Silent and Still

Enter Peace

A great many people are trying to make peace. But that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all that we have to do is to enter into it. Dwight L. Moody[1]

I suppose that each of us have a different version of peace. Some of us picture peace while sitting in a tree stand, cold and dark, with the first glimpses of the morning sun. The woods are quiet except for the occasional rustling of leaves which you hope leads to your 1st deer of the season.

Others look for the solitude of the children finally asleep for the night. The children have been fed. The dishes have been done. The homework has been completed. You click on your favorite TV show lay back on the couch and relax for the 1st time since the day began.

When I think about silence and stillness, I remember back to the pond behind my childhood home. On the frozen pond with a bright moon, it was as bright as daylight but very, very quiet. It was at this time that the foxes would move about and leave straight footprints in the snow. The silence and stillness were deafening.

It is hard to believe that in just 2 and ½ weeks we will gather together for our candlelight service and sing “Silent Night” and lift up our candles together and celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ. It seems strange that there was nothing silent about that night. Bethlehem was congested. The stable was full. Angels were singing to shepherds, and a mother was close to death as she was delivering her son, Jesus Christ.

We should relax, peace is never far away.

The Prince of Peace

It is likely that if you have been in church each year during Christmas, you have been reminded about this passage from the Old Testament. It is a prophetic encouragement for the Jews and remains an encouragement for us today:

Isaiah 9:6–7 NIV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

It is clear that Jesus is the Prince of Peace and that peace is a benefit of knowing Jesus, but if this is the case, why does it seem to always be so chaotic? How do we experience peace? I believe that an event early on in the ministry of Jesus helps us understand how we can experience peace.

A Stormy Trip

Storms Threaten to Disturb Our Peace!

Our passage today focuses in on an incident that happens to the disciples when they are on the Sea of Galilee. They are all in one boat trying to get to the other side. Now, some of us wouldn’t step onto a boat. Especially if the boat were on the small side. This one was probably a little longer than ½ of this stage.

In 1986 the hull of a fishing boat was recovered from the mud on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, about five miles south of Capernaum. The boat—26½ feet long, 7½ feet wide, and 4½ feet high—corresponds in design to a first-century mosaic of a Galilean boat preserved in Migdal only a mile from the discovery site, and to a sixth-century mosaic of a similar boat from Madeba. Carbon 14 technology dates the boat between 120 b.c. and a.d. 40. Both fore and aft sections of the boat appear to have been covered with a deck, providing space on which to sit or lie. The boat was propelled by four rowers (two per side) and has a total capacity of about fifteen persons. The Galilee boat corresponds to the particulars of the boat described in this story and to depictions in various ancient artistic renderings. A similar boat accommodated Jesus and his disciples on their crossings of the Sea of Galilee.[3]

Anyway, there they are in this boat when a storm begins to rage against them, and they began to take on water. [Let’s read]

Mark 4:35–37 NIV

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.

“Let us go over to the other side” is a tremendous storm for many people. In this case, the Gentiles were on the other side and a popular story said that Satan was over there. “Let us go over to the other side” is a CHANGE and we don’t like CHANGE at all. Generally, we prefer that change gets forced on us! Marriage, children, sickness, careers, and age all have a way of making us go to the other side. Going to the other side is hard enough! Why do the ‘furious squalls’ have to come up in our lives?

Who’s Inside Your Boat is More Important Than What’s Outside Your Boat

Now this might seem completely counter intuitive but if you know Jesus, you know that this is true. Icebergs may sink Titantics and torpedoes may take down Arizona’s but storms don’t take down boats with Jesus in them. Do you know what we tend to forget? We tend to forget who’s in us! So did the disciples and they didn’t fully realize who they had in the boat with them.

Mark 4:38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion….

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm

The Gospel of Mark is unique in that it is pretty concise and very intentional about reporting the acts of Jesus and illustrating how amazing He is. In stilling the storm Jesus assumed the authority exercised only by God in the Old Testament.

Psalm 89:8–9 NIV

Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.

That is why the disciples were terrified (lit., “feared a great fear”) when they saw that even the forces of nature did obey Him. The verb “terrified” refers to a reverence that overtakes people in the presence of supernatural power (cf. 16:8).[4]

Let’s go back to verse 36 really quick to pick up on a short description of Jesus.

36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.

That amuses me! They took him along, just as he was. How else are you going to take him? It reminds me of this amazing quote by C.S. Lewis:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Jesus is in the boat! Rest assured! But often we don’t, and we ask some really interesting questions…

2 Questions that Seasick People Ask (People Going Through Storms)

1. Don’t you care?

Mark 4:38b …The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

There is often a stormy area of our human nature where we feel God can’t or won’t work. When we truly understand who God is, however, we will realize that he controls both the storms of nature and the storms of the troubled heart. How do you react to danger and stress? Jesus’ power that calmed this storm can also help you deal with the problems you face. Jesus is willing to help if you only ask him. Never discount his power, even in terrible trials.[5]

2. Who is this?

Mark 4:41 NIV

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

The disciples were beginning to understand who Jesus was. It wouldn’t be until a bit later that Peter understands that Jesus is the Lord Jesus Christ. Bruce Barton makes an interesting point that we need to appreciate…

When Mark recorded this event, persecution against Christians had begun. Thus the story had become an analogy of the persecution and trials of the early church. The disciples were surrounded by a sea that threatened to sink them; the church was surrounded by enemies who threatened to destroy it (first the Jews who tried to undermine the Christian faith, then the Roman Empire and its eventual widespread persecution of Christians). Having Jesus with us in the boat does not mean we will not encounter storms. Our peace and faith come with the knowledge that Jesus has power over all storms, whatever their source or strength. He can quiet them if he chooses. Often the early Christians hoped for Jesus to quiet the storm of persecution, but he did not. So they were forced to rely, instead, on their faith in the power of their Savior and the eternal rest promised to them.[7]

I suppose that each of us have asked these questions of Jesus. In fact, you may be in a storm right now and asking the same questions. Keep Him in the boat! Hang on!

The Prince of Peace Asks You…

Mark 4:40 NIV

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Is it fair that He is asking us you and me questions? Well, we’ve certainly asked Him some questions. Do you remember when He responded to the questions of Moses? of Job?

Why Are You So Fearful?

Storm? Flooded boat? White caps? It is 141 feet deep? What do you mean, Jesus? Jesus doesn’t offer the guys in the boat a 12-step program to get rid of their fears. He implies that they already have the remedy to fear – HIM! What have you seen? By this point they have seen Jesus exorcise a demon, heal of a fever, and heal leprosy. Stick around! Watch Jesus and see what He does.

It is a tragedy that we have developed an opinion that the church needs to clean up its presentation. Watch out that it doesn’t get too crazy! Miracles. Altars. Holy Spirit. All of these reveal the power of God in our lives so that when we are in the storm we have confidence.

In this story there are 3 reasons not to fear

1. Promise – Jesus said to go to the other side

2. Presence – Jesus was in the boat

3. Peace – Jesus was at peace, so should we.

Where is Your Faith?

Here is another question that Jesus asked. When we are going through the storm we are often so concerned about ourselves that we begin to blame the storms. We are victims but Jesus skipped past the storm and addressed their faith. Brian Bell points out that Jesus didn’t stop with the calming of the elements, for that wasn’t their greatest danger, it was the unbelief of their hearts! Our greatest problems are within us not around us!

The Master that day taught His disciples that the cure for fear is faith! Fear is looking at the storm; faith is looking at the Savior; Fear is looking at the circumstances; faith is looking at God!...Oswald Chambers said, “Beware of worshipping Jesus as the Son of God, and professing your faith in Him as the Savior of the world, while you blaspheme Him by the complete evidence in your daily life that He is powerless to do anything in and through you.” ouch!

True Peace

True peace is found in Jesus Christ!

In the last quiet moments that Jesus would have with His disciples He encouraged them with these words,

John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The disciples would go on to face storms, many of them. But they also knew Jesus and could say that they had spent time with Him. They had touched Him, and He had touched them. They would never be the same.

His promise of peace would rest in their lives regardless of their circumstances and that same peace is available to us today. Trust the Prince of Peace.

[1] Ritzema, E., & Vince, E. (Eds.). (2013). 300 quotations for preachers from the Modern church. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[2] The New International Version. (2011). (Is 9:6–7). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel according to Mark (p. 148). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.

[4] Grassmick, J. D. (1985). Mark. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 122). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[5] Barton, B. B. (1994). Mark (p. 122). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[6] The New International Version. (2011). (Mk 4:35–41). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[7] Barton, B. B. (1994). Mark (p. 124). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.