HAVE FAITH WHEN THE STORM STRIKES
Mark has been showing us Jesus in his gospel. Like an expert storyteller Mark has been revealing Jesus gradually to us – who he is, what he came to do – his power, his purpose, his self-understanding. We are getting to know Jesus.
It is when the storms of life hit that our knowledge of Jesus is really challenged.
A young man by the name of John Wesley had graduated from Oxford University in England intent on ministering in Christ’s name. He was deeply troubled over the social problems of the England of his time: slavery, economic hardships, corruption, drunkenness and so on. Wesley was a deeply sensitive young man and very religious. So he became a parish minister in England and then a missionary to American natives along the coast of Georgia. However, his ministries were not very successful and so he returned to Britain.
During the voyage home, his ship was caught in a terrible storm. Wesley was extremely frightened as were the other passengers and crew. That is, except for some Moravian missionaries traveling home. Noticing their calmness, Wesley asked why they were not afraid. “Why should I be afraid,” one answered, “I know Christ.” Then, quite directly, he asked, “Do you know Christ?” Wesley was uncomfortable, because in his heart he suddenly realized he did not really know Christ.
Storms, troubles, difficulties, illness – whatever you want to call them – have a way of revealing our true faith, what we really believe in a crisis. And life is full of such trials.
The question that I pose to you this morning as we study the event of Jesus calming the storm is this: Can we have faith in Jesus in the midst of the storm? Is it possible for us to believe in him when the storms of life crash down on us?
This simple story in Mark 4:35-41 seems almost too simple for the complexities of life as we know it. Yet it is sometimes the simple that hits us most profoundly.
1. Jesus Falls Asleep in the Pilot Seat
Jesus had spent the entire day teaching the crowds. They had come to him in droves wanting to be healed and to hear this amazing teacher. Always eager to preach the kingdom of God, Jesus taught them this day down by the lake.
Mark tells us, “The crowd that gathered was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge,” (4:1b). He taught them many things in parables.
Some might spiritualize the situation later in the boat that Jesus slept through the storm because he was so at peace. But as a preacher myself, I know that he was exhausted. He was sitting in the boat all day, teaching. Now without even getting out of the boat, he says, “Let’s go over to the other side.”
“Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him,” 4:36). Note just two details here: one is that Jesus is so tired they shoved off without provisions or any prep, “just as he was.” Two, there were other boats. Why does Mark include this detail? He wants the reader to know that this miracle had witnesses to corroborate what happens next.
The lake of sea of Galilee is surrounded by hills through which the winds are violently funneled. This lake is known for sudden storms that quit as suddenly as they begin. An open fishing boat with low sides like the one discovered in 1986 at Ginosar would be vulnerable to high waves. You can see how easily it could be swamped and sunk. Twelve foot waves would easily overwhelm the little boats that day.
And Jesus slept. He slept on a cushion, which indicates that he was sleeping ironically on the pilot’s seat near the tiller.
2. Does Jesus care that we are drowning?
Dr. Henry Morris called the stilling of the storm a class B miracle. Class “A” miracles overrule or transcend the laws of nature. When Jesus walked on water or raised Lazarus from the dead, he performed class “A” miracles. Class “B” miracles would be viewed by unbelievers as mere coincidence.
You remember then that I said that storms went as quickly as they came on Galilee. If that is the case then was it a coincidence that when Jesus woke up and spoke the storm abated? I don’t think so.
Remember, the fishermen among the twelve were seasoned sailors and were used to normal squalls on the sea. This storm terrified them and they did not think they would survive it. That tells us this is not a normal storm.
Annoyed with Jesus, they wake him up. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (4:38). They do not call him ‘Master’ or ‘Lord’ but teacher, which shows that they are rude and irritated. But the question is a good one – Does Jesus care if we drown?
This is a version of what we say to God when we are hurting or overwhelmed: “I need you to wake up and change the circumstances. If you really care for me, you’ll do something to get me out of the mess I’m in. But at a minimum, if you don’t change the circumstances, at least explain them.”[i]
What possibly irked the disciples is not that Jesus was unable to do something for them but that he seemed indifferent. That’s a great picture of how we often feel today. God is able to do anything for us but for some reason, in our opinion, he does nothing. What’s the deal? If you loved us God, you wouldn’t let us go through this. If you loved us you wouldn’t let us sink. And as the disciples seemed to say, we were afraid you didn’t love us, because if you loved us, you wouldn’t let these things happen to us.[ii]
Does Jesus care? Does he love us? Because if he loved us he wouldn’t let us flounder about like this. This is a very good question for us to consider.
3. Jesus Rebukes the Storm
Jesus says only two words. Mark says, “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm,” (4:39).
Two words in the Greek: ‘Quiet’ and ‘Still.’ Some scholars say that the intention of his words is “Be muzzled.” In any case, I don’t care what Dr. Morris said, the immediate result was so amazing it left everyone stunned. His authority is so striking in his command in that he rebukes the wind as if it were an animate being, and addresses the lake as if it were an unruly heckler, “Be quiet! Shut up!”[iii]
Where have heard that kind of expression before? When Jesus cast out the demon in the synagogue at Capernaum (1:25). Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves as if they were demonic forces. As he demonstrated his authority over the demonic powers in people he now revealed his authority over the seemingly demonic power in nature.
I think we want to be careful here and not assume that bad weather is always demonic. Were spiritual forces at work on the sea that day? We don’t know. We do know that Jesus treated the wind and the waves in that manner and showed unconditionally that he is Lord even over the storms. And what’s more: Jesus cares.
4. Jesus Questions the Fear in His Followers
So here’s a question: Is it fair to assume that the disciples should have known better?
Jesus asks this question of them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (4:40).
What did Jesus expect of them? He expected them to have faith. That’s what his rebuke suggests.
As we read the Gospel of Mark we begin to perceive that the disciples are often cast in a negative light. They are continually portrayed as not getting it; as failing to understand Jesus and who he is as Messiah. From the beginning they had witnessed his amazing ability to teach (1:21-28), to heal the worst diseases (1:40-45), his declaration that he had the authority to forgive sins (2:10), and so much more. Yet they still had not put the pieces together. However, to expect the disciples to understand who Jesus was might be stretching things.
So we see them fumble along. The disciples fail to understand the parables Jesus teaches (4:10); when Jesus wants to feed the 5000, they balk at the impossibility (6:37); when Jesus walks on water they are terrified (6:50); then Jesus feeds the 4000 and even after witnessing the first feeding they fret about where to find that much food (8:4); even after the resurrection Jesus rebukes them for their lack of faith (16:14).
We conclude then that the disciples were pretty dumb for not having faith in Jesus in the midst of the storm. But here’s the thing we miss: they are quite human. And faith is a process. It is a gift that needs to be developed. Jesus does not give up on them even when they fail to understand. He just goes back to square one and patiently shows them again, and again. When we read Mark we see Jesus as the Son of God (1:1); the disciples did not know what we know.
Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? Those questions can easily be applied to us. And knowing what we know, maybe we are the slow ones.
What is the opposite of faith? Normally we would say doubt, but Jesus implies that it is fear. We are afraid that if we call on the Lord he will not answer. “I want to believe in Jesus, but I’m afraid of being disappointed,” we might say. We try to generate faith from within and find we can’t.
If you want to believe but can’t, stop looking inside; go to Jesus and say, “Help me believe.” Go to him and say, “So you’re the one who gives faith! I’ve been trying to work it out by reasoning and thinking and meditating and going to church in hopes a sermon will move me – I’ve been trying to get faith by myself. Now I see that you’re the source of faith. Please give it to me.” When we are honest like that we will find that he has been waiting for us to ask him.[iv]
5. Jesus is Greater than Jonah
Fear turns to Terror. Fear of death; fear of drowning; fear of disappointment – these all melt away as cowardice turns to awe.
The disciples ask another great question, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (4:41). Who is this? We thought we knew but obviously we don’t.
I am pretty sure the disciples did not see this parallel at the time but the original readers may have. Mark gives us a clue as to who Jesus is in the way he writes this story. He deliberately laid out this story to make us recall the story of Jonah in the OT. The language of the two stories is almost identical.
Consider the parallels in these stories:
Both Jesus and Jonah are in a boat or a ship.
A furious squall nearly swamps the boat (Mark 4:37)
A violent storm puts the ship in danger (Jonah 1:4).
The disciples are afraid (Mark 4:38).
All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to their own god (Jonah 1:5a).
Jesus is asleep (4:38a); Jonah is asleep (1:5b).
The disciples wake and question Jesus about his sleeping (4:38b).
The sailors ask Jonah, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish,” (Jonah 1:6).
Jesus rebukes the waves (Mark 4:39).
Jonah replies, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will become calm,” (Jonah 1:12), and the sea becomes calm (1:15).
The disciples are terrified when Jesus calms the sea (Mark 4:41)
So also the sailors in Jonah’s story are terrified, “At this the men greatly feared the LORD…” (Jonah 1:16).
There is just one difference in these stories: Jonah doesn’t calm the sea. He says, in effect, “There’s only one thing to do. If I die, you will live.” He tells them to throw him into the sea. And that doesn’t happen in the Mark story. Or does it?
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says, “One greater than Jonah is here,” and refers to himself. He is the true Jonah. What he meant was this: One day I will calm all storms and still all waves. I am going to destroy death and sin and brokenness. How does he do that? By being nailed to a cross – he will be thrown willingly, like Jonah, into the ultimate storm, under the pounding waves of sin and death. That’s the storm that threatens to sink us. That storm was not calmed until it swept him away.[v]
When you think of Jesus on the cross the words, “God don’t you care?” choke in your throat. You can’t say that looking at Jesus crucified. He did that for us.
So when we say, “Jesus, don’t you care if we drown?” the thoughts behind the question come from the wrong perspective. Jesus says we should know better. Jesus says, “I do allow people I love to go through storms but you have no reason to panic. Jesus has gone through the perfect storm to make sure that we won’t be overwhelmed by the little storms. I am inclined to think more like Jonah’s sailors when they said, “O LORD…Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased” (Jonah 1:14).
Who is this? Jesus even controls the wind and the waves. Psalm 89:8-9 reads, “O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.”
Can we have faith in Jesus in the midst of the storm?
Yes we can. We can have faith in Jesus because he cares for us, calms our fears, and is greater than all the storms that come against us. Every storm.
The unbelief of the disciples is not that far off from where we are today. Just like them we believe in the power and ability of God to rescue us, save us, deliver us or solve our dilemma. What we fear is that God does not want to rescue, save, or deliver us.
In part, this is based on the false assumption that when we have Jesus in our lives we will avoid all the storms. We should be exempt from trouble because we are Christians, we think. We might even think that when trouble does come it’s because we did something wrong.
Is God sleeping while we suffer? No, but sometimes God delays his deliverance so that we will see that his saving act is truly divine and not some coincidence that can be explained away. And sometimes he allows us to go through the storm, bobbing in the waves, to develop our faith. Can you trust me, he says.
And what if no miracle materializes? Can you believe in him then? Miracles alone never brought anyone to faith. It was what Jesus said that brought people to faith. And ultimately we must put our faith in the person of Jesus Christ who bore the penalty for our sins and to provide us with salvation. Believing that God cares for you when the evidence says otherwise requires that kind of faith.
Like the prophet Habakkuk said, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior,” (Hab. 3:17-18).
AMEN
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