The Lord Jesus commends this worn out lady's “faith”. In healing her, the Lord Jesus restored her to the community. That day, the Lord Jesus saw not an outcast but a daughter. He saw not her uncleanness but her faith. Many people in her world didn’t have the time for her, but the Lord Jesus held off an urgent mission and an important man in order to look for her. This lady chose to believe that His power to heal her was greater than the people's ability to alienate her.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Mark 5:30-34
The Lord Jesus commends this worn out lady's “faith”. In healing her, the Lord Jesus restored her to the community. That day, the Lord Jesus saw not an outcast but a daughter. He saw not her uncleanness but her faith. Many people in her world didn’t have the time for her, but the Lord Jesus held off an urgent mission and an important man in order to look for her. This lady chose to believe that His power to heal her was greater than the people's ability to alienate her.
Mark 5:25-29
Today, we return to Mark 5 where the Lord Jesus has been going from town to town, healing the sick and preaching the Good News about the forgiveness of sin. On this particular day, we note the change of heart in the people who lived in the area where the man possessed by as many as 6000 demons lived. The tremendous change in the hearts of the people was due to the changed life of the former demonic man. It is obvious that he went throughout the area telling his story to whomever would listen.
This condition this lady had was bigger than anything in her life. And, her encounter with God was to teach her how to see that God is bigger than her biggest problems. This is the point of all of our problems: to discover that He is bigger than any of them. And, He always uses them to enable us to see Him with our hearts as He is, and, to bring about His biggest purposes in our lives.
In v.23 Jairus wanted the Lord Jesus to touch his daughter. In v.27 the woman wanted to touch the Lord Jesus. Jairus risked his position by associating with the Lord Jesus, while this woman risked being thrown out of the city by touching the Lord Jesus. They knew that this was the risk they had to take, for they had run out of options. And, after touching the Lord Jesus, the woman was healed.
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Mark 5:21-25
Jairus was the official in charge of the synagogue. In the first century, the ruler of the synagogue was the one who was in charge of maintaining the building and organizing the synagogue services. Jairus was the highest standing spiritual authority in the city of Capernaum. He was probably a Pharisee, and, they were not that fond of the Lord Jesus. So, it's interesting that a man of this stature and standing, came to the Lord Jesus to ask for his twelve year old daughter to be healed.
Undoubtedly, Jairus was thinking the Lord Jesus had healed others before, maybe He could heal my little girl. What a picture of a loving father who is most willing to do anything for the good of his daughter. In fact, according to v.23, Jairus came to the Lord Jesus "begging." There is that word again. How humiliating was this moment for this proud religious leader. And yet, he embraced it. God responds to such displays of humility. In James 4:6 we read, "... God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
In this case, the request of this hurting father was specific. He requested that the Lord Jesus "come and put Hs hands on her so she would be healed and would live." Life, he desperately hoped, was to be found in the touch of the Lord Jesus. As we study the Gospels, we often see the Lord Jesus reaching out with his hand to touch people. In Matthew 8:14-15, He touched Peter’s wife’s mother and took away her fever. According to Matthew 9:27-31, He touched the eyes of two blind men and gave them sight. In Mark 7:31-35 we learn that He touched the ears and the tongue of a deaf mute and gave him the ability to hear and speak. And, according to Mark 1:40-42, He touched a leper and made him whole.
The emphasis in this story which will be interrupted by a woman with a health issue of twelve years, is that of desperation. Here, we find a fascinating contrast, and I believe it's here by design. Jairus had a twelve-year-old daughter, and, this woman had a twelve-year-old disease. For twelve years this daughter brought nothing but joy to Jairus, and, for twelve years this disease brought nothing but torment to this woman.
Monday, June 20, 2022
Mark 5:18-20
Click here for the Mark 5:18-20 PODCAST
18 As Jesus was getting back into the boat, the man who was freed from the demons begged to go with him. 19 But Jesus would not let him. He said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man left and began to tell the people in the Ten Towns about what Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed. ~ Mark 5:18-20
We return, today, to Mark 5, to the story of the man who was demon possessed with up to 6000 demons. Miraculously, after the townsfolk had tried for years to control this erratic man, the Lord Jesus delivered him from the control of the dark side which had tormented him incessantly.
In v.18 of today's passage we read, "As Jesus was getting back into the boat, the man who was freed from the demons begged to go with him."
Once this man had been delivered by the Lord Jesus, he did not want to live another day without having Him in his life. This is the way it works, once we have truly come into a personal relationship with the Lord, we want to hang out with Him all of the time. The once demon shackled man "begged" the Lord to allow him to go with Him.
That word "begged" is a common word in Mark's gospel. The demons who were once in this man from the Gadarenes "begged" the Lord Jesus to let them go into the pigs. And, now the previously demon-possessed man "begged" Him to let him go with Him. This is what a tormented soul who has been made alive to God desires. For the first time in his life, he desired to be with the One who is wholly.
In v.19 of today's passage we read, "But Jesus would not let him. He said, 'Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.'"
The Lord Jesus sent this guy to share his story with his people, but he had no witnessing training. If we have a story with the Lord, we need no other training. This man, by the way, is the first preacher the Lord Jesus ever sent out. He had not yet sent the apostles out to preach the gospel. This is the first person the Lord Jesus ever sent out to preach His name, and he is a Gentile who had a really messed up past. And when the Lord gave him a testimony, it was a heck of a story. And, it was powerful because he had been demon possessed for so long. And, the people knew his story. From the moment we were born again, we were given the desire to tell others the great things the Lord has done for us. This is one of the greatest signs that we have entered into a personal relationship with the Lord.
In v.20 of today's passage we read, "So the man left and began to tell the people in the Ten Towns about what Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed."
The name of the region where this man lived was Decapolis which was a region of ten cities east of the Jordan River. This delivered man worked his way through those ten cities telling the people about his miraculous encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Mark 7:31-32 we read, "31 Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon to Lake Galilee, to the area of the Ten Towns. 32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and could not talk plainly. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him."
The once demon-possessed man had been sharing his story about how the Lord Jesus had delivered him from demon possession for months before the Lord Jesus returned to that area. As, a result, when the people learned that the Lord Jesus had returned to the area, they responded differently than they had before. They brought this deaf man to Him for healing. The once demon-possessed man was given a story by the Lord Jesus that enabled him to tell the whole region who the Lord Jesus was; and when He came back, the crowds were prepared to receive Him and His message.
"Everyone was amazed." There were amazed by the story of the once demon-possessed man. The Greek word used in Mark 5:20 translated "amazed" means "to admire with wonder." This was the first missionary the Lord Jesus ever sent out. And, his story with the Lord Jesus was a story about God's grace.
"Lifestyle evangelism" is an evangelism strategy that focuses on our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus lived in the presence of those who have yet to enter into a personal relationship with Him. This is done with the goal of attracting them to the message and to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to Acts 5:13, Christians of the early church were known for their good works, being "highly regarded by the people." The combination of a vibrant personal relationship with the Lord and a vibrant sharing of that faith with those who know not the Lord around us is the most effective way to being a witness for the Lord Jesus. The key in all of this is that we have a daily and vibrant walk with the Lord Jesus. So, look to Him daily for the stories that He will give you so that you can be like the once demon-possessed man, telling others about what the Lord Jesus has done in your life.
Friday, June 17, 2022
Mark 5:11-17
Today, we return to our study of Mark 5 where the Lord Jesus and His disciples are on the eastside of the Sea of Galilee in a gentile area known as the area of the Gerasene people. Among the Gerasenes, faith in the God of the Bible was lacking. As a result, the demonic activity there was high because there was low impact of the truth. The people there had long rejected the truth, and so, the work of the enemy was heightened.
In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 The herdsmen ran away and went to the town and to the countryside, telling everyone about this. So people went out to see what had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the man who used to have the many evil spirits, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. And they were frightened."
Here in Mark 5, we see the parables of Mark 4 being played out in the life of this once demon enslaved man. After meeting the Lord Jesus, his heart was now characterized by the good soil in the parables of the sower and of the seed. No longer was he enslaved to evil, now, he was enslaved to good, bearing good fruit a hundredfold. And the people in the town were the opposite, they remained dead to God because of their unforgiven sin.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Mark 5:1-10
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mark_twain_118453?src=t_control
All attempts by the townspeople to control this demon possessed man were to no avail. This is what we do to people we do not understand and cannot control, we send them away. For some time this man was isolated away from the people, and alone. This man approached the Lord Jesus who had just arrived in the boat with His disciples, after the storm. The possessed man was like the storm. Both the storm and the man, were uncontrollable. That was until the Lord Jesus came upon the scene.
Before he was possessed by demons, this man had a home and friends. We know this, because the Lord Jesus, at the end of the story, sent him back to both. But he lived isolated away from humanity in a cemetery of open tombs cut out of the side of a hill. These tombs contained bodies which were laid out to decompose. The condition of this man's existence was deplorable.
Mark says that he had been previously bound. Over and over again the community had tried to restrain this once sane man. The people repeatedly tried to control him because he was out of control and he was a serious threat to their community. With the increasing difficulty that this man posed, the more they tried to control him. However, at some point, he tore off the chains and the shackles that bound him and he ran away seemingly free, but he was so very far from freedom.
Like many, this poor man probably thought God could never love him, but we could never be too far gone for God. One of the greatest things about Him is that He goes out of His way to save the unwanted. No one is outside of His reach. However, God has never been known to force Himself on anyone. He awaits the cries of those who long for true freedom, His freedom. All of the people had given up all hope for this man, and we can understand why, when we look at his desperate condition. The disciples believed the Lord Jesus was just traveling across the lake to get to a place where He could get some rest from the clamoring crowds, but, it is obvious that He came to save this unloved and unwanted man.
These three verses prove that demons have faith. In fact, their faith is orthodox faith. And, their theology of God is spot on. This is why they promote false teaching, because they know the truth and they do not want any human to know the truth. When this man saw the Lord Jesus, immediately he knew who He was. He came running to Him and cried out, "Son of the Most High God," which is the highest name a nonbeliever can know or use to refer to God. It is used all through the Old Testament by members of the Gentile nations. Interestingly, in the first part of this gospel account, until we get to the middle of it, demons were the only beings who recognized the Lord Jesus as "the Son of the Most High God." The first time a human made that statement is at the end of the book. It was the Centurion soldier at the foot of the cross who said it.
In v.9-10 of today's text we read, "9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He answered, “My name is Legion, because we are many spirits.” 10 He begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of that area."
This man was defined by shame, brokenness and hell itself. His way of handling his inner turmoil was to cut himself. The demons in him were the complete opposite of the Holy Spirit who is patient, gentle and loving. The spirits in this man were of Hell. They belong to Satan. But, the Lord Jesus loved him enough to endure a violent storm and the uncontrollable faith of the disciples to get to him. This is the heart of our Savior who left heaven to come to this earth so that the willing could know the life of God in the souls of men.
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Mark 4:35-41
Today, we complete our study of Mark 4 where the Lord Jesus has been openly teaching the crowds and privately explaining His teachings to His disciples. Today's passage is brought to a head by the Lord Jesus when He asked His followers two questions: "Why are you afraid?" and "Do you still have no faith?"
After teaching the large crowd that had gathered on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the Lord Jesus and His disciples traveled in a boat across the sea. What we have here is the setting wherein the faith of the disciples was challenged and subsequently strengthened, even though they did not display great faith in the Lord that night.
The sea's location makes it subject to sudden and strong storms as the wind comes over the eastern mountains and drops suddenly onto the sea. It is surrounded by mountains up to 3,000 feet, and, storms are especially likely when an east wind blows cool air over the warm air that covers the sea. The cold air, being heavier, drops as the warm air rises. This sudden change can produce surprisingly furious storms in a short time.
The tragedy of faith today is that we are no longer afraid of God. I'm not talking about the type of fear that makes us run from Him. I'm talking about the type of fear that makes us all fall down before Him in worship. The cause of all of this is the very popular me-centered teaching that attracts thousands, but transforms no one. We have made Christianity so comfortable with the temporary that we treat it like the kingdom of this world. But this world is not our home. We have come to the place where we treat our health and the pursuit of wealth as more important than God.
We should never be surprised when on the heels of being taught by the Lord Jesus that He takes us into an arena to practice what He has taught us. This is what today's passage is all about. The disciples failed the test. Yet, with God, failure isn't the opposite of success. That night the faith of the disciples grew and informed their theology correctly. And, even though the disciples failed their examination of faith in the Lord Jesus, the groundwork was laid for a new expression of faith the next time they were under such a test.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Mark 4:30-34
The mustard seed is a great symbol of faith because it has certain qualities: First of all, it has an inherent capacity for growth. A seed is able to grow, and so can faith. In fact, faith that is not used will not grow; but if it is used, it grows. When we trust Him in little things, we learn to trust Him in the bigger things. But, the issue really isn't the trust. The issue is knowing Him, and, we do not know Him without placing our trust in Him. And, the more we get to know Him, the more we will love Him.
The mustard seed bush is no more than eight to ten feet in height. It is a rather insignificant and unimpressive bush. Here, the Lord Jesus illustrates the absurdness of faith that grows. For us humans, in our fallen state, faith in the God of the Bible, is not normal. But, it is possible for humans to have faith in the God of the Bible which grows with use. So, the Lord Jesus uses this parable of the lowly mustard seed to illustrate His point. He is using the absurd to illustrate the absurd.
In doing so, the Lord Jesus is communicating a secret of His kingdom. This mustard seed is supposed to be lowly and unimpressive, yet it becomes something that has a great effect on others. And, the purpose of the seed is it grows up to be a bush which provides shelter for the birds. And, the mustard bush provides more than just shade for birds, it also provides a spice that makes food taste good. In addition to that, it also has medicinal purposes.
Monday, June 13, 2022
Mark 4:26-29
Today, we return to our study of Mark 4 where the Lord Jesus has been teaching the people who had gathered around Him at one of the lakes that come off of the Sea of Galilee. After teaching the parable of the soils, the disciples later came to Him asking for the explanation of the parable. This parable describes the various responses of people to hearing the Gospel. In order to understand the remainder of His parables, we must understand this one.
The parables of the Lord Jesus illustrate the kingdom of God in the heart of the willing. We are made in the image of what we desire. When we became believers in the Lord Jesus, we were positioned to learn of His perfect heart for us. And, at some point, we were convinced of the fact that He loves us no matter what. This type of love moves us to want to tell others about Him. We give what we have. If we did not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, we would not have the desire to give to others.
Friday, June 10, 2022
Mark 4:21-25
Today, we return to Mark 4 where the Lord Jesus had begun teaching the crowds using parables. In fact, on this particular day, He used a parable which the disciples later asked for an explanation. The Lord Jesus has just given His explanation of the parable of the sower, and now, He gives more teaching regarding how we must hear in order to be effective in His call on our lives to be His messengers.
In v.21-23 of today's passage we read, "21 Then Jesus said to them, “Do you hide a lamp under a bowl or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lampstand. 22 Everything that is hidden will be made clear and every secret thing will be made known. 23 Let those with ears use them and listen!"
The parable of the sower accentuates hearing His word deeply, and, as a result, enjoying the results of the power of His word in our lives. The parable of the lamp in today's passage magnifies what is and what isn’t seen. Through this teaching, the Lord Jesus is saying, "See what you listen to." This means if we are to see deeply with our hearts, we must listen deeply. And then, the goal beyond that is that others would come to know Him through our yielded lives. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, "The Bible is not the light of the world, it is the light of the Church. But the world does not read the Bible, the world reads Christians! You are the light of the world."
Thursday, June 09, 2022
Mark 4:13-20
Click here for the Mark 4:13-20 PODCAST
13 Then Jesus said to his followers, “Don’t you understand this story? If you don’t, how will you understand any story? 14 The farmer is like a person who plants God’s message in people. 15 Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like the people who hear the teaching of God, but Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. 16 Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. 17 But since they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives, they keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they quickly give up. 18 Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, 19 but the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires keep the teaching from growing and producing fruit in their lives. 20 Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more.” ~ Mark 4:13-20
Today we return to Mark 4 where the Lord Jesus is alone with His followers and He is giving to them the explanation of the parable of the soils. This story was something the disciples would all relate to, an agricultural story, a picture that they all knew very well of a man sowing a bag of seed.
In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus said to his followers, “Don’t you understand this story? If you don’t, how will you understand any story?"
Since we were born sinful, we had to be rescued from the bonds of sin in order to have a relationship with God. Our sin separated us from God. This is why the Lord Jesus came to pay the penalty for sin. He did this in order to free us from the grasp of the devil. Once we are "born again" we are positioned to know the Lord for ourselves and to understand the teaching of the Lord Jesus. It all begins with a heart that is receptive to the voice of God.
In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 The farmer is like a person who plants God’s message in people. 15 Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like the people who hear the teaching of God, but Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them."
In this parable, the Lord Jesus is the farmer who spread His seed or the secret to the kingdom of God. This first type of soil, the Lord Jesus accentuates is the one that is shallow. Due to shallowness of heart, Satan takes away the teaching that was planted. These people are those who never enter into a personal relationship with God because the truth never penetrated their hearts.
In v.16-17 of today's passage we read, "16 Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. 17 But since they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives, they keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they quickly give up."
This type of soil or heart shows interest in the truth and even expresses joy over its discovery, but, only for a short time. Initially this person gets excited about the Gospel, but his excitement wanes. His problem is that he gets excited about everything and nothing is all that special to him. So, since this person runs from one thing that excites him to another, he misses the reality of the Gospel. He has never been born again. And, when he gets challenged in his faith, when suffering shows up, his response becomes, "How could a God of love allow this? I'm not going to believe this anymore." The problem was he didn't believe in the first place.
In v.18-19 of today's passage we read, "18 Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, 19 but the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires keep the teaching from growing and producing fruit in their lives."
This person shows some receptivity to the truth but it really never penetrates his heart because the deceitfulness of riches choke the word right out of his life. This person has a crowded heart. The seed goes in, but there are weeds all around it that prevent it from maturing. The root system of the weeds take up the nutrients in the soil preventing the growth of the seed. And then, when hard times come and God doesn't work in his life like he thinks He should, he turns away from the truth.
Sadly, the same truth that awakens one blinds another. Just like the same sun that melts the ice, hardens the clay. The same rain that waters the field, floods the river. The same truth that opens a person's eyes, blinds another's because they essentially do not want to get it.
In this parable, of those who hear the word, 25 percent show no growth at all, while 50 percent the growth is minimal and only temporary, and, only 25 percent show real spiritual connection to God. That means 75 percent reject the message of the Gospel.
In v.20 of today's passage we read, "Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more."
This is the one that hears the word, accepts it, and the word bears fruit in and through his life. This is the fruitful heart. Notice the sentence, "sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more." That means to the degree that we invest in God's culture to that degree will we reap of His bounty. The key is yieldedness on our part. And then, it is up to God to produce the results.
Wednesday, June 08, 2022
Mark 4:10-12
Click here for the Mark 4:10-12 PODCAST
10 Later, when Jesus was alone, the twelve apostles and others around him asked him about the stories. 11 Jesus said, "You can know the secret about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories 12 so that: They will look and look, but they will not learn. They will listen and listen, but they will not understand. If they did learn and understand, they would come back to me and be forgiven." ~ Mark 4:10-12
Today, we return to one of the lakes off of the Sea of Galilee where the Lord Jesus had been teaching the crowd. And, now that the crowd has filtered out of the area, the Lord Jesus was alone with His disciples. Being alone with the Lord is such a great thing because He, in that context, can teach more directly. Being driven to be alone with the Lord is so key to our development in His ways. Our problem is, we do not want those things in our lives that push us closer to Him; things like pain, hardship and trouble.
In v.10 of today's passage we read, "Later, when Jesus was alone, the twelve apostles and others around him asked him about the stories."
After the crowds had gone home the disciples came to the Lord with questions about the stories He had used in His teaching that day. One of the greatest signs that we have been "born again" is that we seek the truth. But, the problem is this: the truth is inconvenient. Most often, we want the truth when it serves our purposes. The true sign that we have entered into God's family is when we are confronted by the truth, and, we conclude: the truth must win. This will never mean that we will be perfect this side of heaven on measuring up to the truth, but it does mean that if we are born into God's family, we will be the servants of truth, not the other way around.
Our relationship with the Lord is purely based upon what He did for us on the cross. No amount of change in us has ever garnered the favor of God. And, now that we know that our sin is forgiven us through the cross, we have entered into fellowship with God. Our relationship with Him is based solely on the sacrifice the Lord Jesus made on the cross. Now that we are related to the Lord, we have fellowship with Him. This fellowship is the deepening of our relationship with Him.
Our fellowship with God is largely impacted by how we respond to the truth. He is the truth. And, when there is a clash in our lives between our sinfulness and His truth, then we must choose the truth. And, when we choose the truth, we will grow in our sanctification which is what gets His wisdom into our lives right now.
In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 Jesus said, 'You can know the secret about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories 12 so that: They will look and look, but they will not learn. They will listen and listen, but they will not understand. If they did learn and understand, they would come back to me and be forgiven."
The believer who is growing in his fellowship with God will know the secrets of God. The Greek word translated "secret" in v.11 is the word from which we get our English word "mystery." The combination of the words questions and mystery provide for us the makings of the stage where a grand pursuit ensues. This is what our fellowship with the Lord is all about. When we entered into our personal relationship with the God of the Bible, we entered the pursuit. And, the more of Him that we get to know, the more we will want.
The development and the deepening of any relationship is largely based on this pursuit. To the degree that we invest our being in the pursuit of anyone will determine how deep that relationship goes. King David wrote, "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you, O LORD."
Our longings determine our search. The problem is the longing is most often created by thirst, and, we want our thirsts quenched right now. But, it does not work that way. The more arduous the pathway to God will determine the glory discovered at the end of the search. But, we do not want to put in the hard work. We often chose the anesthesia over the deepening fellowship, and, the anesthesia turns us numb to the truth.
There are two kinds of hearers, those who follow and those who don't. This is why the Lord speaks in parables, to aid those who are engaged with the truth and the hinder those who are not engaged with the truth. The group of hearers who follow the Lord is known to be obedient to the truth, and, when this happens, we are being defined by God. To those who are defined by His truth is given the secret of the kingdom of God.
In 1 Corinthians 4:1 we read, "People should think of us as servants of Christ, the ones God has trusted with his secrets."
God entrusts the truth to those who are engaged with the truth. Central to receiving the revelation of God and His kingdom is that we are "servants." The Greek word translated "servants" in 1 Corinthians 4:1 means the person who road on the lowest level of the galley on a ship. In that day, there were three levels on the ships. The bottom group who moved the oars, pushed the ship through the sea were called "the servants."
The life of a galley slave was arduous to say the least. The pain and agony of their strenuous work was exhausting. This is the word used here to describe the one to whom God entrusts His truth. To those with the posture of the lowest slave is granted the deepest insights. We do not serve the LORD without serving His Word for His Word is the revelation of His will.
On the other hand, for those who are playing games with the truth, the Lord Jesus spoke in parables, in order to conceal the truth from them. His ultimate goal is to get us positioned to be forgiven our sin and to enter into a personal relationship with Him. So, He allows frustration so that we will turn to Him. He knows what we do not; He knows the answer is the truth.
God has infinite wisdom of all things. The world moves according to His secret will, of which we know little. Wonder is retained by wise pondering. If God never intervened, man would be lost. But, God has intervened by revealing Himself through creation, our consciences, and most profoundly through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.