Is the Master in your boat? Fear not!
Mark 4:35-41
Introduction: The hurricane that moved north
through the Atlantic this week made me think of a storm that took a very
different course 25 years ago…
…August 24th, 1992. That was when Hurricane Andrew hit
South Florida. …when that great storm began to bear down on the cities and
towns in its path; and the winds were whipping through the streets, and the
trees were snapping, and the lights went out, and people huddled together in
any place that appeared safe. After the storm had moved up the coast they
interviewed a man who slept through the whole thing. The well-rested man said
that when he woke up the worst of it was over. His wife greeted her husband a
little sarcastically and it reminded me of Alice Cramdon talking to Ralph on
the Honeymooners, “Well, Bob you just slept through the greatest natural
disaster to ever hit North America.” And do you know what his reply was? He
said, “Well, ‘Shirley girl’, a good conscience makes for a good night’s sleep.”
We see the psalmist talking about a good night’s sleep, but
in Psalm 3 and 4 it seems that the basis is trust in God not necessarily a good
conscience (Ps 3:5; 4:8). “I lay down and
sleep, I awake, because the Lord sustains me!” Sometimes, when we look at
the world, we can lose sleep. Mark was
writing to Christians in Rome who were suffering, under persecution. As He
wrote his gospel he included this story about Jesus getting in a boat with His
disciples, and teaching them a lesson about faith in the midst of the storm. John Newton wrote, “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved…”
When we look at the world around us, when we see the violence and the hatred
that men bring against men, we can ask with the psalmist, “How long o Lord?” Or even ask as the disciples did in the storm, “Lord, are you sleeping? Don’t you care if we
perish?” Of course we know
better. We would never say such a thing, right?
At least four of
the disciples were fishermen, they knew the lake, they had seen storms. But
remember, it was night, no GPS, no communications in the event of an emergency,
limited light from the moon and stars… And then what must have seemed like the
perfect storm hit… Some of you have been out in rough water… Not me… I got to
feeling sea sick just riding a ferry from Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island
in windy conditions! Remember who is in the boat.
The Maine Idea: In every storm of life we should
remember who Jesus is, and trust Him, our King and Lord of all.
I. Understand the cost
of discipleship (35,36):
What does it mean to follow Him? It was Jesus who took told the disciples to
sail across the lake. They had been obedient to Jesus, they did exactly what he
had asked, and they sailed directly into a storm! Storms don’t necessarily mean we are outside
of the will of God!
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go
across to the other side." 36
And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And
other boats were with him…
The scene is
clear enough. After a long day of preaching, as evening was falling, Jesus
tells the disciples to take them across the lake. It may be that Jesus was in
the boat from which He had been teaching, as he gave the instruction. That may
be the intent of the phrase “…just as He
was…” There were other boats as well that went to accompany them on the
short sail across the lake, just a detail that reminds us this was an
eyewitness account. The disciples were obedient. They were in the boat on
the lake because Jesus had directed them there. Please don’t miss this.
Obedience to God does not guarantee that everything is going to go smoothly in
life. In fact, it may be that we will do exactly what God wants us to do, and
still we’ll sail right into some terrifying storms! Later in this gospel in fact, in what many
consider the key passage in this gospel, Jesus will say,
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me. 35
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my
sake and the gospel's will save it. 36
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? (Mark 8:34-36).
Jesus called them to follow Him, and they came. Now He
directs them to take the boat across the lake, and they set out to do so. There
is no hint of hesitation, no expression of concern, just obedience. And they
encounter a storm. There is no promise of smooth sailing if we follow Him! As I
read this story of the disciples in the boat on the stormy sea, I remembered what
Peter wrote in his first epistle:
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to
test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you
share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory
is revealed… (I Peter 4:12,13).
Why should we be surprised by suffering? Why should the
storms we encounter in life catch us off guard? Remember what Jesus endured,
willingly, for us! Obedience to God doesn’t guarantee a storm free life. If
that is what someone promised you when they shared Christ, they lied! But we
can know this: He understands, and He is right there with us. Storms don’t mean
that we are outside the will of God. The lesson here: when storms come, and
they will, we should remember who Jesus is, and trust Him, our King and Lord of
all.
II. Jesus lead them
into the storm to test their faith and grow it. They asked Jesus, “Don’t you care?”
Jesus asks them, “Why were you afraid? Have you no faith?” Storms don’t mean
that we are necessarily going to sink! We may have no control over what we are
passing through but the Lord does!
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat,
so that the boat was already filling.
Storms can
reveal our need (37). The disciples were probably pretty comfortable on the
Sea of Galilee. As we noted, at least four of them, and maybe as many as seven,
were experienced fishermen. The topography of the region around the lake no
doubt guaranteed that they had been caught in the water during rough weather
before. The Sea of Galilee is actually a fresh water lake. It has the lowest
elevation for any fresh water lake in the world, nearly 700 feet below sea
level! Mountains surrounding the region, including the Golan Heights and Mount
Herman, make it very susceptible to sudden, violent down drafts. This one hit
quickly, and it was a bad one. The waves were breaking into the boat, it was in
danger of being swamped. Where was Jesus?
38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and
said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
Storms can
drive us to Jesus, expressing our doubts and fears (38). If God does not
protect us from storms, he will certainly use them to accomplish His good
purpose in us. Paul said in Romans 8:28 that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are called according to His purpose…” What good can come from
trials? Look at Jesus, as He teaches His disciples…
39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be
still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are
you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"
Storms
can grow our faith (39,40). Why are you fearful and faithless? As we pass through trials, God can use those
things to grow our faith. James said,
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of
your faith produces steadfastness. 4
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing… (James 1:2-4).
Count trials
as joy? James said times of testing grow our faith and mature us. Elizabeth
Eliot knew something about storms, about trials in life. She said in the midst
of a time of crisis, “It is in accepting what God has given that God gives
himself.” Or as Chuck Swindoll said, “Nothing touches us that has not first passed through the hands of our
loving heavenly Father. Nothing.” Peter
may have thought back to that stormy evening in the boat when he wrote in I
Peter 1:6,7,
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as
was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness
of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by
fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of
Jesus Christ…
To God be the glory! By the way, the question “…don’t you care that we are perishing?” will
be answered unambiguously as the story unfolds. One writer expressed the depth
of emotion that drives the question…
Their cry is the ultimate cry
of fear, of doubt and abandonment, repeated often in the stories of God’s
people, as for example in the psalms. Where is God in the midst of my distress?
Has God abandoned his people? It is a cry repeated in so many ways in the midst
of the terrors and distresses of our world today. If God is so great and
powerful a creator, if God really cares about this world, then why do events in
the world and in my life go so badly?
Mark’s readers may have asked that question in the midst of
the persecution they were experiencing. Does Jesus care? In fact, the answer to
that question is tied to another question that Mark has been answering, “Why
did He come?” He came because He does care, He came because He loves us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus would later say, “My sheep hear my
voice and I know them and they follow me, and they shall never perish…” The
same word is used in both those contexts. The disciples asked, “Lord don’t you
care that we are perishing?” He came so that they would not perish. He came to
lay down His life for us, to be our substitute, to shed His blood so that we
could be reconciled to God. Don’t ever doubt that Jesus cares. Storms will
come, they may surprise us when they do, but they don’t surprise the Lord. In
every storm of life, we should remember who Jesus is and trust Him, our King
and Lord of all.
III. Jesus is God, He is bigger than
any storm we might face (41). Storms can deepen our
knowledge and trust in God. Jesus had asked “Why are you so cowardly? Why do
you have such little faith?” Here, the disciples fear of the storm is replaced
by awe – reverence – who is this man?
41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who
then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"
Jesus in His humanity was tired,
sleeping through the storm as it raged on the lake. He took on himself a human
nature so that He could by His obedience be our substitute. But He never
stopped being God. As surely as all things were made by Him and for Him, as He
created the universe by the Word of His power, He spoke, and there was a great
calm. The disciples believed (or at least hoped!) that He was the messiah, but
they still did not understand fully what that meant! They knew the words of the
psalmist in passages like Psalm 89:8-9…
8 O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your
faithfulness all around you? 9
You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.
They knew Psalm 107:23-30, which is almost a
poetic description of this event, showing that God alone controls the sea…
23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great
waters; 24 they saw the deeds
of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted
up the waves of the sea. 26
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted
away in their evil plight; 27
they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end. 28 Then they cried to the LORD in
their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he
brought them to their desired haven.
Only God controls nature… only He could calm the stormy
sea! The “Great storm” (37) was replaced by a “great calm” (39) and as a result “They feared a great fear…” That is an emphatic way to say that they
were terrified! Even more in the realization who this one is, than they were of
the storm. They took him in the boat “just as he was…” Their understanding
however was limited, incomplete. The storm revealed the Savior, God the Son,
was in their boat! How do fallen humans react when they realize they are in the
presence of holiness? Remember Manoah and his wife, after they saw the angel of
the Lord disappear in the flame of the offering…
Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said to his wife,
"We shall surely die, for we have seen God…" (Judges 13:21-22).
Isaiah, after his vision of God on His throne said,
"Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have
seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" (Isa 6:5).
John describes his reaction when he got a glimpse of the
glorified Christ in Revelation 1:17, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead…” Even Peter, after a miraculous catch of fish, would
say, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful
man…” (Lk 5:8). Now think of
this: Jesus came so that we could be in the presence of God. Not because of
what we’ve done, but because of Him! The
veil of the Temple is torn in two, and are invited into the Holy of Holies! In fact,
He has promised to be with us… always. We are never alone in the boat!
What is God saying to me in
this passage? In
every storm of life we should remember who Jesus is, and trust Him, our King
and Lord of all.
AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment