He stepped into the boat but were delayed when He began to preach to the multitude which had gathered after Him, so they waited. The events here are a little sketchy.
Mark then adds that there were other little ships with Him. These ships probably carried other disciples who travelled with Jesus. Evidently there were several boats to carry at least seventy disciples. We always think that there were only twelve disciples travelling with Jesus. There are times when Scripture specifically tells us that Jesus called the twelve apostles, but the Scriptures mention that there were seventy whom Jesus sent out to announce that He was coming to teach about the kingdom. “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come.” (Luke 10:1) These were loyal disciples who served Jesus and who probably followed Jesus wherever He went.
Jesus was intentionally going across the sea of Galilee to Gadarenes. This was the area on the southeastern part of the Sea of Galilee and not the city of Gadara which is about six miles from the sea. This is the place where Jesus healed the demoniac and where He sent the demons into the pigs. (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26, 37)
Jesus was sent to the house of Israel. “But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) There were Hebrews living in Gadarenes, which is now Jordan. If you probably remember the tribes of Gad, Rueben and the half tribe of Manassas wanted to stay on the east side of the Jordan River instead of crossing to the Promised Land. Moses agreed if they would help the other tribes reach the Promised Land which they did. (Numbers 32:4) These Hebrews were now far from God. There was a demoniac who terrorized the people living there. They were not only raising pigs, but probably eating pork which the Law forbid. (Leviticus 11:27)
Jesus came to specifically to redeem mankind which had been lost because of Adam’s sin. “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” (John 6:38) He came to fulfill the Law every jot and title for us which mankind was unable to do. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-18) And He came to ratify a new covenant. This is the Gospel.
Martin Luther, a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and Augustinian friar, who lived in the fifteenth century, said that the Gospel is so simple even a child could understand. The youngest child knows that sin is doing something that’s not approved. We say this because children don’t always know that they sin. But they surely can pick up on what adults disapprove. So when we tell them that sin is doing things God hates, they can relate. And adults are teaching them everyday what is approved behavior and what it’s not. So they can at a very young age learn what sin is. We can say their sins are minor sins compared to adult transgressions. We classify sins, but God does not. To God sin is sin, all the same and hated by God. So it’s a good thing to teach children what pleases God and what doesn’t while they can form good habits. We can do this through the Ten Commandments. All this to say, children can understand that Jesus is God Who was brought forth of the Holy Spirit to earth as all man and all God to die for our sin, because the punishment for sin is death. They can understand that He took our sin away and rose again from the dead so that we also could live forever with God. That in simplicity is the Gospel. The Gospel is so simple that even those with limited mental capacity can understand because it’s understood with the spirit, believed in the spirit and assented to in the spirit, then the soul which is the mind, will and emotions. “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)
Today’s Scripture led us to understand that the mission of Jesus was to the Jew first. It was always God’s intention for the Gospel to go forth from His chosen people to whom He entrusted the knowledge of Himself to go out to the heathen nations and restore God’s order of life with Him as in the Garden of Eden. And this was to be done through the work of the Messiah, Jesus, our Lord, Savior, Redeemer and King. And even a child can believe and be saved. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
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