The Storm After the Calm
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Doing the right thing and the good thing.
The right thing: eat right , exercise
The good thing: turkey and dressing and coconut cream pie
Because I did the good thing.
I’m afraid to step on a scale. I’m afraid to know the truth.
What would you tell me? Go to the doctor, step on the scale, prepare a budget - the
What if?
God is a God who for his own purposes leads his people into storms, difficulties, experiences to reveal the quality of their faith.
God is a God who for his own purposes leads his people into storms, difficulties, experiences to reveal the quality of their faith.
25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus is the God Man and this passage is one of the greatest miracles and proves he is 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.
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
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?”
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?”
41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
The calming of the storm in Mark 4:35-41 is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible.
So often the theme is that of “Jesus calms the storms of life.”
In other words, if he calmed this storm, he can fix your problems if you have enough faith.
Jesus calming your storms is true but not the point of the passage
(1) The Calm before the Storm
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.
Jesus said let us go across to the other side
What happens is the result of their obedience
God is a God who for his own purposes leads his people into storms, difficulties, experiences to reveal the quality of their faith.
(2) The Calm during the Storm
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
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?”
Theories espoused in the 19th century explaining the origin of religion
Out of our fears we conjure up religion
The trauma with respect to holiness - why would we invent a religion that has at its center a holy being who is the most frightening thing we could encounter.
Freud - religion is a way to deal with trauma and fear of nature
The trauma with respect to holiness - why would we invent a religion that has at its center a holy being who is the most frightening thing we could encounter.
(3) The Storm during the Storm
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?”
- Don’t you care?
(4) The Calm after the Storm
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.
He spoke a command to impersonal force - no demons to rebuke. He spoke to blind, impersonal forces.
Was Jesus speaking to nature - the wind, the waves, the sea - can they hear?
Calvin - not that the lake could hear but that his voice reached the elements which were devoid of feeling. The Lordship of Jesus over creation. Let there be light and there was.
Instantly all was calm. Total calm. No wind or waves.
Calm everywhere except in the hearts of the disciples.
(5) The Storm after the Storm
40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Jesus created a spiritual storm in the disciples.
They were more afraid of Jesus than the storm
Fear cannot be avoided
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved.
Newton hymn - the hymnbook of Newton and Cowper
William Cowper wanted to commit suicide
Help them think outside of themselves - the depression is inside but they need to think outside
Obsessed with his own failures needed to think about God
Whether the cancer is cured, or the relationship is mended, we have an opportunity to discover that Jesus is Lord of all. He is the majestic King, he is the ruler of nature.
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one, no not one.
Shouldn’t there be joy?
After the threat was removed they were more afraid. Exceedingly, very much afraid. Afraid of Jesus.
We assess every person we meet and we evaluate them - friend or foe. Harmless or dangerous. Smile or scowl, Weapon or no weapon. We categorize and classify. Kind or violent.
What category was Jesus in? There was no category! Appeared as a human but just did what only God could do.
They were now terror stricken - they preferred the stormy sea.
A tornado is not holy, plague is not holy. Never as terrifying as personal holiness.
Xenophobia - fear of strangers, of foreigners
The ultimate stranger who is holy is our ultimate fear and source of trauma.
What manner if man is this - he is holy and people tremble.
How would you feel?
How have you classified Jesus?
This is the biblical Jesus, not meek and mild but holy. He frightened the people who came closest to him. Does he frighten you?
They brought Jesus just as he was but discover just who he is. A glimpse of his majesty.
Point of application - in every storm and every trial there is an opportunity for us to wonder again like the disciples concerning the authority and the majesty and the authority of Jesus.
