The Journey: Answers a Question 2-10-2020
By Dean Foster
February 10, 2020
The Journey: answers a question
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." Mark 4:39
The Journey is a place to discover how your life has been invaded by the One True Loving God. The Journey is a closer walk with Jesus Christ. The Journey is where you can walk with others who seek a closer walk with their Savior. As we begin, people of God, remember that He is with us; has always been with us; and no matter what, will never leave us! Amen.
Mark writes that Jesus and his men had finished another full day. Jesus has been teaching the people in parables so the large crowd may have been milling about discussing what they had heard. It was the end of a long day for the twelve, so I would guess they wanted to get away somewhere just to get some rest. Jesus said, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake", which he never would have suggested if there had been any sign of bad weather. The fishermen and other Galileans who lived around the lake knew it was dangerous to be out on the water if a storm came up, so if it even looked a little sketchy, they would have discouraged the idea.
We don't know what type of boat they took Jesus across in but it had a place in the stern with a cushion for a guest or passenger to rest on during what would have been about a two-hour trip across the lake. Apparently, that is where Jesus went and soon fell asleep. Isn't it moving to see the humanity of Jesus who was tired and needed sleep just as we do?
The Master slumbering in the stern and twelve or thirteen grown men filling the rest of the boat set the stage for God to build the faith of those who follow Jesus. Mark writes there were other boats with him so some of the crowd of believers may have been following across the lake as well. All must have settled into place for the evening journey to the other side. Then Mark writes that a "furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped."(4:37) Everyone on the loaded down boat must have been startled to say the least.
"We should not be alarmed by surprises in our lives. God is never caught off guard. Surprises are moments determined by God where He is working in the everyday circumstances of our lives to reveal who he is, who we are, and who we need! Trials, difficulties, and desperate moments are when God does His greatest work in our lives. When He brings us to the end of ourselves, we are driven to Him and Him alone as Savior and Rescuer. If He does not act, we will not be saved. Would you really want it any other way? Faith answers a resounding no!"1
Mark writes, "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?"(4:38)
"He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet, be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm."(4:39)
Now some geologists and meteorologists who read about this act of God, this miracle in Mark, may think of ways to explain or water it down (pardon the pun). For instance, they may say, the Sea of Galilee is six hundred and eighty feet below sea level and bordered by hills, especially on the east end where they rise as high as two thousand feet above the lake. At that height they can say, the hills will often be a source of cool, dry air, especially in the evening. Air that will contrast with the climate down below around the sea itself, which is semi-tropical warm, moist air. The large difference in height between the land surrounding the sea and the hills is going to cause large temperature and pressure changes. The two of these together will result in strong winds dropping down to the sea after funneling through the hills.2
Similar scientific analysis is a modern-day response men and women often have when God "gets to them." Of course, I want to say, "ladies and gentlemen, peace be with you, who do you think put the Sea of Galilee six hundred and eighty feet below sea level? Who but God, bordered that storied lake with hills that rise as high as two thousand feet on the east end? Who for that matter, has made the laws of physics and meteorology as they are and causes storms to form and disappear at His word? Ladies and gentlemen, you need only a mustard seed of faith to realize that these and all things have been created by Almighty God. And it is God who blesses and keeps us at all times with this creation he has made. Even the winds and the waves obey him."
Mark continues to tell the amazing story as the disciples have their, "Oh God!" moment. Similar to those we all have had, the moment of panic, when we suddenly forget to simply trust the one we have faith in. When facing a dangerous moment without him, the disciples (like any of us) think of themselves and lose focus. They forget all that Jesus has already done for them, brought them through, shown them, and the amazing things they know he has done in the lives of others. Not that they have no faith, just that they again need Jesus himself to bring their focus back to trusting him.
I have always pictured this miracle in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke as a boat on a stormy lake one minute and nearly as smooth as glass the next. I see it that way simply because God has just said, "Be still." What else would it be?
The disciples are there in the boat awestruck at what he has just done. Jesus turns from quieting the storm and says to them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you have no faith?"
The text says his disciples were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him?"(4:41) Their fear over what he has done and who he might be is far greater than their fear of the storm. They ask each other the question we all must at some point ask and answer for ourselves.
This is The Journey.
References
- Akin L. Daniel, D. 2014, Christ Centered Exposition Commentary, Exalting Jesus in Mark, B & H Publishing Group, Nashville, 238 pages
- Calming of the wind and waves by Jesus or the calming of frantic disciples by Jesus? (Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25; Matthew 8:23-27) Lorence G. Collins August 15, 2014
