WHO THEN IS THIS- EVEN WIND AND SEA OBEY HIM?

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1 1 Streetsville United Church Sunday, June 21, 2015 Rev. John Tapscott WHO THEN IS THIS- EVEN WIND AND SEA OBEY HIM? Mark 4:41 On Father s Day Sunday, I think of the story of the father who took his young daughter for a car ride in the country. She was full of questions. What kind of cow is that is the field, Daddy? I don t know, he replied. Is that a famer s house over there? I don t really know, honey, What makes the sky so blue? she asked. Oh, I don t know, he said. How far is it to the next McDonalds? I don t know, Daddy said. The girl said, You don t mind me asking all these questions, do you Daddy? Oh no dear, he replied. How else would you ever learn anything? Today we think with gratitude of good fathers who answered our questions patiently and guided us wisely and faithfully along life s road. The older we get the more we appreciate our fathers and our mothers, too. So today we thank God for our fathers, those who are still with us on earth and those who are now in heaven. And we uphold and promote godly fatherhood based on the teachings of Scripture and the character of God our Heavenly Father. Here is a key New Testament question, recorded in Mark chapter 4. Jesus had just stilled a violent tempest on Galilee, saving the boat and the disciples and himself from sure destruction. Then verse 41, And the disciples were filled with awe and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Now Mark s Gospel and indeed the whole New Testament was written to answer this question. Who then is this Jesus? For Mark and for every New Testament writer the answer is clear. This Jesus is the Christ, God s Promised Messiah. He is the Son of God, filled with all the power and abilities of God himself. Mark begins his Gospel by writing, The beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John ends his Gospel by writing, These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? In his great confession at Caesarea Philippi Peter said to Jesus, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is the New Testament answer to the question and the answer of all who call themselves Christian. But I want us to go back to the story in Mark s Gospel. This story is one of my favourites in the New Testament. In just a few short verses it tells us so much about Jesus. It tells us who this Jesus is and what he does for us, his people. Who then is this? First, He is the one who goes with us on the journey. Chapter 4 verse 35, On that day when evening had come, he said to them, Let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat just as

2 2 he was. And Mark adds this curious detail. Other boats were with him. Now the disciples are not seen in a particularly good light in this story. Later on, they fear and doubt. But they did the right thing at the beginning. They took Jesus in the boat with them. A journey is a metaphor for our earthly life. As Christians we believe that we come from God and that we are going to God. We are going from one side to the other. Our life on earth is an adventure on which there will be joy and sadness, challenges and opportunities. Our earthly life is a pilgrimage of character-building, on which we can become the kind of people God intends us to be. Do we have sufficient strength and hope and light for the journey? How can we weather the storms and make it to the other side? The key is this - take Jesus with you. You men who desire to be responsible fathers and faithful husbands - how can you do it? Here s how take Jesus with you on the journey every day. Invite him into the boat. That is the key for all of us. Jesus goes with all who invite him on their journey. I am with you always, he says. I will never fail you or forsake you. He goes with you to guide and direct you, to correct and forgive you, to strengthen and comfort you. Jesus keeps you heading in the right direction and helps you to keep the destination in view. And when you take Jesus with you on the journey, you influence those around you for good, even those who haven t taken Jesus on board. That s the point, I think, of that reference to the fact that other boats were with them. Who then is this? He is the one who goes with us on the journey. Secondly, He is the One who puts a limit on the storm s power. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! Then the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Wind and rain storms are common on Galilee, powered by strong winds which sweep down from the surrounding hills. They are unpredictable and often powerful. Fishermen were well aware of these storms. Fishing boats were built with wide middle sections so they could carry large catches of fish and also remain stable during storms. In Israel last year we saw a wellpreserved fishing boat from the time of Jesus. Thirty years ago it was discovered buried in the sea bed of Galilee and is now displayed in a museum. Could it have been the very boat which carried Jesus and the disciples? Now this storm that came upon Galilee was a great windstorm, almost demonic according to Mark s description. It was sent forth by the evil one. Even the experienced fishermen were very frightened by this unusually violent storm. Jesus was a carpenter not a fisherman, but he seemed unperturbed, even sleeping during the storm. In their panic the disciples woke him up and said, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Now here s why Jesus could sleep through the storm. He knew that his hour had not yet come. Throughout Jesus life and ministry the evil one was trying to do him in. What a victory that would have been, to kill the Son of God in a violent storm at sea. Satan wasn t really after

3 3 the boat and the disciples. He was after Jesus. This storm was directed at him. But Jesus could sleep because he knew that he would not die in Galilee. Even early on in his ministry Jesus knew the Father s plan. He knew he would die in Jerusalem at the hands of the religious and political authorities. Jesus did not sleep on that awful night in Gethsemane when he sweat blood and prayed, Father, if it be possible remove this cup from me, but nevertheless not my will but thy will be done. A few hours later he was nailed to an old rugged cross. The devil thought he had finally got Jesus. But on the third day God raised his Son from the dead to live forevermore and the tables were turned. By his life, death and resurrection Jesus disarmed Satan and put a limit on his power. Satan is the one who is perishing and one day he and his followers will be done away with forever. All creation will be transformed and renewed according to God s plan and purpose. Jesus is Lord! He is coming again. And we his followers have eternal life in and through him. Even back on Galilee Jesus put a limit on the storm s power. He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! Then the wind ceased and there was a great calm. All were saved from perishing in the stormy seas, including those in the other boats. And even now the living Lord puts a limit on the storms power. Yes, the evil one still sends storms our way, upsetting us and frightening us, storms of illness, hardship, fear, death. These storms may harm us and frighten us, but they cannot destroy us or cause us to perish. For there is One who journeys with us through the storms of life, One who puts up his strong hand against the threatening storms and says, This far, and no further. Who then is this? He is the One who puts a limit on the storm s power. Thirdly, He is the One who brings us a great calm. Verse 39, He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. Well, the calm came to the wind and the sea, but it must have come to the disciples too, and even those in the other boats. Doesn t that happen to us sometimes? There are times when we are not calm. We are churning inside. We are panicked. We sleep fitfully. Storms rage around us and within us. And then suddenly a great calm descends upon us. It s not because of anything we have done. But our hearts feel at peace. We feel confident once again, with a sense of direction and purpose. It s as if a divine gift has been given to us. And it has. Peace has come from above, the peace that passes all understanding. It is Christ s gift to all who invite him on the journey. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let not your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. Christ is the One who brings us a great calm. And that calm spills over into the lives of those around us. During the fall one year a man had a threatening tumor removed. He returned to work before Christmas. By New Year's however, he was back in hospital for more surgery. As nurses prepared him for surgery, family members were asked to leave. When the family had gone, and the nurses finished their work, the storm suddenly came upon his soul. Up to this point he had kept a stiff upper lip. But now he began to weep uncontrollably. He was terrified of a demon called cancer, a sinister force of nature over which he had no control. He said, "As I sat on that hospital bed, heaving and weeping like a fool, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Then another, and

4 4 another. My sister had come back with the others. She began praying for me, and suddenly as quickly as the storm had come, it vanished. It was as if Christ commanded, 'Peace! Be still!' And I was... like I'd never been before." Throughout the recovery, he had plenty of time to reflect. What came to mind were all those verses of scripture that he had memorized in Sunday School. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1). "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for Thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4). "Sometimes I hear the distant rumblings of the storm," he said. "But I know two things. First, I'm not the only person in the boat; there is another called Christ. Second, no matter how terrible the storm, I have not been set adrift." Who then is this? He is the One who goes with us on the journey; the One who puts a limit on the storms that threaten us; the One who brings us a great calm. Finally, He is the One in whom we can put all of our trust. Jesus said to the disciples, Why are you afraid? Have you no faith? It seems like a rebuke, doesn t it? In answer the disciples might have said, It s obvious why we re afraid, Lord. This storm might have killed us. And Lord, our faith isn t what it should be, it s not like your faith, not yet, but it s growing. When the disciples saw what Jesus had done, they were filled with awe. They were learning to put their faith in him in every situation, to trust in his power and to obey his word. After Jesus death and resurrection, the disciples trusted him enough to boldly proclaim his word and to do the work of His Kingdom and to offer their own lives in his service, even unto death. Jesus Christ has shown himself to be the One in whom we can put all of our trust. When we take him on the journey we can trust him through all that the journey brings us. And this One whom even wind and sea obey will bring us triumphantly to the other side.

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