Mark 4:35-41 New American Standard Bible 1995
Jesus Stills the Sea
35 On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 [a]Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37 And there *arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. 38 Jesus Himself 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?” 39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and [b]it became perfectly calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you [c]afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Anyone who has lived for much time at all knows that in life storms will surely come – these are not just the blizzards of winter or thunderous rains of spring.
Sometimes, other kinds of “thunder storms” make their presence felt and then seemingly out of nowhere, we are faced with an unexpected loss, be it our jobs, be it our marriages, a long standing BFF, a grim diagnosis, the painful passing of a loved one, or the sorrow of goodbyes – perhaps we are all here right now.
Looking for answers, looking for some kind of greater truth to sort out the host of negative thoughts, prayerfully turning first to our Bibles, to the Word of God for His Children, we pray to the Holy Spirit for any direction to locate our Jesus.
Mark 4:35-41 New King James Version
Wind and Wave Obey Jesus
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace,[a] be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How[b] is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Like the disciples caught in the storm on the Sea of Galilee, going from calm to the storm we can feel overwhelmed by these trials, as if our boat were sinking.
Mark 4:35-36 Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus’ Followers See His Power
35 That day, at evening, Jesus said to his followers, “Come with me across the lake.” 36 So they left the crowd behind and went with Jesus in the boat he was already in. There were also other boats that went with them.
Hearing the Word of God, convincing our hearts and souls toward listening to and choosing to follow Jesus does not insulate us from life’s storms, but we can take comfort from knowing that God promises to hold us fast through them.
He can give rest to our hearts, He may even quiet the very storms themselves.
Mark 4:37-39 Easy-to-Read Version
37 A very bad wind came up on the lake. The waves were coming over the sides and into the boat, and it was almost full of water. 38 Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went and woke him. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care about us? We are going to drown!”
39 Jesus stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and the lake became calm.
When storms come, we are often tempted to panic first, lose sight of our senses, freeze – or stumble over ourselves, watch the boat fill with water, to doubt God.
The thoroughly panicked disciples, most of them well trained fisherman, quite knowledgeable about the ways of the seas, hard questioned the ability of Jesus to care about them, even though they had each seen His miracles firsthand.
They looked Jesus in the eye with their souls, and they shared meals with Him every day—but when the storm arose, their raging souls took to panic stations of unbelief as if they’d forgotten who He was or what He was capable of doing.
Don’t we often find ourselves there too? As soon as the turbulence hits—as soon as life’s winds and waves rise—our doubts and weaknesses burst forth, and we forget who it is who dwells within us and what He is capable of doing.
God does not prevent storms from coming.
A sleeping Jesus did not prevent the storms from coming, from threatening the very lives of the disciples in his boat nor the lives of everyone else who followed.
But God is a God who is both present through them and sovereign over them.
Jesus not only stayed with the disciples during the storm, stood up in the face of the raging storm but, calmly, quietly, He displayed His full power by calming it.
John 1:1-5 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Deity of Jesus Christ
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [b]comprehend it.
As God, in the beginning, He was there, He had created the very sea itself.
Why would the sea, resting or raging, ever be a problem for Him?
Mark 4:40-41 New American Standard Bible 1995
40 And He said to them, “Why are you [a]afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Did Jesus deliberately want them to become fearful?
Did Jesus intentionally want to test their so called confidence in themselves?
We are all quick to admit our allegedly high degree, measures of self confidence.
Our typical mindset is too often “we can be self assured” that we “always know what we are doing and can get through the day and any situation so long as we are not confronted by that moment of sudden upheaval we will survive the day.
But, sometimes, even for us, too, even circumstances that seem hopeless and insurmountable unfold exactly as He has planned – will we notice our Jesus?.
When difficulties, fear, pain persist, we can trust Him to give us a peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) and bring us through to a place of calm, whether it arrives in this life or only beyond the final tempest of death.
Reading this passage, the first question storming out of our mouths, then should not be “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?
The question, then, is also not “Will storms come in my life?” They surely will.
Rather, we must ask, “When the storms come, will I believe that Jesus Christ is able to deal with them—and will I let Him do that?”
He can lift the clouds of doubt fogging our minds.
He can mend broken hearts.
He can soothe our longings for love.
He can revive weary spirits. He can calm anxious souls.
When we read the Word of God, reassure ourselves with His truth, we see Jesus as the Creator of the universe, the one who calmed the sea, as the one in whom everything holds together, then we too can experience the calming of the storm.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 107:23-32 New American Standard Bible 1995
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
24 They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His [a]wonders in the deep.
25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
Which lifted up the waves [b]of the sea.
26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,
And [c]were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29 He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves [d]of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His [e]wonders to the sons of men!
32 Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people,
And praise Him at the seat of the elders.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 