Jesus Calms the Storm

Mark 4:35-41 "And the same day, when the even (evening) was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.  And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship.  And there were also with him other little ships.  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waters beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he (Jesus) was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
 
Earlier that day the Lord Jesus had been teaching in parables to multitudes of people.  After Jesus had taught the multitudes all day, he was weary, and for a short time he was teaching his disciples what the parables meant in a house and then he was back out on  boat.  After all the teaching was over, the multitudes were sent away, and Jesus said to his disciples "let us pass over to the other side."  The other side of what?  The other side of the Sea of Galilee.  The Lord Jesus had been teaching most of the day at Capernaeum.  Jesus wanted to go to another place at the other side called Gadara. (Chp 5:1)  This journey would take between 5 and 6 hours in good weather.
According to V35 they set sail in the evening where Jesus fell asleep at the back of the boat.  They were sailing in a smaller boat for 5 or 6 hours.  It would have been dark, and cold.  The disciples would have felt the splash of the water on their faces, and heard the flap of the sails, felt the wind. 
With the darkness, storm clouds were gathering and the wind began to strengthen causing the waves to be bigger, and the waves were smashing against the side of the boat.  The sea became like a cauldron.  When it began Peter and James were used to being on the sea because they were fishermen but it wasn't long before they were afraid.  Men who went to sea all their lives began to think that they were going to perish, so ferocious was the storm.  Matthew's gospel says  it was like a tempest on the sea.  With this fierce wind blowing, the waves were very large and broke over the boat so that the ship was now filling with water.

The Sea of Galilee is in a basin, down low 680 feet below the Mediterranean.  It is very hot during the day, the east side has mountains, the west side has hills and valleys.  To the north is Mount Herman with cold air that came down.  With cold air coming down and hot air rising up, that can cause a great storm.  This storm of wind made experienced sailors terrified.  In this situation, Jesus is weary.  V38  he was in the hinder part of the ship on a pillow asleep.  A great contrast between Jesus sleeping and the great storm which was taking place.   That teaches us of the humanity of Jesus Christ, he was tired and sleepy just like we can be.



The disciples plea to Jesus V38 ".....Master, carest thou not that we perish?"  When did they cry out to him?  When they were in trouble, in danger, in need.  They were no different from us.  Sometimes we only cry out to the Lord seriously when we get into trouble and then we cry more fervently.  But they were frightened.  Sometimes even courageous  people say things they will regret later on, fear does that.  But the disciples went to the right person, they must have had a lot of faith in him.

We see the marvelousness of the authority and power of Jesus.  V39   Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea as though they were persons, and he said "Peace, be still".   Picture this, here is someone who is a man standing up and speaking words to a storm, and when he speaks the wind ceased.  It just stopped and there was a great calm, a perfect peacefulness.  Immediate.  We know that this is not normal, who has power to rebuke and change the weather?  No one but God.  Only God can do that.  And sailors will know that if you are in a storm at sea and the wind ceases, it still takes a few hours for the waves to calm down.  But the emphasis of this divine miracle is that the wind and the waves ceased immediately when Jesus spoke.  Suddenly the surface of the sea is as smooth as a mirror.  This is an amazing thing.  When Jesus speaks the whole situation changes.  The first thing, that Jesus was sleeping, speaks of his humanity, but this miracles tells us that Jesus is God.
Jesus' loving reproach to his people V40   Jesus got up and rebuked the wind, the sea and then the disciples. "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" The problem wasn't the storm, the problem was the disciples trust in him.  They were not using their faith after all they had seen.  All the miracles, all that they had seen and heard.   Faith doesn't work on auto-pilot.  It isn't something that you get one day and it happens all the time, faith needs to be put into action.  Jesus said "why did you doubt"?  Faith needs to become trust.  Not believing about him, but trusting in him.  Faith must become trust in Christ in practical, real life situations.  When we encounter difficult situations in our own life, do we trust in him?  Job trusted and that is faith in action.

The disciples amazement at Jesus V41  The disciples were deeply impressed at Jesus' majesty and power.  Ordinary humans can correct many things but what about fixing the weather?  We can't do that, it takes God to change the weather. 

What is the teaching?  That Jesus is human and he is also divine.  He is God.  Have you ever been in a fearful, stressful situation?  A storm of life?  Remember these things.  Jesus is with us in the storm and whatever condition we are in, he is there.  He has power over that storm.  If he can command the wind and the waves, surely he can command the problems that we have.  Jeremiah 5:22 "Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?" Psalm 89:9 "Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them."  This is our God, the Jesus who has power.  Therefore we must trust him even in the darkness and we should not be afraid.  That is easier said than done but when a storm comes into your life, trust Jesus because he is with you.  Call out to him and he will help you.  Don't be afraid.  Faith is trust, faith needs to be exercised in the Lord Jesus in a very real situation.  

If you are not saved, who have you to help you?  You need the Lord Jesus, you need to trust in him before the last storm in your life comes.  The last storm is death.  Reach out to him, trust in him and he will save you.
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The above notes were made by myself from the sermon by Paul Dowling of Whiteabbey Congregational (Reformed) at Sermon Audio.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=11109852539