A Proper Fear

Introduction

We’ve come once again to a pretty familiar story in the gospel of Mark. The story of Jesus calming the sea. And so, if you have a church background, you are most likely familiar with this story. It’s also recorded in two other gospels, the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Luke.

Now, think with me for just a second as we remind ourselves of the context and what’s been going on in Jesus’ life throughout the last couple of chapters. And then ask, “So why this story?”

Keep in mind that the gospel authors are recording only a fraction of Jesus’ ministry here on earth.

John closes his gospel by saying,

John 21:25, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

And so, the gospel writers were very specific with what stories, teachings, and events they included in their gospels.

And so, what’s Mark trying to get across to his readers?

Well, remember that Mark 1 opens with Jesus saying, “The kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.”

And so, Jesus is the King and Messiah that was promised to come and set the world right again. The one who will free creation from its bondage. The one who will trample over sin and death and make a way for people to be made right with God.

And so the first half of Mark is this march toward revealing Jesus as the promised King and Messiah or Savior. He’s revealing Jesus as the one who will redeem the world and set it free from sin and death.

And so, we’re seeing in the first three chapters Jesus’ power over the demonic realm, we’re seeing his power over physical sickness and disease, we’re seeing Jesus’ power over sin as he forgives.

In chapter four he begins to teach about the Kingdom of God. This is what it’s like, this is how it grows and multiplies. Here’s who belongs to the Kingdom of God.

In the following chapters we’ll continue to see Jesus’ power over demons. We’ll see in the next chapter Jesus’ power over death.

But it’s here at the end of chapter 4 that Mark tells this story of Jesus and his disciples crossing the sea of Galilee and him calming a storm. Why this story tucked away here?

As I said, everything in this gospel is marching toward this climax of Jesus’ identity being finally revealed. And it’s seen in Mark 8 when Jesus is asking his disciples who people say he is. And they give all kinds of answers. Some people think you’re the return of John the Baptist or others say Elijah, or one of the prophets.

And Jesus asks them, “But who am I?” “Who do you say I am?” To which Peter rightly says, “You’re the Christ.”

“You’re the Savior, you’re the King, you’re the Redeemer.”

Yes, that’s who Jesus is and the rest of the gospel of Mark is then this march toward the cross, culminating in the resurrection where Jesus’ inauguration as King is finally established.

And so, all that Mark has been pointing out to us in his gospel is, “Do you see who Jesus is?” “Do you see?” He’s King. He’s the Christ.

He rules over the demonic realm. He rules over sickness. He rules over death. He rules over the religious elite. And here we see in the text today. He rules over creation.

We serve and follow a great God and King, Jesus Christ. A King who is bigger than our minds can comprehend. A God who breathed the universe into existence. A God who never worries, never fears, never loses control but reigns sovereignly over His creation. A creation that listens and obeys His every word.

You see, if this is our God, then what have we to fear?

Main Aim

The point of this passage is to reveal the Lordship, the Kingship, the might and power of Jesus. It’s revealing Him as King over creation. And if Jesus can calm a pounding, raging, violent storm with just a few words, then what do we actually need to fear in this life if we are in Christ?

Big Idea

Jesus is King over creation and speaks with supreme authority over all things therefore, there is nothing to fear in life other than God himself.

Problem

How often though do we fail to trust Him? How often does our fear of circumstances wreck our lives? You see, like the disciples here, we often fail to truly recognize and rest in Jesus’ true identity as King of kings and Lord of lords, the One who is sovereign over all of life and death.

And not only is Jesus King of kings but He is a loving King, a merciful King, a gracious King, a compassionate King, a kind King.

He’s one we can trust to always do what is good and right but we must trust Him and hold fast to him by the grace of God. We must see Jesus for who He truly is.

That’s what Mark is seeking to do. He’s revealing Jesus for who He truly is. God purposefully orchestrates this moment, this storm in the disciples lives so that they would end up getting this bigger picture of Jesus and with it a right and proper fear which lead to a stronger faith and deeper trust.

I have no doubt that these moments in their lives were pivotal moments, foundational moments that grew them and allowed them to endure years later, horrific suffering for the cause of Christ. All of these guys on this boat would one day die horrific deaths for following Jesus. But as they were facing persecution and death in the eye they finally knew that nothing in this world is more powerful that Jesus and if they are in Christ, held secure by Him, then what can the world do to them?

And so, as we dig into this text, this is not ultimately a story about Jesus getting you through the storms of life - He does, absolutely, he’s faithful, but what we’re after here is a bigger picture of Jesus as the One who is sovereign over all and who works in our lives for our good and His glory.

So, through our text this morning I want to identify four “Jesus is...” statements and four “So we...” statements. Here’s what’s I mean. Let’s identify the first one in verses 35-37.

Body

Mark 4:35-37, “On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.”

Here’s the first “Jesus is” and “so we” statement.

Jesus is always at work in the circumstances of our lives - so we must rest in him.

This has been a very long day for Jesus. This day, most likely started all the way back in chapter 3 with a large crowd once again pressing in to be near him to see more miracles. In this one day he’s been accused by the religious leaders of blasphemy and being in league with the Devil. And so, he confronts their blasphemy with a stern warning. His own family was trying to whisk him away from the crowds because they think he’s lost his mind.

He then makes his way down to the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee cause the crowds are too much for the home that he was in. So, he gets into a boat and pushes out a ways and begins to teach in parables until most of the crowd is gone because they didn’t understand and didn’t have any desire to listen. So, he takes his disciples away with him and begins to explain his teaching to them.

It’s now the end of the day Mark says in verse 35 and Jesus is exhausted. And so, he says to his disciples, let’s head out and go to the other side of the sea.

But no rest is coming for the disciples because a strong storm is heading their way. Now, most of the guys on that boat were seasoned fishermen. They’ve gone through storms before and so for them to react the way they did shows that this was no ordinary thunderstorm.

Both Mathew and Mark’s account of this storm use the word “great” to describe it. Luke’s account just says a “windstorm” came. But Luke wasn’t on that boat. Matthew was, Mark wasn’t, but Mark’s recording Peter’s account in his gospel. And so two guys that were on that boat described it as “great.” In fact, the Greek word for great, “megale” literally means, “loud.”

This was no ordinary storm and Matthew and Mark are making sure the readers understand that. But a question we must ask here is, why is that important to know?

If you have a church background you might be thinking that this story sounds somewhat similar to the story of Jonah. You have seasoned fishermen battling a fierce storm without warning. They’re battling a storm unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before. But there’s one pretty major detail that we need to catch though. It was Jesus who led them into this storm.

Getting into the boat, crossing the sea was Jesus’ idea. Jesus knew this storm was coming even though his disciples didn’t. His disciples were caught off guard but Jesus wasn’t. So, why did Jesus lead them into the heart of this storm? To teach them something as he always does. To reveal something about his nature, his character, his power, his Lordship.

You see no circumstance, no event, no suffering, no trial is ever wasted by God. He is always at work in the circumstances our lives. He’s at work in the extraordinary moments of our lives and the mundane moments in our lives. He’s never not at work. And knowing that should give rest to our hearts and souls.

A few months ago I purchased a home security system for our home. With it we have sensors on all of our windows and doors, we have motion sensors for the main living areas, glass break sensors, the whole kit and caboodle. But with it we also have 24 hour monitoring.

About a week after we got it I set the alarm and headed into the office. Well, about 5 minutes later I got an alert that one of the sensors had been triggered. So, the company called me and said they had already dispatched the police. I figured it was just one of our pets that did something so I cancelled the alarm and went home to check things out. I was only about 4 minutes away but by the time I got there the police were already driving down our street. It gave me great confidence in the security system.

Each night, once I say goodnight to our kids, put the pets up, I’m typically the last one awake in our home. I shut the lights off, lock the doors and then turn on that security system on and go to sleep. There’s a bit of comfort that I feel every night once I turn that system on because I know even while I am asleep, there is someone monitoring the safety of my home.

We must find comfort in the fact that God is always at work in our lives. And so, though we may face surprises in life, God is always aware and often leads us into the trial to do a good work in our lives.

Let’s look at our second “Jesus is” and “so we” statement.

Verse 38.

Mark 4:38, “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?”

Jesus is the God-man who cares for his people - so we must turn to him.

Do you find it interesting that through this monster storm, Jesus is fast asleep? There’s a couple things to take from this. I’ll mention both but really only focus on one of them. First, Jesus is fully trusting in His Father to provide and protect him. Jesus knows his mission. He knows his life is moving toward the cross. He knows his life is not ending in a storm on the Sea of Galilee. And so, so because he knows these things, he’s resting because His Father will protect him.

It was Lottie Moon who once said,

“I have a firm conviction that I am immortal till my work is done.”

And so, because of that, Jesus can sleep.

But, there’s a second thing I want to focus on for a moment. And that is, Jesus was fully man.

Remember what I said a little bit ago. This was a long day of ministry for Jesus. Listen, he was exhausted. He was able to go to sleep because he was trusting in the protection of his Father, but he remained asleep through the storm because he was wiped out.

Now, why do I mention that and why focus on that? Because in this story we really see beautifully the dual nature of Christ. He is both 100% God and 100% man. In a moment he’ll stand up and tell the storm to settle down but here we’re getting a picture of his humanity. He got tired.

It is through the nature of Jesus that we receive our redemption as Sons and daughters of God.

We as human beings are flawed, broken, and sinful. We desperately need redemption. We desperately need forgiveness and there is nothing within ourselves that is capable of bringing the hope we need. Try as hard as we can, there is still nothing we can do personally to save ourselves. We needed another.

The essence of the gospel is that God the Son, the second person of the Trinity became fully man, yet free of sin. The cross of Jesus was God the man, Jesus Christ taking upon himself the punishment for our sin. He became man’s representative and perfect sacrifice so that we, who are too broken to save ourselves might look to Him and find forgiveness and salvation.

This little tidbit in verse 38 of Jesus asleep on a cushion is nothing to gloss over but rather something to marvel in. God, became man to save us from our sins.

Though first impressions of this moment give a feeling that Jesus doesn’t care, in fact you see this in the disciple’s cry to him, “Don’t you care that we’re dying?!”

Both Matthew and Luke’s account don’t mention the disciples feeling Jesus didn’t care. They just record the disciples saying to Jesus that “they’re perishing.” But it’s Mark’s account, which was really Peter’s accounting of this moment that sheds light into their hearts. They felt, or at least Peter felt that Jesus didn’t care.

But the disciples missed it in this moment. The very fact that Jesus was there, even though he was asleep, they had in their midst the God of the universe in human form. That right there was more than enough evidence to prove his care for His people. God came to us.

So, our response to this truth is to turn to him through repentance and faith. Repent of your sins, and turn in faith to Jesus, the One who can make you right with God.

Our third “Jesus is...” statement is found in verses 39 and 41.

Mark 4:39, “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.”

Mark 4:41, “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 is King over all creation - so we must worship him.

It’s God and only God who can be defined three times as “omni.” He is omniscient: He knows all things. He is omnipresent: He always exists everywhere and thirdly, for our point here, he is omnipotent: He is all-powerful.

If you’re familiar with the creation account in Genesis 1 you know that God created the universe out of nothing through the power of his voice. Eight times throughout Genesis 1 you’ll read the words, “And God said...” God wasn’t in his workshop crafting with his hands the universe. No, he just spoke it into existence.

It’s the Psalmist who said in Psalm 33.

Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”

Can we all agree that that’s a power that we can’t fathom?

I try as best as I can to lead in my home through my words and never through force. And so, as a father I’ll ask my kids to do something. Sometimes that’s effective, sometimes it’s not. As a parent I grow weary and tired when my kids don’t listen to my voice and when I find myself saying the same thing over and over again that’s when we sit our kids down and work with them on responding and obeying the first time. But it’s exhausting. My voice is not omnipotent.

Only God can speak and immediately have whatever he spoke come into existence or to fruition.

And so, in the preceding verse we saw the humanity of Jesus. It’s here that we get a front row seat to his divinity.

Jesus speaks a word and creation listens and responds obediently.

You know over the past several days as I was walking our puppy outside during the blizzard so that she could go to the bathroom I may have said out loud a time or two, “Stop snowing!” And I think we got another 7 inches after I said that.

But when Jesus speaks things happen.

Creation responds because the King has spoken. Creation responds because its master has given a command.

This moment links Jesus back to creation where God speaks life into existence. This no doubt reminded these disciples of the Psalm that speaks of God’s voice that controls creation.

And they respond in verse 41 with a question and an emotion. “Who is this?” Up to this point they had seen some incredible things done by Jesus but this moment terrified them.

In verses 37 and 38 they were scared of a storm but here in verse 41 they are in awe of the one who controls it. You see, this here is a proper fear. A proper response. They are in awe of Jesus even though they still don’t fully understand him or who he really is. Jesus led them into this storm so that they would get a bigger picture of his greatness and power.

We read this story today 2000 years removed so that we would gain a grander view of Jesus. He is the King. He is the master, He is the one worthy of all worship and adoration.

Let’s find the last “Jesus is” statement in verse 40.

Mark 4:40, “He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Here we see,

Jesus is the good and patient teacher - so we must learn from him.

Jesus led them into this storm to teach them about who he is. Once he rebukes the storm he turns and offers a mild rebuke to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Rather than trusting Jesus through this storm they actually accuse him of not caring. Even their response in verse 41 shows that they didn’t fully grasp the power and nature of Jesus as God over all. They were not expecting Jesus to stop the storm. You catch that in verse 41 from their response?

They woke up Jesus to help them bail water out of the boat more than likely. They’re frustrated because they’re working their tales off and Jesus is just sleeping. Look at all I’m doing Jesus, don’t you care?

And Jesus uses this storm to teach them that it’s not about them. Their salvation is not found in how hard they work. It’s found in trusting Him.

No trial, no suffering, no difficulty, no life experience is a surprise to Jesus. He’s aware of them all and he cares for you. And so each moment is an opportunity that God gives us to grow in our faith and trust in him.

Fear will come. We’re human. We’re sinful. We’re often weak. And so, it’s not about feeling guilt over your fear of hard circumstances when they come your way, but it is about using those moments to ask yourself, “why am I so afraid?” “am I failing to trust God?” “Am I not seeing God for who he truly is?” Those are moments to confess and repent and ask God to help your unbelief. To increase your faith. To rest in him.

Application

As we close today, let me just give you a few questions to write down and think through.

Who is Jesus?

What are the inferior things in this world that distract you from the glory of Jesus?

Where do you need to trust Jesus more?

Conclusion

This story ultimately wasn’t a story about how Jesus leads you through the storms of life. He does of course, and praise God for that! But more than that, this is a story that reveals to us the glory, the might, the power, the splendor, the omnipotence of King Jesus. It’s a story that, when led by the Spirit of God seeks to rightly align us with a proper fear of Jesus.

It’s a story that should point us to a great hope we have in Christ. A hope that Jesus will never forsake us, never abandon us, never leave us and one that should cause us to worship and adore him because as the apostle Paul says in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, [then] who can be against us?”