And on that day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side." And leaving the multitude, they took Him along with them, just as He was, in the boat; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. And He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" And being aroused, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, "Why are you so timid? How is that you have no faith?" And they became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" (Mark 4:35-41)
We all have bad days. Perhaps you can identify with this worker:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In block number 3 of the accident reporting form, I put, "Poor Planning", as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient: I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a ten-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered I had about 500 pounds of bricks left over. Rather than carry them down by hand, I decided to lower them to the ground in a barrel by using a pulley which, fortunately, was attacked to the side of the building at the tenth floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went to the roof, loaded the 500 pounds of bricks, then went back down to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. (You will note in block 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh 135 pounds). Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forget to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the fifth floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull and broken collarbone. I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately this same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 30 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block number 11 of the accident reporting form. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the fifth floor, I met that barrel coming up again! This accounts for the two fractured ankles and lacerations of my legs and lower body. The second encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks, and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks — in pain and unable to stand — watching the empty barrel ten stories above me — I again lost my presence of mind — I LET GO OF THE ROPE.
Why is it that life doesn’t come easy, especially when we are trying to do right? Why do tribulations come? Why are there hard circumstances? Why do we have to face difficult problems? Why don’t the storms of life only come to those who are doing evil? Why do they come to us as well?
The fact is, difficulties come to everyone. Even Jesus had to face the storms. Our text today speaks of a literal storm. But there were many other kinds as well. Facing life as a man was a storm in itself. But He was also caught in the storm of temptation by the Devil in the wilderness. He endured the storm of being rejected by everyone at one time or another. On the Cross, even God the Father turned His back on the Savior. There was the storm of Gethsemene, the storm of the Cross, and the storm of death and the tomb. Storms come to all of us. Perhaps today, we’ll understand them better and discern some principles by which we can face the storms in life.
It was the conclusion of a hard day for Jesus. He had been teaching in parables. He had been ministering to the multitudes. Our text lets us know that what happened next occurred on the same day. In verse 35 it says, And on that day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side." Jesus was always about His Father’s business. And on that day, He had been ministering to many people. No doubt, He was tired and in need of sleep.
So He called for a boat to go over to the other side of the Lake of Galilee. He probably looked forward to the trip for a chance to sleep. And when He got on board, He took the place of a guest at the stern of the boat on the pillow and went to sleep.
A sudden storm arose. This is not unusual for the Sea of Galilee or any inland body of water. Many times winds coming through the hills and mountains will be forced through narrow passages and break out upon the water, causing great storms and turbulence. No doubt, this is what happened here. This kind of storm could happen without any warning whatever.
When they started out, things looked fair. They set out to go across the lake and many boats set out with them. There was no apparent reason for alarm. But things did not stay that way for long. As they were making their way across, suddenly the boat began to be rocked with the waves driven by the wind. The sea was tossed into a ferment and waves began to break across the bow of the boat. And the disciples were terrified for their lives.
Notice the sleeping Lord. Through all of this, Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat. He was not concerned about any of this wind and wave. It seems that the external did not move Him at all. Perhaps that was because He was at peace in His soul. Jesus was at rest in the sovereign will of God. He knew well that His times were in God’s hands, so He did not worry about this sudden storm. The boat was not going to sink, because Jesus still had much to do yet, and He trusted in the Father. But that was not the case with His disciples.
Notice the fearful disciples. They were full of fear and trembling. They were afraid that they were going to lose their lives. So they came to Jesus and put a harsh question to Him. "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" (v. 38b)
This was really an accusation. They were accusing Him of indifference toward their situation. Didn’t He care that they were all about to drown? Because this question is put the way it is, some think that Jesus must have gone to sleep after the storm began. Because if He had gone to sleep before, they would have only awakened Him to let Him know about the storm. But instead, they were accusing Him of knowing and not caring what happened to them. If indeed this was the case, it only serves to magnify the obvious peace in which Jesus dwelled.
Their cry to Jesus was, "Do something! Don’t just sleep! Do something!" This is the cry of the human heart when it is overwhelmed by circumstances. We are very much like the disciples. When faced with trying circumstances, when imminent tragedy is apparent, they cry of our heart also is for someone to do something.
Notice next the authority of God. I say it that way purposely. For it is the authority of the Creator God that Jesus manifested in this situation. That is because He is God. John 1:1 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus is not only the Son of God, but God the Son. And what happened next happened in the authority of God.
Jesus got up from His comfortable rest and spoke to the wind and the waves. "Peace, be still!" Jesus spoke and they obeyed. And the wind died down, and it became perfectly calm.
Then He turned to His disciples and spoke a word to them as well. He really rebuked them. He said, "Why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith?" (v. 40) When He said this, they were struck with holy awe. What manner of man is this? The wind and the sea obey Him. How can this be? They said in verse 41, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" They were dumbfounded.
It seems that Jesus never intended to rebuke the storm. He seems to have expected them to have faith in the midst of the storm and not to have been fearful. This is the force of His words to them. And in a thousand years, they would not have expected Him to say what He said to them. Indeed, no person in His right mind would expect people not to be afraid of losing their own lives. But instead, Jesus expected faith, not fear.
That is the account of the stilling of the storm as it comes to us in our text. The storm came in the midst of life, but it came. It was unexpected, but terrifying. The Lord was at peace, even asleep. But the disciples were afraid, terrified in fact. They thought Jesus didn’t care about their situation, that He was unconcerned. They appealed to Him to do something. Perhaps not initially intending to, He stilled the storm for them. But then He rebuked them for not having faith. The elements in this account are keys, not only to understanding it, but to applying it to our lives. So next, let’s understand...
The first thing we need to see is that sometimes Jesus will still the storms of difficulties. He has the power to do so. That is one of the lessons of this passage. Jesus has the authority over creation. He has the power over the storms of your life. He who created the mountains can say to those mountains in your life, "Move and be cast yonder in the sea," and they will obey Him. The problems in your life which seem too heavy for you, He can solve with a word. And so, sometimes He will intervene supernaturally and take that circumstance out of your way. He has the power to do it. He is able to do it. And sometimes, He will do it.
But the next thing we need to see is that sometimes He will let the storms of difficulties rage. In His wisdom, and because of His plan for us, Jesus will allow us to go through many storms. It is a test of faith. It is for our good to refine our faith and give us overcoming faith.
In James 1:2-4, we read, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
Again, in I Peter 1:6-7, we read, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Through difficulties come victories. The trials we face build our faith. They make us mature. The fact is, we all need certain storms in life. Without them, our faith would not mature and our lives would be incomplete.
But we must notice something further: Sometimes, because of our lack of faith, He stills storms which we need. This is precisely what happened here. The disciples were full of fear, the opposite of faith. And because of their inability to handle the situation, Jesus intervened. But had they been willing to trust in Him, they would not have even needed His intervention. They would have, by faith, been able to handle the situation themselves. It still would have been in His power, but His power working through them. They may not have stilled the storm, but then, they may not have needed to. Jesus certainly did not.
You see, this is a story of questions. There are really three questions around which this story revolves. The disciples asked Jesus one question. They asked, "Have you no care?" Jesus asked them two questions. He asked, "Why are you afraid?" and "Have you no faith?"
At times, we too are like the disciples. We feel that Jesus is indifferent to us and to our needs. We, too way, "Lord, don’t you care that I’m going through this hard time? Why don’t you do something, Lord?" And we hear nothing. It is as if He is asleep, as in the boat. But He is not asleep, and He does care. The thing we are going through may be necessary for our development. The caterpillar must struggle His way out of the cocoon on his own. There sometimes needs to be a great fish for a Jonah to come to his senses. This may be a trial to refine our faith, or it may be a chastening to bring us back to our senses. But whatever it is, it is done because of the love of God for us.
He is our Father, and He wants our best. The gold is put into the fire because it is gold. There would be no use putting a rock there. The diamond of the first order is cut many more times, that it may reflect light through numerous facets, and be thus more glorious. If we are tried and chastened, it is because we are sons, not because we are illegitimate.
Consider this also: What God does, He does according to His eternal plan in His infinite wisdom. He has chosen the highest ends for us and is shaping us as on a potter’s wheel to those glorious ends. And though we do not understand what or why we are in the difficult places, would we have it any different? Would we take ourselves out of the glorious plan of the Father and settle for the swine troughs and corn husks of rebellion? Someone said, "He has ordained the best. Would we have Him vary? He has determined all things wisely. Would we have Him determine otherwise?"
No, the Lord is not asleep, and He cares greatly for us. We must remember that. This is the Lord who gave His only Son for us that we could be pardoned from sin. Do we doubt His love after seeing the Cross? You say, "But I need some sign of His love for me." What greater sign could He give us than the Cross? Anything else may be dismissed as less than sufficient. But the Cross stands as a stark reminder of the greatest love ever revealed in time. And it was not between a man and a woman, but between Father, Son and Spirit toward a lost and dying world.
This is the God who is with you in the midst of the trial. Would He let your foot slip? Would He forsake one for whom Christ died? To do so would be to forsake His own nature. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love," says the Scripture, of God’s love for us.
But we forget that there is the process of the Cross for every Christian. You see, the Cross is not only an event in history, but a way of life for every Christian. By the Cross of history, we have been forgiven. But in the daily taking up of our own crosses is the dying to self which brings conformity to the image of Christ.
If we could only see that clearly, we would truly rejoice in tribulation. We might say, "Lay it on, Lord. I’m looking more like Jesus every day." Paul said, "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings." We want to stop after the power. But that is because we fear the sufferings.
We need to see that fear is the opposite of faith. Over and over we are commanded, "Fear not!" God said, "Fear not, Joshua, be strong and of good courage." The Lord speaks to us and says, "Fear not, for I have redeemed thee." Over and over, Jesus says, "Fear not." And here, he asks His disciples, "Why do you fear?"
Our question to Jesus is, "Have you no care?" His reply to us is, "Have you no faith?" This is the key. While we say, "Lord, don’t you care about my situation?" He says, "Son, don’t you trust me in it?"
Faith drives out fear. The Bible teaches that we have not been given a spirit of fear. The only reason we ever question God is because of fear, or a lack of faith. They are really the same many times. When we trust God, we have no reason to fear. For we know that as long as we are in His hands we are safe. And we trust that whatever He deems best for us is truly best. There is no need to fear when He is on our side.
Oh, that we may say, like the Psalmist, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me." That is faith. That is where the Lord wants us to be.
So let the storms howl. God is with us. Let the winds blow, the rains pour, and the waves toss us about. In Jesus we have peace. In Jesus we are secure. The storms only seek to refine our faith. They only help conform us to Jesus.
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