PART 13, JESUS CALMS THE STORM

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1 PART 13, JESUS CALMS THE STORM Mark 4:35-41 City on a Hill Church Pastor Bland Mason BIG IDEA: Believing in the power of Jesus helps us endure the storms we face. INTRODUCTION Advent a season of waiting and reflection on the first coming and the second coming of Jesus. This time of the year always features TV documentaries and investigative pieces on who Jesus was and what he did. What we are doing in our study through Mark is trying to answer that question. Mark is the oldest account of the life and ministry of Jesus that is available. We are trying to sort through the evidence and my desire to help clear out a bit of the confusion and the sense of disunity of the stories and to see that the Jesus of the gospels is a unified figure with a unified purpose. And that the gospels themselves are so unique in terms of literature from their time and so unbeneficial to the early followers of Christ that it would have been impossible and imprudent for them to make them up. Outline of the whole series: 1. Mark 1-8 The Coming King who Jesus is and some of the things he said/did during 3 years 2. Mark 9-16 The Crucified King the why of Jesus ministry die on the cross Miracles said already that they are not just redemptive, but revealing. They are not just raw displays of power but meant to reveal something about the power and the purposes of Jesus as a King ushering in a new Kingdom. Today s story is no different. Today, we see the power of Jesus amidst a storm. While all the miracles Jesus had done up to this point had been physical healings or deliverances from spiritual forces, now he does something he hasn t done yet. He does something the disciples and his other followers had never seen anyone do he demonstrates his power over creation by rebuking a storm. Context: Sea of Galilee Overview PICTURES SEA OF GALILEE Want to take just a second to introduce the Sea of Galilee because so much of Jesus ministry takes place around it. 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. At its deepest point the lake is approximately 200 feet deep. Trivia: it is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth, around 700ft below sea level. WHAT ABOUT THE BOAT? PICTURE In 1986 a wooden vessel from the first century was discovered on the lake's northwestern shore believed to be a fisherman s boat, the size: 26 by 7 feet - big enough for 15 men. Several of the disciples had grown up fishing on the Sea of Galilee and had not doubt faced storms but nothing like the one on this day. Storms were common. Some of the mountains around the SofG reach 2000ft high, creating an environment where the cold air from the mountains clashes with the warm moist air of the sea. Storms would develop quickly and some could be severe. A storm in March 1992 sent waves 10 feet high crashing into downtown Tiberias and causing significant damage. The one in our story today was severe enough to cause even the most veteran fisherman among them to fear for their lives. ARTISTS RENDERING Rembrant & Backhuysen What does this storm represent? In this story, the storm caused the disciples to question, Jesus, don t you care that we are perishing? So, simply put, a storm is anything and everything that causes you to question God s love for you. Anything that you go through that would lead you to ask God, Don t you care for me? For some those storms might be going through just a really tough time in life with a lot of 1

2 circumstances piling up on you. You feel overwhelmed and you are sinking. God seems distant at best. Storms can come in lots of forms: A tragic diagnosis A loss of a job A close relationship that has been fractured A darkness in your soul that has endured An anxiety that paralyzes you A loneliness that won t go away It is anything and everything that causes you to question if God cares about you as you face your circumstances. What the question really is here is, Does God really love me? The disciples were asking, Jesus, if you loved us, why would you let us die in a storm out on the water? We are much like the disciples. We ask, God, if you love me, why are you letting me go through this? God, if you love me, why are letting me die in this storm? A storm is anything and everything that causes you to question God s love for you. So, what do we find in the midst of this storm? We find Jesus performing a miracle but just like the other miracles this one is not about a raw display of power it was about revealing something about Jesus and his kingdom. In this case, it is revealing the power of the King. We see Jesus power over nature, the power in his presence, his power in our weakness, and his power in restoration. 1. Jesus power over nature Mark tells us in v.39 that Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. How did Jesus do it? Very simply: with his Word. Jesus doesn t muster his strength. He doesn t call on God for help. He doesn t roll up his sleeves like you and I do if we are getting ready to exert ourselves. He awakens and speaks to the storm. Literally, he just says two words: Peace - to be silent, still, hushed, calm. Be still - to close the mouth with a muzzle, to muzzle, And it happened! The wind ceased and there was a great calm. Now, having grown up on the water I ve seen some storms. I ve seen them pass pretty quickly but it always takes a while for the water to calm back down again. Sometimes after a hurricane or a nor-easter it can take days. The storm never ceases and the waves stop at the same moment but that is exactly what happened. In this single moment, Jesus demonstrated his power over nature. He didn t command nature as one who has been given the power of God, he commanded it AS GOD. Psalm 107:28-29 (vv.23-32) YHWH calms the storms and brings sailors to safe harbor. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Gospel of John tells us in chapter 1 that All things were made through him [Jesus], and without him was not any thing made that was made. (v.3) Want to know why the wind and the waves obeyed Jesus? Because he made them in the first place! Do you know what it s saying? The Bible is not just saying God s power is greater than the power of nature. It s saying the very power of nature is derivative of God s power. Nature only has power that s on loan from God. All power is from God, which means that when it thunders it s actually, in a sense, God s thunder. It s God thundering. When there s a wind, it s God s wind. Jesus was establishing his power as the King of the Universe in human form. Does that have an impact on how we face the storms of life? You bet it does! 2. Jesus power in his presence Here s where the rub comes in. I mean, Jesus the storm rebuker is good news, isn t it? It makes you 2

3 feel good. Wow! you say. But here s the second picture we have: Jesus asleep in a storm. Not only does this miracle tell us that Jesus is Lord over the storm, but the sleeping Jesus tells us that God is present and very often seems to really take his time about storms. He lets them come. He lets them rage. He lets the waters come up. He lets the boat start to sink before he does anything. God often seems asleep like Jesus in the stern of the boat. What this is teaching is God will often seem asleep, because God will let things come. He will let storms come. He will let the waters rage. He will always let it go on longer than we think. He will not be hurried. Now, that s not great news, is it? But let me tell you something. First of all, let s apply this to ourselves. This Bible is telling us in the picture of the sleeping Jesus that though God has complete power over storms, he doesn t usually act the way we would like him to act in the storms. He often seems asleep. He often lets them go on. If you are a Christian, or if you are coming to Christianity, and you have the delusion that once you give your life to Christ things are going to go well in your life, that once you give your life to Christ things will fall into place After all, isn t my Father the One who owns the cattle on the thousand hills? Everything will go well. That s a delusion. The Bible nowhere says anything like that. As a matter of fact, you have places like James 1, where it says, Count it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. ILL I talk to people who say, I m just trying to live for Jesus but it seems EVERYTHING is fighting against me. I tell them, welcome to the family. There s a place where Jesus actually says in one line what this miracle illustrates. The rebuking Jesus yet the sleeping Jesus. He says in John 16:33, In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. Let me say that again. In the world you WILL Not maybe. You know, Maybe some of you people who aren t living completely consistent lives. No, he doesn t say that. He says, In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Notice he does not pit those two things together. The Jesus who rebukes the winds and the waves and the Jesus asleep in the front of the boat are not a contradiction. It s the same Jesus! Two KEYS HERE: 1. Jesus was present in the boat WITH THE DISCIPLES even though they felt abandoned by him. a. They didn t feel his presence the way they wanted, but it didn t change the fact that he was there in the midst of the storm and the waves. b. For the Christian, when we face storms, the reminder here is this -> Jesus is in the storm with us! He doesn t leave us or forsake us. If we are feeling anxious, lost, afraid, and overwhelmed the first thing to remember is that Jesus is with us. 2. Jesus was NO less sovereign and powerful when he was asleep than when he was awake. a. Jesus presence with the disciples and power over the storm were no less real when he was asleep then when he was awake. Jesus did not rebuke them for waking him up but for doubting that he was with them in their suffering and that he didn t care and that he didn t have the power to affect the storm. b. Jesus doesn t leave us in our storms, but walks with us in them. He may SEEM asleep but that doesn t mean He s out of control. Jesus doesn t always rescue us from the storm but he is always faithful to show us his presence and power if we will look to him. 3. Jesus power in our weakness In this case, if the disciples had just called on Jesus earlier in faith, I believe he would have taken care of the storm earlier but they didn t so he didn t stop the storm. They did everything they 3

4 could in their power to handle the situation but to no avail. They rowed hard, bailed out the boat, and used all their years of experience on the water to manage but the storm was simply too much. The waves were crashing over the boat and the boat was filling with water faster than they could empty it. They were out of options. Someone yelled out Go wake the Rabbi. There is a tone of both panic and rebuke in the disciples cry, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? The truth is that Jesus wanted them to get to this point. It is often only when we are done with our self-effort that Jesus can come in. Sometimes, God in his grace, will allow you to just exhaust yourself dealing with your storm so that you will finally turn to him. We can t affect our lives as much as we might hope. As we ve said already, Storms WILL come some of you are in the midst of them now. Disciples were powerless over the storm and faithless in Jesus but they called on him anyway. Jesus said where is your faith? AND that is the KEY in our weakness: Having faith that Jesus both loves us and is Lord of the Storm. He brought the storm to reveal their faithlessness. See, the storm didn t bring their faithlessness, but the storm REVEALS their faithlessness. Jesus was trying to build faith and faith is tested by things beyond our control, by circumstances we can t fix, and by situations that exhaust our efforts. The storms. You see you are either at the mercy of the storm or you are at the mercy of Jesus. The storm will wear you out physically, it will ultimately win. You may be in great shape today and eat well and exercise, but the storm of this life will ultimately wear you out. So, OK you may be thinking Jesus is not real but that doesn t put you in a better position you STILL have to deal with the storm, which you do not have power over and which has no purpose. The storm simply exists and you suffer under it. BUT the one who looks to Jesus in the midst of the storm can know that the storm will never love them but Jesus does. The storm will come and come as it wills, but there is no chance that it isallowing you to go through it for your good. It s just a mindless storm. BUT if Jesus is Lord of the storm, then IN MY WEAKNESS in the midst of the storm I can KNOW that he is allowing it AND he loves me. You may not understand the storm but you can trust the Lord of the storm and that can help when you want to ask Jesus, Don t you care that I m perishing? If you have a God that is great enough, infinite enough and powerful enough to be mad at because he doesn t stop your suffering, you also have a God who is great enough, infinite enough, and powerful enough to have reasons to allow you to suffer that you can t understand. Tim Keller Jesus is powerful in our weakness but FAITH is the key to experiencing that power to sustain us. 4. Jesus power of restoration After Jesus rebuked the storm and the waves and everything calmed down he said to the disciples, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? Meaning, By now you should know something about me. By now, you should believe in WHO I AM and WHAT I CAN DO. So, contrary to popular opinion, faith is not something you feel. Jesus didn t say, You should have felt tranquility. He doesn t say, Where is your tranquility? Feel it. He doesn t say, Go to your happy place and stuff your fears. That s not what he s saying. Feelings can t be forced. What he s saying is faith is A DELIBERATE ACTION. He says, You have it. Why don t you get it out? Faith = applying what you know about Jesus to your life. In that moment, we begin to experience a restoration. A restoration of peace and joy in this world. Our lives begin to be shaped and orbit around Jesus and not around our world or our circumstances. It is a restoration that says the 4

5 brokenness of this world is NOT God. It says that the brokenness of this world is being unbroken by Jesus. One of the keys to understanding this whole passage is easily missed. You see there is another character in the bible who is in a boat, asleep in the midst of a severe storm. Mark has deliberately laid this text in a way that exactly parallels Jonah: Both are out on a sea in a boat a great life-threatening storm (Jonah 1:4) description almost identical the main characters are remarkably sleeping despite the storm s violence (1:5) the crew comes to the sleepers and say we are perishing! ; same word in Greek (1:6); a miraculous intervention by God and the sea is calmed (1:15); the last thing in both stories: the sailors were more terrified than before the storm (1:16). Only one difference Jonah in the midst of the storm says throw me over. If I die, you will live. If I perish, you will survive. That s the one difference between the two stories, right? Or is it really? Mark is trying to help us to see that these stories are not really that different. Matthew 12, Jesus says, I will display the miracle of Jonah. A greater than Jonah is here. What does this mean? Jesus is saying, One day I will calm all storms. One day I will still all waves. One day I will consummate a Kingdom where the brokenness of this world will be completely and finally undone. One day I will restore life to the state that every human being longs for as they suffer in this world. HOW? On the cross, Jesus was thrown into the midst of the only storm that can ultimately sink us the storm of death that comes because of all our sin against God. Jesus took on the storm of God s wrath on sin for our sake so that we might experience restoration. To the degree that you believe that and center your life around that, is the degree you will know peace in the midst of ALL the storms life can throw at you. ***Unless otherwise noted, all verses are taken from the English Standard Version, copyright 2000, Crossway Books. 5