Authority Over Nature

INTRO

Have you ever been in awe?

I’m talking about that moment where your jaw drops

There’s a little fear, a lot of wonder, and you don’t even know what to say

Like:

Witnessing an insane play in a game

Watching someone perform live and realizing, they’re different

Meeting someone you’ve looked up to your whole life

Getting news that changes everything—college, money, a gift you never expected

Those jaw-dropping moments in life

TENSION

Now let me ask you this:

When was the last time you were truly in awe of Jesus?

Not just thankful

Not just relieved

But in awe

Maybe:

He answered a prayer you didn’t expect

He came through in a moment of need

You heard a powerful testimony

But what about being in awe of Jesus because of who He is, not just what He does?

I think a lot of us lack that kind of awe

The kind of awe Jesus deserves more than anyone

So for the next four weeks, we’re going to sit in a section of Mark where Jesus puts His authority on full display

over nature,

evil,

sickness,

and even death

And every single time, people respond the same way:

Awe. Fear. Wonder.

Tonight, we start with His authority over nature.

TRUTH

Mark 4:35–36 CSB

On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him.

Context:

Jesus has just spent the day teaching parables to a large crowd on the shore

He now tells the disciples that he wants to cross to the other side of the sea

so of course they get the boat ready, hop in, and take off

Mark 4:37 CSB

A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.

As they are making their way across the sea a great windstorm begins

this would have not surprised the disciples as sudden storms on the sea a Galilee was actually quite normal

the sea is surrounded by mountains and find it’s self located in the valley of them

because of this is was normal for the strong winds of the dessert to come over the mountains down on the sea cause very dangerous storms in the matter of minutes

That is exactly what is happening here…

the storm is bad

so bad that the boat is beginning to be swamped or flooded by the waves coming over the sides

think deadliest catch

it’s not some slow mo movie action… it’s pure life or death chaos

The disciples are fighting for their lives but what is Jesus doing?

Mark 4:38 CSB

He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

Jesus is sleeping this whole time…

We can assume that the boat they were using was a typical fishing boat of that time which would have been a medium size wooden boat with a stern in the middle where the captain would steer and command the crew

Jesus seems to be sleeping on a cushion under the steer and our of the elements

And there’s two important things this moment tells us

Jesus is fully human

becasue he’s sleeping

assume that part of the reason he is sleeping because of exhaustion from preaching all day (I feel him)

Jesus is perfectly secure

He rests because He knows the Father’s will cannot fail

The disciples are fighting for their lives while Jesus is resting in absolute trust

Yet while Jesus is sleeping the disciples are fighting for their lives

and they get to the point that they’ve tried everything

so much so that they’ve conclude that unless they wake up Jesus to see if he can do anything then they are going to die

So they wake him up…

can you imagine that moment

we don’t know how long the storm has been going on but we can assume long enough the disciples are drenched, tired, and hopeless

we gotta wake him up

what do you think that conversation was like?

dude we are about to die over here and you are dreaming about rainbows and unicorns over here

can you do something?

Mark 4:39–40 CSB

He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Jesus in the midst of this horrific windstorm, stands up, and rebukes the wind and say’s to the sea, “Silence! Be Still!!”

and that is exactly what happens

the winds immediately stops

the sea is immediately calmed

in fact in the great the “great calm” is written to deliberately stand in contrast to the “great windstorm”

in other words as quickly as the windstorm began it was calmed

Then Jesus turns to the disciples and calls them out for their lack of faith

Jesus is having one of those c’mon guys conversations

I told you to go to the over side of the lake, did you not believe I had the power to get you across to the other side safely

You’ve witnessed demons identify my as the Son of God, I’ve told you I’m the Lord of the Sabbath, I’ve preformed miracles in front of your eyes, you know i’ve was strong than satan’s temptation in the wilderness…

and yet you think I am going to drown to death on a boat ride that I suggested?

And you know what the disciples response was?

Mark 4:41 CSB

And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

The disciples were in awe…

jaws on the floor of the boat in shock, wonder, fear

terrified meaning they were filled with a great fear

not of Jesus’ rebuke towards them but because of what they had just witnessed

They are like the scene from the incredibles when bob comes home from work

slips on the skateboard and crushes the metal on his car so that his door won’t closes

He get so frustrated that he picks up the whole car as to throw it out of anger

then he sees this little kid on tricycle with a massive bubble of bubble gum

who is in such shock that the bubble pops all over his face yet his mouth is just locked in a shocked face

Why?

because as they good Jewish men that they were i’m sure their minds were running rampant with scriptures like

Nahum 1:4 CSB

He rebukes the sea and dries it up, and he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither; even the flower of Lebanon withers.

Psalm 89:9 CSB

You rule the raging sea; when its waves surge, you still them.

Psalm 107:25–29 CSB

He spoke and raised a stormy wind that stirred up the waves of the sea. Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths, their courage melting away in anguish, they reeled and staggered like a drunkard, and all their skill was useless. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

They disciples are struck with awe because this is an “ah ha” moment for them

yes, they have witnessed Jesus do some crazy things already

but nothing that wasn’t abnormal of the Old Testament text they knew

but this was different

scripture is clear… only God is the creator and controler of nature

and what they just witnessed was proof to them that Jesus has the same authority over nature as God the Father

so this must also mean he is God too

They disciple are in awe becasue more clearly than ever they see Jesus for who He truly is

Main Point: Jesus’ authority over nature reveals His divinity and points us toward the greater rescue He would accomplish at the cross

Jesus having the authority to still the winds and calm the waves was proof that He was divine

that He is truly God in the flesh

This moment does more than amaze

it points forward

The disciples are in a situation where:

They are powerless

Their effort isn’t enough

Death is inevitable unless someone intervenes

That mirrors our condition in sin

We weren’t just struggling

we were helpless

Dead in sin

Separated from God

Unable to save ourselves

No amount of effort could stop the flood

But then Jesus steps in

He is the only one who meets God’s standard

perfect,

sinless,

obedient

Yet He willingly goes to the cross and dies the death we deserved

At the cross, it looked like chaos won

It looked like Jesus lost

But just like the storm, death was never in control

Jesus rose from the grave, proving He has authority over sin, death, and judgment

And just like the disciples were saved not by their effort, but by trusting Him

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone

APPLICATION

Believer

If you are a believer here tonight i have two questions for you: 1) Have you lost awe of the One who saved you from the greatest storm?

The disciples weren’t just afraid of wind and waves, they were facing death

And the truth is, Jesus didn’t just save us from a storm

He saved us from the storm

The storm of sin

The storm of God’s judgment

The storm we could never survive on our own

At salvation, God opened our eyes to see:

Our sin clearly

Our helplessness honestly

Jesus as our only hope

That moment should have produced awe and it should still

Because Jesus didn’t calm the storm by accident

He didn’t rescue you because you deserved it

He stepped in purely by grace

So ask yourself:

Has the rescue become routine?

Has the gospel become familiar instead of marvelous?

If Jesus had authority to save you from that storm, He is worthy of lifelong awe

2) If Jesus saved you from the greatest storm, why do you doubt Him in the smaller ones?

Think about this:

If Jesus rescued you from eternal death, do you really think He’s overwhelmed by your current situation?

That doesn’t mean every storm disappears

The disciples still had to cross the sea

The boat didn’t teleport to shore

But it does mean:

You are never alone in the storm

You are never outside His authority

You are never beyond His care

Trusting Jesus doesn’t mean the waves stop immediately

It means you trust the One who commands them

If He was faithful in the biggest rescue of your life, He will be faithful in the rest of it too

Unbeliever

For those who don’t know Jesus

Maybe tonight, for the first time, you’re realizing the real storm.

Not stress

Not circumstances

But sin

Separation from God

Judgment you can’t escape on your own

And maybe God is opening your eyes to see Jesus clearly

not just as a good teacher, but as the only One with authority to save

The disciples didn’t survive because they tried harder

They survived because they trusted Jesus.

And tonight, you’re being invited to do the same.

Closing

BOTTOM LINE: Jesus’ authority over nature reveals His divinity and points us toward the greater rescue He would accomplish at the cross.

Storms are a reality of life

We all experience them in different ways

But the greatest storm we ever faced wasn’t anxiety, stress, or hard circumstances

it was sin

We were separated from God, unable to save ourselves, and headed toward judgment with no way out

Jesus didn’t just calm a storm on the sea

At the cross, He stepped into the greatest storm on our behalf

He lived the life we couldn’t live,

died the death we deserved,

and rose again to prove that sin and death no longer have the final word

If Jesus had the authority to save us from that storm, we can trust Him in the storms we face now

That doesn’t mean every storm disappears immediately

but it does mean we are never alone and never outside His care

And maybe tonight, for the first time, God is opening your eyes to see both the storm of sin and the Savior who alone has the authority to rescue

The question isn’t whether storms will come

The question is whether you trust the One who has authority over them all