Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Why did Jesus calm the storm on the sea and deliver a demon-possessed man? We might answer, “To save the disciples and the demoniac.” While that’s true, Mark points to something deeper. Before we step into the boat on the Sea of Galilee, let’s consider another man whose life Jesus transformed. Dr. George W. Truett learned that a word from Jesus could turn a tragedy into a turning point. The disciples and the demoniac discovered that a command from Jesus could calm both external and internal storms.
An 1898 hunting trip launched a nightmare that haunted the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, for the rest of his life. While shifting his shotgun from one hand to the other, Truett’s gun fired, striking his friend, Dallas police chief J. C. Arnold, in the leg. Doctors assured everyone the wound wasn’t life-threatening. Yet complications developed, and Arnold died the next day, resulting in a storm of epic proportions for his devastated friend.
Overwhelmed with grief and guilt, the young pastor vowed never to preach again. Day and night, he searched the Scriptures, praying for a peace that eluded him. Finally, exhausted from repeating the words of Psalm 31:15, “My times are in thy hand,” he fell asleep.
That night, one week after his friend’s death, Truett dreamed Jesus stood before him and said, “Be not afraid. You’re my man from now on.” Truett awoke, shared the dream with his wife, then fell asleep again. Twice more he had the same dream. His circumstances hadn’t changed, but a word from Jesus changed everything for the young pastor.
Storms provide opportunities for God to reveal himself. The disciples discovered this truth firsthand.
Table of contents
A Storm Unlike Any Other
Sudden squalls on the Sea of Galilee were common, but that storm was different. The disciples, seasoned sailors, fought to keep the boat steady, struggling against the vicious headwinds to secure the sails and keep the gusts from flipping the boat. Convinced they were about to die, they bailed water as waves threatened to swamp them. Their eyes scanned the boat, searching for Jesus until they discovered him asleep in the stern. How could he rest amidst such a tempest?
“Teacher, don’t you care that we’re about to drown?” (Mark 4:38 CEV).
How often have we echoed those words? When cancer invades our family or a child wanders from the Lord. When financial pressures mount, and anxiety refuses to loosen its grip, God’s silence can feel like abandonment, as if he doesn’t care.
More Than Dangerous Weather
Jesus stood and rebuked the wind and waves, using the same order he’d given to a demon in the Capernaum synagogue (Mark 1:25).
“Quiet! Be still!” Literally, “Be muzzled!” (Mark 4:39 NIV)
Mark wanted us to see the connection. The storm suggested more than just severe weather. Throughout Scripture, the sea symbolized chaos and forces opposed to God’s purposes. In his ongoing search for ways to wipe out Jesus’ ministry, the evil one saw a chance to take out the Master and his disciples in a single stroke. To derail God’s mission of salvation. But Jesus, the One who shaped the sea, soothed the sea. With a single command, the Creator transformed chaos into calm, producing order out of disorder and proving he was Lord over both storm and stillness. For his followers, fear of the storm evolved into fear of the One who stilled the storm. Then they reached land only to encounter a different kind of storm.
Another Manifestation of Evil
The moment Jesus stepped ashore, another storm confronted him. This one lived inside a man banished to the graveyard, isolated from society, raging and cutting himself with stones. The villagers had tried chaining him, but nothing could restrain him. Although the man possessed enough strength to break the physical chains they put around him, he didn’t have enough to break the spiritual chains enslaving him. His outward condition reflected his inward torment—shame, isolation, hopelessness. Like most in the first-century world, the man’s neighbors viewed demons as malicious non-human spirits that opposed God, causing physical, spiritual, and psychological suffering and oppression. They saw a monster, but Jesus saw a man worth rescuing. As soon as the Savior saw the demoniac, he began commanding the evil spirits to leave him.
“Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” (Mark 5:8 ISV)
When Jesus asked the man for his name, the demons tried to intimidate him.
“My name is Legion, for we are many.” (Mark 5:9 ESV)
Suggesting overwhelming power and numbers. But the Omnipotent One stared the demon down. With one command, Satan’s representative fled. Moments later, the man who’d been raging among the tombs sat clothed and in his right mind. The storm inside him had become as calm as the sea Jesus had stilled. The Deliverer restored more than the former demoniac’s sanity. He returned his dignity, his honor, and his hope.
When You Face a Storm
Both internal and external storms can suppress the truth, causing us to panic and miss God’s presence. The disciples feared death was before them, never realizing Life and Truth slept behind them. They trusted their abilities and equipment, but Jesus was their true security. His questions, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” weren’t condemnation. Instead, he was inviting them to trust him more than their feelings. Through the storms on land and sea, he revealed his deity, his identity as the Creator and Deliverer. Faith isn’t the absence of fear but the choice to trust One who is greater than what we fear.
Scholars believe Mark wrote to believers in Rome, perhaps at the height of Nero’s persecution. To Christians who found comfort and courage in knowing Jesus had power over both the inner and outer storms they faced. Imagine how these stories of Jesus’ triumph over evil encouraged them. They can do the same for us.
We may not come across demon possession or cope with life-threatening persecution, but all of us contend with evil’s influence. Some storms batter us from the outside through illness, loss, or broken relationships. Others rage within through fear, guilt, shame, bitterness, worry, or our desperate attempts to stay in control. The tempests we face reveal our priorities and insecurities. Who or what are we trusting?
A Word Can Change Everything
Nine days after the shooting, George Truett returned to the pulpit. People who heard him noticed a difference—his preaching carried a depth and compassion forged in suffering. The disaster he thought would destroy his ministry became the event God used to deepen it. Jesus met the broken pastor in the middle of his storm, employing the catastrophe to convert Truett into one of his greatest servants of that era.
The same Lord who settled the sea and delivered the demoniac speaks today. Sometimes he stills the storm around us, and other times, he soothes the turmoil within us. Often he doesn’t do either as soon as we’d like but reveals himself in the wind and waves, working through them to transform our faith. Teaching us that his presence is more powerful than whatever chaos threatens to overwhelm us.
A word from Jesus stilled the sea and freed a man imprisoned by demons. A word changed everything for George Truett. The Lord demonstrated his power over the evil one. He can do the same for us. Where do you need to hear his voice today?
