Jesus Calms the storm Mark 4:35-41
You have heard this phrase "Between the devil and the deep sea." This came out of the red sea experience the people of God went through, when they were running from the Pharao of Egypt. The enemy with all the military following them, the Isarelites found themselves in front of the the red sea. Jesus’ disciples also encountered a stormy experience. They were on the Sea of Galilee when a windstorm whipped up (Mark 6:48). The storm was so violent that despite being experienced fishermen who knew the lake well, they feared for their lives. But Jesus walked out to them and calmed the storm.
Calming the storm is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, reported in Matthew 8:23–27, Mark 4:35–41, and Luke 8:22–25. This time Jesus was sleeping in the boat, that the storm hit. Jesus said to the disciples, “Let’s go to the other side.” They get out, heading for the other side and a storm suddenly comes up. Now these men are professionals and they have had to deal with rough weather before but there was something different about this storm. This was possibly the worst storm any of them had ever seen and it scared them tremendously. Where is Jesus? The Bible says that He was in the stern or the rear of the ship asleep. This story is one of experiencing God’s presence, protection and power.
Having Jesus in the boat with you never exempts you from a storm. But it will give you confidence that you will be delivered in the storm, rather than from the storm. Safety in life is not the lack of storms. Safety in life is having Jesus with us in the storm. It is not about deliverance FROM the storms, but it is about deliverance IN the storm.
A friend of mine told me about his cousin who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was so calm and not seemed to be anxious or worried. He replied: “I have had anxiety because I have cancer and there is nothing I can do about it. But I have great peace because I know that, after all, there is nothing I can do about it! I am relaxed because I know my Father in Heaven who has control over cancer too.” It’s comforting to know that such things are in our Father’s hands.
Storms are unpredictable as to how much damage it would bring. This week the people of Texas are facing with a big Hurricane Harvey. We are now able to predict the approach or arrival of a storm, but the damage it can cause is not going to be predictable by anyone until afterwards. The unpredictability of anything is not very thrilling. We devise and strategize. We make plans, projections, and proposals about what we would like to see happen in life, but often they are little more than our best guess. We have no idea what a year, a month, a week, or even a day might bring. Life is unpredictable. There are countless things I can never know with certainty. What I can know, however, is that there is a God who knows all and loves me deeply and He knows me by name. And by knowing that, I can be at peace.
Storms are a reality. They may come suddenly, without notice. Many of life’s storms are sudden. A leak in the roof, or a car broke down, or a flood in the basement are all storm of life. A simple routine doctor's appointment can suddenly turn out to be a great storm that may threaten the life. When a dear one, a child or a spouse gets estranged. When your company announces that your job is being terminated. Or an accident on your shopping trip or way to work
I know a 2 year old who is scared of going through an automatic car wash. Even when her parents are with her, holding her close, she would not open her eyes or relax. I learned later that there are many adults who are afraid when going through car wash. They nervously checked and rechecked my windows, eased the car up to the line, and waited.One man writes, “Powers beyond my control began moving my car forward as if on a conveyor belt. There I was, cocooned inside, when a thunderous rush of water, soap, and brushes hit my car from all directions. What if I get stuck in here or water crashes in? I thought irrationally. But suddenly the waters ceased. After a blow-dry, my car was propelled into the outside world again, clean and polished.In the midst of all this, I remembered stormy times in my life when it seemed I was on a conveyor belt, a victim of forces beyond my control. “Car-wash experiences,” I now call them.
I remembered that whenever I passed through raging waters my Redeemer had been with me, sheltering me against the rising tide (Isa. 43:2, Psal 124). When I came out on the other side, which I always did, I was able to say with joy and confidence, “He is a faithful God!” Are you in the middle of a car-wash experience? Trust God to bring you through to the other side. You’ll then be a shining testimony of His keeping power. A tunnel of testing can produce a shining testimony.
We’re flooded by numerous types of storms daily. The disciples spent a lot of time with Jesus and saw him perform many miracles. You would think that they’d have a lot of faith. But in their humanity, it became evident they had more faith that the storm would destroy them than in Jesus saving them. The significance of Jesus calming the storm is pertinent to what is happening in our world today and is evidence of God’s love for us. COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our lives. These storms are both internal and external. The intense surges of emotion within us are due to our humanity while the chaotic circumstances around us are beyond our control.
The uncertainty of the storm is threatening. The Sea of Galilee is known for sudden raging storms, and many of Jesus’ disciples were seasoned fishermen. So, it would seem the disciples would have been prepared. But things were happening beyond their control, or so they thought. There have been many epidemics and even pandemics throughout history, and now we have many skilled scientists in the world. So, it seemed that we were prepared for COVID-19. But as country after country and state after state go into lockdown, the same fear and panic the disciples experienced looms over us. So, when things come upon us suddenly, we find out what’s in our hearts. We are humnas. Like the disciples, fear is coming out of many people’s hearts. It’s an emotion common to being human. One might say that the disciples were just being human. All of us during this pandemic are feeling our humanity deeply as fear sweeps across the world like a dark cloud.
But Jesus was human too. He often took time away to refresh. During the storm, Jesus was sleeping because he was exhausted from ministry. The Bible tells us how important it is that Jesus was fully human. “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). It’s significant that Jesus, as fully human and fully God, calmed a raging storm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:27).
God Is Faithful and Merciful. When they got into the boat, the instructions were to go to the other side. One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out (Luke 8:22). Jesus knew he was on a mission of mercy and that the Father was faithful to get him there, so he went to sleep. It was such a deep sleep that the storm didn’t disturb him — just like in another mission of mercy in the Old Testament. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish” (Jonah 1:5-6). Jonah had also been sent on a mission of mercy but rebelled. In both situations, we see the faithfulness and mercy of God completing the mission to save. In the case with Jesus and the disciples, it was to save the demon-possessed man on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. In the case of Jonah, it was for him to go preach to Nineveh so they’d repent and be saved by God. Jonah ran away because he knew God was merciful. His faith in God’s mercy is what made him run away.
After Jesus calmed the storm, he asked the disciples a question. He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples (Luke 8:24-25). A good question for us to ask ourselves as COVID-19 rages is, where is our faith? The disciples spent a lot of time with Jesus and saw him perform many miracles. You would think that they’d have a lot of faith. But in their humanity, it became evident they had more faith that the storm would destroy them than in Jesus saving them.
Jesus may have rebuked the disciples for their weak faith, but he didn’t abandon them to let them drown. Instead, he calmed the storm and then continued to teach them who he was and demonstrated what it was to have faith in God. There is not a disease that Jesus was unable to heal. If the fear in us is stronger than our faith, we can turn to God and he’ll teach us because his mercy endures forever.
Feeding on God’s word will build your faith and calm the storm raging within you. Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail (Lamentations 3:22). In Psalm 124 David sings “if the Lord had not been on our side the flood would have engulfed us,the torrent would have swept over us,5 the raging waters would have swept us away.”
He keeps my soul from evil and gives me blessed peace,
His voice hath stilled the waters and bid their tumult cease;
My Pilot and Deliv’rer, to Him I all confide,
For always when I need Him, He’s at my side.
He is my Friend and Savior, in Him my anchor’s cast,
He drives away my sorrows and shields me from the blast;
By faith I’m looking upward beyond life’s troubled sea,
There I behold a haven prepared for me.
Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord,
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