Demons, Disease and Death

The prophets and the Psalms frequently spoke of the nations as a raging sea. And that the voice of the LORD would quiet the waters.

Psalm 66 speaks of how God turned the sea into dry land – the Exodus as a picture of God's deliverance from our enemies. 66:12 says that God has brought us through fire and water – as a picture of how God has delivered us from our foes. Psalm 65:5-8 says that God is the hope of the ends of the earth – and of the farthest seas–meaning the farthest nations. And how God has stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, which is, verse 7 says, the tumult of the peoples.

The voice of the LORD stilling the raging waters is a picture throughout the OT as the voice of the LORD stilling the raging of the peoples against him.

So, as Jesus is going across the Sea of Galilee, towards the Gentile region of the Gerasenes, a storm comes up! Galilee of the Gentiles lives up to its name! And as Brandon showed us last time, the voice of the LORD stills the waters. When his disciples finally woke him up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still!

But if you want to understand the full importance of Jesus calming the storm, keep reading.

Because Jesus now comes to that which the seas represent – not just the Gentiles – but also the demoniac powers which enflame the Gentiles against the people of God.