Calming the storm (Mark 4: 25-41)

This account was a key event in the disciples journey of faith, and moved them closer to accepting Him as Lord of their lives, and going on to do the greater things that He said they would.

I have never nearly drowned in a storm at sea.  Sadly all of us have seen images of inflatable boats taking on water in choppy seas, and migrants finding themselves cast into the sea.  Some of you will have been on boat at sea and some may have had scary experiences.  There are other kinds of storms in life and we will come to these, but the disciples on the Sea of Galilee had a near-death and as we look at this passage there are some important lessons we can take away.

The narrative in Mark has come to the point in Jesus’s ministry when it pivots from the Jews to the gentiles.  It had been another, typical, long day of healing and teaching and Jesus was worn out.  They were on the western seashore of Galilee.  To escape the crowds for a brief rest, Jesus wanted to go to the eastern shore. It’s coast had no large cities and therefore, fewer people. This was not a pre-planned trip.

There are kind of three parts to this story.: on shore before the storm, in the boat during the storm, and in the boat after the storm.

Exploring the Bible passage

Before the Storm:

(v. 35) “Let us go over to the other side” - This statement is very important. His intent is to go to the other side, not to take them to the middle of the lake and drown.  If He says the other side, that’s where they’re going.

(v. 36) “They took Him along” - See the pronouns in this story. The passage seems to indicate some arrogance by the disciples that they took Jesus along. They were professional fishermen who were in very familiar territory.  The thinking was Jesus wants to go to the other side, so we will take him. (Notice in verse 38 that Jesus was at the back of the boat – he was the passenger).

(v. 36 cont) “Just as he was” – This probably means he was exhausted. After all, He fell asleep in the boat. In His humanity.  Here Jesus’ humanity is emphasised.  In a moment, His deity will be emphasised.  In the midst of his human exhaustion, Jesus wants to teach the disciples a lesson about faith.

During the Storm:

(v. 37) “A furious squall came up, waves broke over the boat”.  Wind is a common occurrence on that lake.  The Sea of Galilee is about 690 ft. below sea level and surrounded by hills.  Mt. Hermon, just to the north, stands over 9,200 ft. above sea level.  From May to Oct., strong winds often sweep through the narrow surrounding gorges into this valley causing extremely sudden and violent storms.  The Sea of Galilee is very large but very shallow.  Just a little wind makes 6 foot waves.  This storm probably had waves at least 10 to 12 feet high.

It was such a bad storm, that the disciples thought they were going to die.

Where’s Jesus?(v 38) “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion” - A great picture of the God-Man Jesus. We can see His humanity that He would be sleeping after an exhausting day. The storm wasn’t waking Him up.

But … (v 38) “The disciples woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”  That they call him “Teacher” indicates that they didn’t yet know who He really was.  They were about to find out just who they had on their boat.

Jesus could sleep through the storm, but not through their cries.  How comforting is that?  Jesus will always awake to help His disciples in the midst of a nasty storm.  All we have to do is call …

And so (v 39) “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!”  In the Greek it translates, “Be muzzled!”

In Matthew’s account of this event he tells us that Jesus rebuked them before he rebuked the wind. It seems to me that we learn more about God and ourselves during the storm than after. 

“Storms do not build character, they reveal character.  It’s only after the storm that we assess … and then work and shore up on the areas of weakness. That’s when we build” (Johnson).

After the Storm:

And finally we come to the time in the boat after the storm.

 (v 39) “Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

(v 40) “Why are you still afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  Notice here that faith is linked to absence of fear. They were afraid because they lacked faith.  Many of us are paralysed by fears!  Fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of death, etc…  Either God is sovereign and in total control or He isn’t.  He cannot be somewhere in between.  The God of the Bible is not serendipitous.  He is faithful.

(v 41) “They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!”  Notice that the condition of fear had not changed but the object of their fear had.  Now their fear was focused of the identity of the person in the boat.

(They were terrified and amazed at Jesus’ power.  This seems to fit with the “big picture” outline of Mark’s gospel in which only the readers and the demons really know who Jesus is.  It is not until Mark 8:29 that the disciples make the statement, “Thou art the Christ.” Christ being the Greek translation for the Hebrew word Messiah.)

Although they may know Jesus is a great teacher, a great prophet or that He may be the Messiah…they don’t fully understand who He is.

So we see that the disciples totally missed Jesus’ question, “Why are you still afraid?”. They were more caught up in their own questions. More caught up in the “works” of Jesus and not in the nature from which it comes.  His power over the creation showed He was God.

There is a lot in these 6 short verses.  

Applying the Passage:

What does it mean for us today?

In storms we find the workings of God.

As followers of Jesus, none of us are exempt from the storms of life.  (Nahum 1:3 says, “His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.”)

The trials and suffering that we call the “Storms of Life” raise key questions: Why would Jesus allow them? Doesn’t he care? Where exactly is Jesus when they happen? If He knew they were coming, why didn’t he stop them? How we answer these questions, defines the way in which we live our lives and allow ourselves to be used by God.

Experiencing continuous or frequent storms does not indicate God’s discipline or disfavour.  God has power over all of nature and even my circumstances.  Thinking back to the disciples, If they had believed Jesus really, was in control and really cared for them…do you think they would have awakened him?  Probably not!  But they were not yet there.

Do we embrace storms … because in them we find the “workings” of God.  Quote: “Storms open the door to see the miraculous.  The result of all storms should be a greater understanding of who God is.”

In storms our understanding of Jesus

Our understanding of who Jesus is is often a growing one.  Tim last week said that he struggles with calling Jesus a friend, because He is so much more.

I have been thinking about that during the past week, and as I looked at Jesus on the boat I came to see Him as their companion (or friend), as their captain (or Lord, who had power over all things) and as their change agent (who transformed their lives).

This account was a key event in the disciples journey of faith, and moved them closer to accepting Him as Lord of their lives, and going on to do the greater things that He said they would.

May we, each and every one of us, come to see all that Jesus is … and all that He wants to do in our lives this side of heaven.  Amen

 This reflection was first produced as a sermon at St Denys Church in June 2024