The Gospel of Mark Part 19
Notes
Transcript
What do you do in a crisis?
What is your very first impulse?
How is our faith supposed to intersect with our day-to-day lives?…What does it mean to walk by faith?
These are the things that this passage helps us think about.
Jesus has been teaching from a boat during this entire chapter.
So Mark has been giving us a chronological sequence, with the exception of Mark 4:10-20 and Mark 4:33-34.
These sections are excerpts of Jesus’ private teaching ministry to His disciples only.
It was possible that the explanation of the parable of the sower (Mark 4:10-20) happened here in the boat as they began to cross over.
And now Jesus finishes His public teaching for the day and is going to be teaching the disciples something from the boat, but it won’t be parables or explanation of parables…it will be teaching by demonstration - a massive object lesson in faith.
I. Command and Crossing
I. Command and Crossing
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.
So we have that phrase, “On the same day”, indicating that all of the previous teaching did indeed happen on the same day.
In Jewish tradition, evening is the end of one day and the beginning of the next day, not midnight as we practice today…so Jesus is saying, “Another day in the books (literally)…time to go!”
Remember that Jesus was always obeying the Father…so why was it now time to cross over?…why not wait until morning?…because the Father had said so - it was time to go…there was more to do on the other side of Lake Galilee.
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
Here is Jesus’ command and we need to keep this with us throughout this entire passage.
Jesus has commanded His men to a duty - a calling to leave one place and go somewhere else.
Sometimes Jesus will call us to “cross over to the other side.”…and His commands are to be obeyed by faith.
This is what the disciples (and us) often miss -
God’s commands are also God’s promises.
God’s commands are also God’s promises.
When a human authority commands another human to do something, there is usually a plan in place and an objective or goal to accomplish and even some directions and even tools for completing the task. But a human authority cannot prepare for every possible circumstance.
But God can, and does!
Mark 4:35 (NKJV)
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
Notice, it is not “You guys cross over...”, it is “Let US cross over.”.
When God sends us anywhere, it is always, “Let US go there.”…it is never, “YOU go somewhere.”.
You cannot separate God’s commands from His promises!
When God commands an action, it always comes with a promise of His presence to complete that action.
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.
Now they leave the multitude…they are finally getting away from the crowds.
Jesus’ public ministry was closing down for the day, but His personal ministry never stopped! His disciples were constantly with Him or close by Him. (the exceptions were when He went off alone to pray and when He sent them out on mission.)
So they launch out across the lake, probably in multiple boats because the one in which Jesus had been teaching from was not large enough to hold everyone…Jesus, 12 disciples, and the other disciples with them.
II. Crisis and Questioning
II. Crisis and Questioning
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?”
The word for “windstorm” here could be translated “hurricane”.
windstorm: megas (great) lailaps (fierce whirlwind)
windstorm: megas (great) lailaps (fierce whirlwind)
Mark wants his readers to understand just how fierce this storm really was.
Remember that Mark likely recieved the eyewitness information for this storm from Peter himself.
Mark 4:37 (NKJV)
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
This was terrifying!
Imagine the scene - it was calm and peaceful when you left Capernaum…Jesus laid down and is sleeping peacefully…your mind is pondering all the parables and teaching that you have heard all day…and then the clouds start to roll in…it all happened so fast. The water went from calm and peaceful to a violent, dangerous, dark tempest…and it is beginning to fill the boat and threaten to sink it!
Waves have been recorded on the Sea of Galilee as high as ten feet!
And Jesus is still asleep!
This is a perfect reminder that Jesus was indeed fully human.
He grew weary, hungry, and thirsty just like we do.
He knows what it is like to work to the point of exhaustion and then collapse.
Mark 4:38 (NKJV)
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?”
This question is a window into the hearts of the men in the boat.
This is not primarily a question of Jesus’ abilities or His power...
The disciples were questioning Jesus’ love for them!
The question is rhetorical and even sarcastic.
It is the tone of people that are frustrated and desperate…How can you sleep at a time like this?!?
Jesus’ power is about to be put on display, but here, His humility is on display- He expresses nothing but tolerance for His followers’ frustration…and I am so thankful for that!
Imagine reprimanding God!!…Yet that is exactly what they did. Should not His response have been, “who do yo think you are talking to?” and “Don’t you know who I am?”…but that’s not what Jesus does here…He helps them in spite of their disrespect for Him.
Jesus was aware of their weakness and fear...And Jesus is the same…yesterday, today, and forever more.
Like the disciples, we to find ourselves in a state of panic and anger because it seems like God is asleep.
Some of us are in a storm right now…wondering when it will end.
It seems like God has fallen asleep…why was there a storm that day on Galilee anyway??…weren’t the disciples doing exactly what Jesus asked them to do?
Weren’t they walking in obedience to His commands?…so WHY THE STORM?
This storm seems like it only lasted a short time, but some of your storms have been lasting for weeks or months or even years…where is God in your storm?
Isn’t He supposed to calm the storms of our lives?
The fact is, obedience often brings storms.
John 16:33 (NKJV)
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
This is the promise…there will be storms…yes, Jesus has won, but the storms will come nonetheless.
III. Commands and Calming
III. Commands and Calming
Mark 4:39–40 (NKJV)
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
Here is the climax of this passage - the storm is calmed and Jesus addresses the hearts of the disciples.
“rebuke”: ἐπιτιμάω epitimaō - to express strong disapproval of someone, rebuke, reprove, censure also speak seriously, warn in order to prevent an action or bring one to an end
Jesus has already used this language previously in Mark.
Here He used it against a demon:
Mark 1:25 (NKJV)
25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
And here the same word is translated “sternly warned”:
Mark 3:12 (NKJV)
12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
And now Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves:
Mark 4:39 (NKJV)
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
Jesus is using language here that would be used against a person or being.
Here, He is in essence saying, “Be quiet! Shut up!”
The Hebrew equivalent was used at the Red Sea, as Psalm 106:9 says:
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; So He led them through the depths, As through the wilderness.
<Let’s open to Psalm 107:23-32>
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
And here we have the heart of the problem for the disciples and if we are honest, with us.
It was not wrong for them to ask Jesus for help…it was not wrong for them to wake Him up...
It WAS wrong for them to question His care for them.
They had asked Him, “Do You not care that we are perishing?”
This showed a lack of faith.
The correct response to the storm is to ask Him to help IN and BY FAITH!
Remember, God’s commands always come with God’s promises.
The often asked question is “Why suffering?”…Why did Jesus send them across the lake when there would be a major storm?
What is the purpose of suffering?
Out on the sea that day, Peter had not learned the answer to that question, but eventually, he did:
1 Peter 5:10 (NKJV)
10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
These are four of the results of suffering:
The Results of Suffering:
Perfect
Do you remember what James and John were doing when Jesus called them?…they were mending their nets (Mk. 1:19). That is the same word Peter uses here…to mend, strengthen, repair, refit
The Results of Suffering:
Perfect
Establish
This means to set fast, in a certain position or direction, to make stand immovable
The Results of Suffering:
Perfect
Establish
Strengthen
To make someone more able to engage in or undergo certain experiences
The Results of Suffering:
Perfect
Establish
Strengthen
Settle
This word means to ground, or render firm and unwavering; to lay a foundation
These are the purposes of suffering for the believer.
The unbeliever suffers in vain because they lack the connection to the Lord by the Spirit that enables these good things to come out of suffering.
IV. Concern and Questioning
IV. Concern and Questioning
Let’s go back to the previous verse again:
Mark 4:39 (NKJV)
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
the thing about Jesus’ commands to the storm is that they are obeyed IMMEDIATELY…don’t miss that!
Most storms have a gradual decline…but this happened INSTANTLY.
And that is what brought the reaction from the disciples.
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Before, during the storm, the disciples were afraid for their lives…they were afraid of the waves and the water and they began to suspect that Jesus might not care about them after all.
Now their fear is renewed, but it is of a different sort.
Jesus used a word more like “cowardly” when He asked about their fear of the storm.
But this fear is more like a sense of awe…like when the shepherds were greeted by the angels on the hillside of Bethlehem:
Luke 2:9 (NKJV)
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Notice their question to one another regarding Jesus’ identity: “Who can this be”...”What manner of man is this?”.
That is really the question that Mark’s gospel was written to answer.
The identity of Jesus has been questioned already in Mark:
27 Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
24 And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
So, who is Jesus to you?…What is His true identity?
Mark is painting a portrait of Christ titled, “The Suffering Servant”, and all of these questions find their answer in Christ…the Messiah and Savior of the world.