Mark 4:35-41 – Jesus Calms the Storm
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Let me remind you of another story from another time – the story of the prophet Jonah.
Jonah lived in the days when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was being threatened by the cruel nation of Assyria. One day God spoke to Jonah and told him to go and preach God's word to the great city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Jonah's reply, in effect, was "You must be joking". He rushed off as fast as he could and got himself passage in a ship going across the Mediterranean in precisely the opposite direction from Nineveh. Jonah rebelled big time against God's call on his life.
But actions have consequences. God sent a great storm on the sea which threatened to destroy the boat along with all its sailors – and Jonah. The captain called all of them to cry out to whatever god they might believe in so that they might be saved from destruction. But Jonah was fast asleep below the deck of the boat.
When at last Jonah was awakened the captain decided to cast lots to discover which of them had so angered their god as to bring this storm upon them all; "And the lot fell upon Jonah."
Jonah confessed that he worshiped "the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land", and that he was running away from the Lord and from what the Lord had commanded him to do. He told the sailors that their only hope was to throw him overboard. With great reluctance, this at last was what they did and the sea then became calm for them. Without Jonah in the vessel they could smile at the receding storm. And so, having witnessed the power of the living God, the sailors "greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him."
And so we return to the passage from Mark's gospel which we are looking at this morning. In Mark 4:35-41 we read of Jesus calming a storm.
It had been a busy and demanding day for Jesus, teaching crowds of people at the side of Lake Galilee. As evening came he said to his disciples, "let us go over to the other side." Jesus had been standing or sitting in the boat to teach the crowds gathered on the shore (see 4:1) and we read that the disciples, "took him along, just as he was, in the boat." Jesus, no doubt, was looking to rest a while away from the crowds, but Mark tells us that there were other boats that went with him. The crowds did not want to let him go.
Jesus, tired from the day's exertions, was sleeping in the back of the boat on a cushion.
But then we read, "A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped." The lake of Galilee was famous for such squalls but this must have been a furious one since the disciples, some of whom were experienced fishermen were terrified, thinking they were about to drown. So they woke Jesus with their terrified accusation, "Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?"
Jesus, we read, "got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm" – literally "a great calm", a γαλήνη μεγάλη, a mega calm. Jesus' words not only saved the disciples from this threatening storm, they also saved the lives of those in the boats who had followed them across the lake. Jesus then went on to rebuke the disciples for their fear and lack of faith.
And yet, the story ends by telling us that the disciples "were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!'"
The contrasts between the two stories I have told are obvious. Jonah had turned his back on God's call on his life; Jesus was obedient to his Heavenly Father and was constantly about his Father's business. The sailors were in danger so long as Jonah was with them in the boat and could only be saved by throwing him overboard; the disciples, and the other boats around them, were safe precisely because Jesus was with them.
But there are similarities between the stories. In both, the person at the centre of the story was asleep in the boat in the midst of the threatening storm. In both stories, those around the central character were amazed when the storm was stilled and were filled with fear and awe.
Let's look a little closer at the story we have read from Mark's gospel.
The disciples were amazed and filled terrified when Jesus stilled the storm. They could not understand how he could say to the wind and waves, "Quiet! Be still!" – like a stern schoolmaster rebuking a class of disorderly pupils, and immediately there was complete calm. "Who is this?" the disciples ask each other, "Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
You all know, I'm sure, the story of king Cnut, but you may not know the whole story. Cnut was king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. He was a man who possessed great power and authority not only over lands but over the sea. But, it was because he wished to teach his nobles about the limits of human power that set his throne by the sea shore and commanded the tide to halt and not to wet his feet and robes. The tide, as you may imagine, took no notice of his command. According to Henry of Huntingdon, a 12th century chronicler, Cnut leapt backwards and said "Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws." He then hung his gold crown on a crucifix, and never wore it again.
Who can command the power of the sea? Certainly no mere human being can do it, however much he or she may be lauded by others.
So the disciples rightly asked, "Who is this man?" And so we must ask this question of ourselves. And the only answer can be this: He is the one through whom all things were first created. He is the one who at the dawn of creation tamed the great deep and created the dry land. He is the one who parted the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites might cross on dry land. He is the one who also parted the waters of the Jordan that so that the Israelites might safely enter the Promised Land. He is the one who can walk upon the sea.
As the disciples pondered what had happened on that lake, I wonder whether they remembered the words of Psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:1-3, 7-11)
If so, they would have understood the answer to their own question of who this was. Jesus is the Living God. The Lord Almighty who made the sea and the dry land was with them. He is the one who will make wars to cease and will bring peace to the world. He, the God of Jacob, had come to be their refuge – their ever-present help in time of trouble.
Such recognition should have stilled their fears.
Do we understand who Jesus is? When we read of the things that Jesus said and did surely it fills us also with astonishment. There was never anyone else like this man. He can be none other than the living God come in the flesh. And if this is so, he shows us as no other could, what God is like; that our God is concerned about us and that he uses his power not to crush us but to save us. Are we filled with wonder and worship at what we see and learn of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do we fully appreciate who he is and at the same time appreciate all that he has done for us in coming to earth as a man and giving himself for us? This is a truth we can scarcely comprehend, yet we believe it is so and are filled with wonder, love and praise.
But the second question for us is, "Do we believe that he is with us?" He was with these disciples in the boat when it was in danger from the storm, but do we believe that he is with us? When Jesus took leave of his disciples after his resurrection he said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me… And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Do we believe this promise of the Lord Jesus, that he who has all authority in heaven and upon earth is with us and shall be with us until we are safe with him in glory? This is what he has promised and we can take him at his word.
How, then, do we view what may happen to us today or in the days ahead? We recognise that we live in an uncertain and turbulent world, one that is full of conflict, opposition and even violence. In the words of an old song, "There may be trouble ahead." So how do we face an uncertain future with its threats, real or imagined? Do we face it with fear or with faith? Remember the words of Psalm 23 which, for us, surely speak of the Lord Jesus who is the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd of the sheep:
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
We need not fear whatever may happen tomorrow for our loving Saviour, who cares for us so much that he gave himself for us, has promised always to be with us and never to leave us or forsake us. So we can say confidently with the Apostle Paul:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Or, in the words of an old hymn by that seasoned sailor, John Newton, "With Christ in the vessel I smile at the storm."
Make this truth the ground of your daily confidence: Christ is with you and Christ is for you. He is your help and strength for whatever situations you may face. Do not be afraid.
"But", you may respond, "it seems to me that Jesus is asleep on the job. I face all sorts of difficulties and troubles and cry out to him in prayer but he does not make them go away as he quietened the sea and the wind for his disciples." Are we tempted to feel that God, or the Lord Jesus, is not treating as he should because of the troubles we are facing? Are we tempted to feel he does not care about us or love us?
Jesus does not promise that if we follow him our lives will be free of trouble. He does, however, promise to be with us and to walk alongside us in all that we may face. He assures us:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. (Isaiah 43:1b-3a)
He is there to be our strength and support and will bring us safely through all our trials to glory. We can depend upon his promise.
But one more thing before I close. Thinking again of the contrasting stories of Jonah and Jesus, I want to challenge us with this question, "Is our presence the source of trouble to those around us or the source of blessing, calm and peace? Jonah, by failing to obey the call of God on his own life, brought trouble not only on himself but also on those around him. Jesus, in his perfect obedience to the call of the Father on his life, brought help and blessing to those who were with him. Whom do we resemble? I am reminded of the Apostle Paul when he was caught up in a violent storm when being transported as a prisoner to Rome. God told him that his life would be spared since he must testify of Christ before Caesar and that therefore the lives of all those with him on the boat would be safe also. May God keep us faithful to him, close to the Lord Jesus Christ and obedient to his call on our lives, and so make our lives the source of blessing to those around us.
Peter Misselbrook: Quakers Rd, 11/8/2024.