OUTLINE: 1. INTRODUCTION a. In the boat b. In the storm c. Jesus power 2. CONCLUSION Who is Jesus? 1. INTRODUCTION: a. In the boat: -------------------------------------------------------------- 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 (Mk 4:35-36). - This is more important than it sounds: o Across the lake is outside Israel, in Gentile country o By going here, Jesus is going against generations of racist and exclusivist tradition that (in effect) said: 1 (1) all non-jews are scum whose very presence and even the air they breathe contaminate God s people, and (2) a good Jew should stay far away from them, because God has cursed them o No Pharisee would ever go here, and the Pharisees are the largest and most visible group of religious teachers in Israel o Jesus is doing something no religious teacher would do; dare to believe the OT promises that non-jews are included in God s plan, too! Read Isa 56:1-8 1 For more on this, see an earlier sermon in this series entitled A World Turned Upside Down, preached on June 17, 2018 from Mark 2:13 3:12. 1
- They apparently left directly from the Sea of Galilee, where He d been teaching from a boat (cf. Mk 4:1) o Other believers (probably more than just the 12) followed in other boats o This sounds like an eyewitness account, and tradition holds Mark largely reported Peter s recollections = makes sense b. In the storm: And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 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? (Mk 4:37-38). - This account IS NOT a metaphor for how Jesus will be with you throughout the storms of life - that s allegory: o That s not what Mark says o It s not what Matthew, Luke or John says o It s not what any Biblical writer says o It s not what the text says o It s not what this is about - What s happening here? Well, it s not good! o These are terrible, almost hurricane-force winds o Water s coming in the boat, and it s in danger of swamping o Jesus sleeps = dual nature implications o They re panicked = when experienced fishermen are panicked at sea, then it s time to start worrying! - What do they say and why do they say it? o They think they re dying; they see nothing ahead of them but death and ruin o They don t think they re going to make the shore o They speak out of frustration and panic; they probably want Him to lend a hand in bailing out water! c. Jesus power: 2
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 (Mk 4:39). - What does Jesus do? o He rebukes the wind ( stop it! ) o He issues two commands: Wind = peace ( be quiet/shut up ) Sea = be still; demands waves stop o Both commands are obeyed - What does this mean? o He has power over the wind and waves o He commands them as if they re active, living forces that are under His authority and jurisdiction and they obey Him immediately! - What does this tell you about who Jesus is? o Is Jesus just another prophet? o Is He just an earthly King, like David, Solomon, Asa, Josiah or (heaven forbid) Herod the Great? o Is Jesus just another priest, even though He s not even descended from the Levitical line? o No; it tells you Jesus is God: (1) The OT says there is one God (2) The NT distinguishes Jesus from the Father, but ascribes the same power and status to Him as it does to God: (a) Isn t it Yahweh who commanded the Red Sea to part? o He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert, (Ps 106:9) o Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left, (Ex 14:21-22) 3
Only Yahweh has the power to command the Red Sea Yet, here it s Jesus who rebukes the wind and commands the sea! (b) Doesn t the OT teach that it s Yahweh who commands and rebukes the forces of nature? o The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. o The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. o He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. o The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it (Nahum 1-5) Only Yahweh commands the forces of nature Yet here, it s Jesus who controls creation, who rebukes the wind and sea with the same authority, the very same words, that He uses to cast out demons (c) Yahweh says He s the One who controls the seas and orders the moon, stars and sun: o Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the Lord of hosts is his name o If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of 4
Israel cease from being a nation before me forever, (Jer 31:35-36) But here, it s Jesus who commands the wind and the seas and the roaring of its waves (d) The psalmist said it s Yahweh who rules creation: o O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you? You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them, (Ps 89:8-9) But here, it s Jesus who rules the raging of the sea (3) Jesus is not the Father, but He commands the wind and sea, and they obey Him (4) Jesus is not the Father, but He command fallen angels, and they obey Him o Listen to this from the Book of Hebrews, and listen for how God and Jesus are distinguished from one another, and what that means for who Jesus is: Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power, (Heb 1:1-3) God has spoken to us once and for all by His Son = distinction God appointed Jesus as heir of everything = distinction God created creation through Jesus = distinction and eternality Same radiance = equality and distinction Exact imprint of nature = equality and distinction Upholds universe = equality and distinction In this account (and many others), Jesus shows by His actions that He s God, and also gives you a clue that our one God isn t unitary; He s triune 5
He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? (Mk 4:40) - Was Jesus surprised at the storm? Did He wake up like you and I do in times of crisis; bleary-eyed, shocked and frightened? o No; this was a deliberate test o Jesus controls creation; He brought the storm = He s not surprised about what s happening o This is entire event is a deliberate demonstration to the disciples about who He is; not an allegory about how He s with us throughout the storms of life - Why is Jesus disappointed in the disciples? o I don t think He is; I think this entire episode was a teaching tool to help them understand who He actually is o This is similar to how you train somebody to do a job, knowing they ll mess up at first, and you patiently watch them fumble a job so you can correct them afterwards and they can learn from their mistakes o The disciples might acknowledge He s the Messiah, but they don t really know who the Messiah is He s more than a man! o Like children with training wheels, they re not nearly ready to go out on their own, yet Events like these are part of their training, to grow them and mold them into really understanding who He is And, after the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the lightbulb will go on, and all the pieces will fall into place 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? (Mk 4:41). - This is chatter they re exchanging with one another - Jesus lesson is working o Most sermons and commentators focus on how dull the disciples are o I think it s good they re asking this question: 6
Jesus is challenging them to realize that the Messiah is more than just a man The Scriptures show us He s the co-equal, co-eternal Son of God, who became the representative man (the second Adam from above) for our sake He s both 100% God and 100% man, with two distinct natures (divine and human) that can t ever be confused, changed, divided or separated - But, notice the irony who are the folks who always, without fail, acknowledge who Jesus is? o So far, it s the demons o Soon, Mark will show us that it s also those on the outside who recognize who Jesus is; the Gentiles (i.e. non-jews) who so many Jews think are the scum of the earth and have no future in God s plans, and who the Jews wrongfully assume are alienated from His mercy and grace - Who are the folks who consistently miss who Jesus is? o The Israelites He came to preach to, who should have been the first to recognize and worship Him o And, to some extent the disciples fall into this category, too 2. CONCLUSION Who is Jesus? - The disciples did just what Jesus wanted them to do they started thinking about who He is in a deeper way - Every Christian should agree with the Apostle Peter that Jesus is the Christ (i.e. Messiah), the Son of the Living God o But, what does that mean? o Do you worship the real Jesus as He s revealed in Scripture, or a Jesus of your own imagination, a fake Jesus? - If you ve kept a pad of paper handy throughout this series, you ve seen (in four, short chapters) a lot of evidence for who Jesus really is: o (1) You ve seen that He s the Son of God, not in any biological sense, but in the sense of sharing the same divine nature that belongs to Yahweh alone (Mk 1:1) Equality 7
o (2) You ve seen that Jesus came on the scene just like Isaiah said He would, who wrote about who Yahweh would come to lead His people to freedom from exile and yet it s Jesus who came (Mk 1:2-3) Distinction and equality o (3) You ve seen that John the Baptist said the Messiah would baptize people with the Holy Spirit and yet the Book of Ezekiel says Yahweh will be the one who sprinkles His people clean, and puts His Spirit within them (Mk 1:8) Distinction and equality o (4) You ve seen God declare that Jesus is His beloved Son, the King who ll rule over all creation, and the Spirit descended on Him in bodily form (Mk 1:9-11) Trinity o (5) You ve seen Jesus defeat Satan s temptations in our place, the way Adam never could (Mk 1:12-13) o (6) You ve seen demons confess Jesus as the Holy One of God (Mk 1:24), and the Son of God (Mk 3:11) and scream in terror while they do it! o (7) You ve seen Jesus miraculously heal a sick and dying woman (Mk 1:30-31), cure a paralytic (Mk 2:1-11), and declare a man s sins forgiven because He believed Jesus was the Messiah (Mk 2:5) o (8) You ve seen Him declare Himself to be the Son of Man (Mk 2:10, 28), the divine King who Daniel says God will crown and give His kingdom to o (9) You ve seen Him say the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, the one who stands over and above Yahweh s divine law (Mk 2:27-28) o (10) You ve seen Jesus conduct countless exorcisms (Mk 1:32-34, 39) o (11) You ve seen Him delegate His authority and power to the 12 apostles to cast out demons (Mk 3:13-19) o (12) You ve seen Him ask people to consider that, if Satan has been bound and being defeated, what does that say about Him!? (Mk 3:22-27) o (13) You ve seen Jesus preach the Gospel (Mk 1:15, 21, 39; 2:2, 13), which is really the Good News about Him, as the fulfillment of all the OT promised 8
- And, here you ve seen Jesus rebuke the wind, the waves and the sea just like Yahweh did all throughout the OT o (1) This is who your Savior is o (2) This is who Jesus is o (3) He s the co-equal, co-eternal Son of God, the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth, o (4) and you owe Him your allegiance, o (5) and He left heaven above to come here; to live, die and raise again, o (6) so that He could save His people from themselves - Without this real Jesus, not a make-believe Jesus who doubles as your imaginary friend who coincidently agrees with you about everything, but the real Jesus, you have no foundation for understanding reality: o (1) Creation: You have no explanation for creation, which means you have no idea how we got here, why creation exists, how it exists or why it continues to exist o (2) Fall: You have no explanation for: why things are the way they are, why wars happen, why people die in famines, why bad men massacre innocent people, why evil husbands beat their wives, why the Holocaust happened, why people like Hitler live, why crooked insurance agents swindle elderly people out of all their money, why all people are naturally born as children of wrath who hate God, or why the Mariners continue to lose each and every year o (3) Redemption: You have no hope: for salvation, for reconciliation, for an end to this endless spin-cycle of sin and wickedness, for an end to the story of creation, for a lifeboat to save you from yourself, from your own lusts, 9
from your own sinful appetites, from the consequences of your own sinful actions, from the list of crimes you ve committed which you know, in your heart of hearts, that you re obligated to pay for you have no hope for peace - Without Jesus, you have no foundation for the story of reality, no hope, no peace, no forgiveness and no reconciliation - He-Man isn t the Master of the Universe; the Lord Jesus Christ is, and He isn t a comic-book character o He can be the perfect Savior for everyone who repents and believes, no matter who you are and what you ve done; the one who can give you perfect peace, perfect reconciliation, perfect forgiveness, and the One who ushers you into God s family, as one of God s adopted children, through repentance and faith in who He is and what He s done o He can also be the judge who passes sentence on you in the end of days - As you reflect on the Jesus we ve seen from this account, the one who rules and commands the wind, waves and sea, I hope you ve repented and believed in the Good News He suffered and bled and died to bring 10