BIBLE STUDY LESSON 07

SERIES R --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD

TAMER OF THE SEAS

THE TAMING OF A STORM

From Mark 4:35-41

That evening Yeshua said to His disciples, [Let’s go over to the other shore.] When the crowds had been sent home, the disciples took Yeshua into their boat and, with some other boats, set sail for the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee. But a storm with violent winds blowing came over the sea. The waves rose high, splashing over the sides of the boat until it was in danger of sinking. While this happened, Yeshua was asleep in the back of the boat, resting His head on a cushion. The disciples quickly woke Yeshua, shouting above the noise of the wind, [Adonai, don’t You care that we’re about to sink?] Yeshua stood up and gave orders to the wind and the sea. [Be still!] He said. At once the wind quieted and the waves calmed until all was at peace. [Why are you so afraid?] Yeshua asked His disciples. [Do you have no faith?] But they were even more frightened, now when they saw what He had done. [Who is He?] they began to whisper. [Even the wind and the waves obey Him.]

THE TAMING OF A DEMON-POSSESSED MAN

From Mark 5:1-20

When Yeshua and His friends arrived on the other shore, in the land of the Gerasene, a man filled with demons rushed out from the tombs to meet Him. The man was so strong that he always broke the shackles and chains that people tried to put upon him. Night and day he wandered among the tombs and hills, screaming and cutting himself with sharp stones. When the man had seen Yeshua in the distance, he ran and threw himself before Him. When Yeshua Commanded the demons to come out, they let out a piercing scream. [What will You do with us, Yeshua, Son of the Most High YHVH?] the demons cried out. [We beg you, by the Name of YHVH, not to torment us.] Then Yeshua asked the demons, [What is your name?] [Legion,] the demons answered, [for there are many of us here in this man.] Again, the demons begged Yeshua not to send them to some faraway place. Nearby a large herd of pigs grazed by the mountains. The demons begged Yeshua to send them into the pigs, so He let them do it. At once the entire herd, about two thousand pigs, rushed down the side of the steep hill into the water and were drowned. The man who had been taking care of the pigs ran into town to tell what had happened. Hearing of this event the people of the town came out to see what was going on. There was the man who had been filled with demons, sitting before Yeshua, clothed and normal. When the people saw this and heard an account of what had happened, they were afraid and begged Yeshua to go away. While Yeshua was getting into the boat to leave, the man who had been healed pleaded with Yeshua to let him go, too. [You must go back to your own home instead,] Yeshua told him. [Tell your family and friends what Adonai has done for you and what mercy He has shown you.] The man did go home and went from city to city in all of the Decapolis, telling what Yeshua had done for him. Throughout these ten cities, people were filled with wonder when they heard his message.

COMMENTARY

MANY MOODS OF THE SEA OF GALILEE

The Sea of Galilee sits like a giant bowl of water among the hills of Galilee. The water is about one hundred fifty feet deep. But the surface is about six hundred eighty feet below sea level. Thus, this is no ordinary lake, but an inland sea capable of many moods. At times violent windstorms sweep down from the hills and stir the water into giant waves. Some waves as high as twenty feet have been reported in recent years. These storms may come without a cloud in the sky, a drop of rain, or a bolt of lightning. Within a short time, the sea may be as peaceful as a mirror. Spring wildflowers growing on the shores add another dimension to the changing personality of the sea, accenting it with a rainbow of colours. Barren hills with scrub brush, rich fertile valleys, stately trees, short palms, and golden fields of grain add to the variety of life surrounding the moody bowl of water. The Sea of Galilee constantly changes its moods. At one time violent, another time calm; at one time a mirror of silver, another a ripple of deep blue; at one time a rainbow of colour; another a bleak grey of early morning fog. This changing scene must have been a constant delight to the people who lived there.