FAITH IN THE STORM - Mark 35-41

The Storm

New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 4

Jesus Stills the Sea

35 On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”

36 Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.

37 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.

38 Jesus Himself 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?”

39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.

40 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”

41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

STORY OF MY NIGHT ON THE BOAT WITH MY DAD

So, we are jumping in at the 4th chapter of Mark. Let’s take just a second to consider the first three chapters with some bullet points:

Mark is the shortest book of the 4 Gospels.

Mark is short on talk and packed with action.

Mark begins with John the Baptist - wandering the wilderness and baptizing people. It’s a graphic story of a wild man preparing the way. He says, “Someone is coming soon who is greater that I am - so much greater that I am not even worthy to stoop down and untie the straps of His sandals.

They Jesus is in the water and John is baptizing Him.

Enter the villain - Satan tempts Jesus in the Judean Badlands. In the book of Mark, this part only lasts two verses. (Go back later and fact check me)

From there Jesus starts his ministry

Chooses His Disciples

Heals hundreds

Feeds Thousands

Gives speech to the speechless

Goes head-to-head with Bible scholars

Calms the storms - We are going to concentrate on Jesus Calming the Storm

Walks on Water

Dies

Comes back to life.

This is an action adventure book for sure!

MAIN POINT - What is the Main point of Mark: Jesus came to earth, a sinless man and suffered and died to forgive humanities sin.

AUTHOR - One of Peter’s associates “John Mark” John was his Hebrew name and Mark was his Latin name. He used the Latin name among Romans and other non-Jews. (What was the name of this book again? - Mark - so his listeners were Romans and non-Jews)

There is no indication that he ever met Jesus in person.

DATE - This book of Mark covers about 3 years of Jesus’ ministry ending in about 30 AD. He probably wrote the book in about 60 AD.

Here is why that’s important:

The book is about the suffering of Jesus. 64 AD is about the time Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for burning down Rome and executing them. Mark may have written his book to remind the Christians of that time that even Jesus suffered and died.

LOCATION- Israel

Let’s look at the verses:

Verse 35 - Who suggested that they get in the boat? Jesus!

The disciples actually did some things right in this story. Jesus said get in the boat and they were obedient.

Are we always obedient? When Jesus tells you to get in the boat in your life - do you?

I remember many times in my own life when I didn’t get in the boat.

It was evening - Have you ever been on the water when the day turned into evening? What happens?

The wind usually dies down.

All the playing on whatever river or lake I’m is usually over.

It begins to become calm and peaceful.

Also, this is the time when the fish tend to bite - just as the sun is getting ready to go down.

It’s a good time to be on the water

This body of water they were on, however, was the Lake of Galilee, which was and still is infamous for sudden squalls. It surrounded by mountains at most points and the lake swirls violently when a strong wind enters.

Remember many of these disciples were fishermen. They probably knew the dangers here. But they were obedient. That was good.

Verse 36 - Who took Who?

It says 36 Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.

So in the disciples view - they were doing the taking.

Do you ever take credit for or take control of your situation? Has God every clearly initiated something in your life, but you decided that it would be a good idea?

Also, here is little detail that I would bet you never noticed. There was more that one boat!

Do you ever feel all alone in this situation that you have decided to put yourself in?

Are you usually by yourself in most situations?

Verse 37 - Where did this storm come from?

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.

This body of water they were on, however, was the Lake of Galilee, which was and still is infamous for sudden squalls. It surrounded by mountains at most points and the lake swirls violently when a strong wind enters.

The language here is much like the story of Johah 1:4 - The the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.

Remember, many of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen. If you spend much time on the water, you start to recognize the possible dangers. If you are smart you prepare for them before you leave the dock.

So we have a group of boats, filled with fishermen who knew the possible dangers and they proceeded anyway - because Jesus told them to go.

That’s faith - that’s good

Have sudden storms ever seemingly come out of nowhere in your life?

Have you ever thought - How did I get in this storm all by myself? And - How am I going to get out of it?

What did your prayer sound like? Did you make a deal with Jesus. “You get me out of this and I’ll….”

Verse 38 - Are you tired?

Jesus Himself 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?”

Let’s consider some possible reasons that Jesus might be sleeping:

First, maybe he was tired. Some say that Mark is pointing out Jesus’ humanity here. He was tired. We all get tired.

What do you do when you get tired? Starbucks, Wake-up Coffee, Monster drinks.

Does it ever occur to us to follow Jesus’ example and rest?

Jesus’ sleeping suggests His confidence in God.

Psalm 3:5 - I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

Pslam 4:8 - In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Proverbs 3:24 -

New International Version (2011) Chapter 3

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

25 Have no fear of sudden disaster

or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

26 for the LORD will be at your side

So, is caffeine the answer when you get tired?

What did the disciples do next?

Did they trust Jesus? “they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?””

What do you do in the midst of the storm?

Do you wake up Jesus with your prayer?

My quiet time this week started with My Utmost for His Highest, but Oswald Chambers and included this:

Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. (What?) The purpose of prayer is that we get a hold of God, not of the answer.

Do we say - “I know you are great God - now prove it.” Or do we say, “I know you are a great God and trust you.”

Verse 39 - Who is in control?

New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 4

And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.

This is the first of two “nature” miracles in Mark that shows that Jesus has control over the inanimate part of creation just as he has over the animate part (us).

What is the other nature miracle in Mark - “Jesus walks on water.” Another water scene - I love it!

What do you do when things get out of control?

Do you take the wheel? Do you take control? Are you in it alone?

Verse 40 - Really?

New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 4

And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”

After you have taken control and everything worked out perfectly because you are just that good - Have you ever thought - God, why didn’t I just trust you?

Jesus’ response show that the disciples should have had faith rather than fear. I titled this lesson “Faith in the Storm.”

Do you have faith in the storm?

For me faith often comes at the end of what I am capable of doing. It is only then that I realize that faith should have been at the beginning of what I was capable (or not capable) of doing.

Verse 40 - Of course…

New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 4

They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

So what then will be your response to Jesus?

Will you trust Him?

Will you Praise Him?

Will you follow Him?

Something I like to remind myself and my family to do - “End Well”

This is usually when we are visiting relatives for a few days - End Well.

Did the Disciples end well here?

Will you end well when Jesus delivers you from the storm?