At GFI, we are looking at Luke 8:22-56 today (faithfully explained by Pastor Charles).

I was firstly reminded of the context of the world back then at Jesus’ time. It was a world of fear.
And Jesus encountered 4 things (I’d call them 4 enemies of humanity) that cause human to fear.

The first one was the storm. The disciples were afraid for their lives and they woke Jesus up. Jesus rebuked the wind and the wave and then there was a calm. And the disciples were afraid of him.

The second enemy up is supernatural – the demons. The demons (many of them) have possession of a man for a number of years. When the man (and his demons) encountered Jesus – they recognized who he was, they were afraid that Jesus would annihilate them to the abyss and ask Jesus’ permission to go enter the herd of pigs instead. Jesus permitted them to do so. When the people saw what happened and furthermore found out that the man was well – they were afraid, afraid of Jesus. They even asked Jesus to leave – for they were seized with great fear (vs 37),

The third enemy up is sickness. The woman has been sick for 12 years. Upon touching Jesus’ garment she was healed. When Jesus asked who had touched him (his garment) – she came trembling before him.

The final enemy in this passage is death. Jairus’ daughter 12 years of age (not sure whether 12 years has some significance – given that the woman’s sickness was also 12 years long) was sick and finally died before Jesus arrived. Jesus brought her back to life. And her parents were amazed (vs 55).

When these things happened – it’s interesting to note that the original fears were not completely removed – but instead they were moved. In each occasion, the account ended with people marvelled at, amazed at and feared Jesus.

And rightly Jesus is to be feared. But for those who are on His side – Jesus will say “Fear not..” (Rev 1:17-18).