Mark 4:35-5:43 | Matthew 8:18, 23-34, 9:18-34 | Luke 8:22-56

Jesus and His disciples get into a boat on the Sea of Galilee, and He tells them “let us go over to the other side”.  On the way to the other side, Jesus goes to sleep in the back of the boat, and a hurricane force wind comes up, to where those seasoned fishermen in the boat were convinced they were going to die.  After being woken up, Jesus rebuked the wind and waves, and then His disciples, for not believing what He had previously said (“let’s go over to the other side”).  This was a lesson in faith for His disciples, and for us, as Jesus is also faithful to take each of us to the other side.

On the other side of the lake, Jesus casts thousands of demons out of a man, but the people in that region were afraid, and ask Him to leave their country.  The man who had been freed wanted to go with Jesus and His disciples, but the Lord told him to stay in his own country, to tell the people there about the good things God had done for him.  Jesus was not welcome there, and he left this totally unqualified man behind as His witness, yet people ended up believing as a result of hearing his testimony.  This is a strong lesson for us, to realize that our own testimony has great ability to change hearts, as the Spirit uses us as witnesses for Jesus, even though we might be totally unqualified.

After returning to Galilee, Jesus is asked to go and heal the 12 year old daughter of a synagogue leader, and on the way a woman was also healed after touching the hem of his garment.  Jesus commended her for her faith.  The 12 year old girl ended up dying before Jesus got there, but He put out all of the unbelievers, and she was raised from the dead after He commanded her to get up.