Not by Sight, Keep your Sight
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Bible Verse
Bible Verse
Mark 4:35-41
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, 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?”
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
My message for you is to gird and ground you for the year 2022.
I have titled it “Not by Sight, Keep Your Sight”
To give you a new, fresh, perspective of Jesus
It is to encourage you to move through the year with peace at the forefront of your mind knowing that Jesus is with you.
It is to remind you to turn your attention to Jesus and put Him at the centre
Context
Context
The synoptic gospels i.e., Matthew and Luke present similar accounts of this event
There are unique nuances in the way Matthew (Matthew 8:23–27) and Luke (Luke 8:22–25) presents this event when compared with Mark
Matthew’s account has summarised feel to it. It is concise, abbreviated, and succinct.
Luke’s account speaks from the position of a third party. It is loose, approximate, and relative. It seems a bit removed.
But Mark’s account is vivid having a semblance of eyewitness testimony. It is direct, impactful, detailed, individualized, circumstantiated, authentic, and specific.
These nuance is what makes the text so personal and human. You can feel it and associate with it.
As a nascent Christian, I am learning to walk or realistically and sincerely crawl in the spirit.
When a baby walks for the first time, he/she needs to hold the hand of the parent for support or he/she needs to lean on some support structure. You often notice that what the baby is leaning on is stable, firm, sturdy, reassuring, secure. The baby implicitly trusts that object. However, after 1 or 2 falls, while holding the object, the baby cautiously still leans on the object but this time in a more intentional manner for support.
The disciples had their sight on Jesus but did not have their sights on Jesus because they were nascent
There are nuggets that I want to exposit to you from this text for the application in your lives
Let us Cross Over to The Other Side
Let us Cross Over to The Other Side
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
Jesus gives an instruction to cross over to the other side and the disciples willingly follow Him
They were crossing over a body of water called “the sea of Galilee”
The sea of Galilee is surrounded by two mountains, the mount Arbela and the Golan Heights and these are responsible for creating the winds that blow over the lake and produce ferocious storms. The lake itself is located 690 feet below sea level; it is 15 miles long and six miles wide
In our lives, to get to a desired destination, we need to cross over something. We may need to put in extra effort to make that crossing
Sometimes, crossing over entails making big and bold decisions and this does not come without its risks and hazards
Yet in 2022, God is telling us “Let us cross over to the other side” but it does not mean the crossing will be altogether smooth
When the disciples got into that boat with Jesus, they must have felt really pleased, happy, joyous and excited. After all the Messiah is here in my boat, they must have said
They were doing the thing that had always done all their lives i.e., sailing a boat across the sea. So, no big deal here. But this time they were with Jesus!
This may sound reassuring, but not quite as we shall see...
The Lailap
The Lailap
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 windstorm is transliterated in Greek as lailaps: meaning “a sudden storm, hurricane, whirlwind”
Barely had they started their journey, trouble struck!
Verse 37 say that a great windstorm, a Lailap (a sudden storm, hurricane, whirlwind), arose and the waves were spilling into the boat but notice the next verse, verse 38, says “But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow”
The stern is the rear part of a ship
In these boats, the place for any distinguished stranger is on a seat placed at the stern, where a carpet or cushions are arranged
What is most intriguing in this is the fact that He, Jesus, sleeps comfortably in this raging tempest - this is a paradox, an anomaly!
How is it that He is able to sleep in such a manner?
Why was he sleeping so soundly?
It can’t just be that he was too tired because that kind of storm will wake up the dead!
He was able to sleep so soundly because | But that He is the creator of all creation and His creation cannot supersede the Creator. Therefore He slept because of [what I call] the Untroubled Serenity of Divine Omnipotence
Don’t You Care?
Don’t You Care?
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, 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?”
The NIV version translates as:
38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
In all to that commotion, the disciples did not recognise the Untroubled Serenity of Divine Omnipotence
There are times when it feels like it’s just one thing after another. It makes you wonder if God is on vacation and He’s not close to you after all. This is because our sight of Jesus is clouded and blurred by the trouble
We call out but we don’t hear a response. Then the questions begin:
Don’t you care if we perish, don’t you care if we drown!
Don’t you care…
Can’t you see my hardship…
Can’t you see my pain…
Can’t you see my struggles…
Can’t you see my hurt...
Can’t you see my fears...
I personally suffer from anxiety. I worry a lot. I worry because of uncertainty. I worry if things I do or plan does not go the way I want them to go. I worry about what might happen if I lose my job, I will not be able to look after my children and buy them beautiful things. I worry about my health, I worry about my wife, I worry about my kids, I worry about my brothers, I worry about the church. I just worry!
I have adopted a technique where daily I meditate on this text and one word that jumps out is PEACE!
The word is Siōpaō” - (see-o-pah´-o) in Greek meaning “to be silent, keep silence, hold one’s peace”
Jesus wakes up and says “Siōpaō” - (see-o-pah´-o) be silent, keep silence, hold your peace!
Peace - Hush - Quiet!
The question is, Who was He responding/replying to?
He responds, not only to inanimate things, i.e. the wind, but to animate things, the people (disciples)
Don’t you care if we perish, don’t you care if we drown!…HUSH
Don’t you care…HUSH
Can’t you see my hardship…HUSH
Can’t you see my pain…HUSH
Can’t you see my struggles…HUSH
Can’t you see my hurt…HUSH
Can’t you see my fears…HUSH.
He is not just speaking to the situation, but he is speaking to you as well…saying HUSH
Jesus then asks a difficult question; “Why are you so fearful?”
This is akin to asking a swimmer, “why are you wet”
Illustrate the swimmer conundrum
Imagine taking your son, daughter, friend, or anyone at all to the swimming pool. You watch he/she get into the water and you cheer/praise them as they swim the whole length of the pool. When they come out, you then ask them, “Why are you wet?”
Literally, this question is absurd but theologically it is very significant
To understand, let us backtrack:
1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.
2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.
5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.
6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.
7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
33 And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.
34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
The disciples have just been to church…they have heard the sermon…they are excited by the sermon…but when the real test comes…Jesus asks the difficult question; “Why are you so fearful?”…answer: because the tribulation, cares, worries, fear makes the word unfruitful
Jesus completed the lesson and then gave His disciples an unexpected examination! They had listened to the Word of God, and that Word should have increased their faith (Rom. 10:17). Alas, they failed the test!
The disciples had their sight on Jesus, but they did not have their SIGHTS on Jesus
The disciples were in the boat with Jesus but Jesus was not in the boat with them
In essence, You may be in God’s will but God’s will is not in you
In essence, Jesus was in their physical space but not in their personal space
In essence, Jesus was in their material space but not in their intimate space
In 2022 we are to: hear the word, learn the word, explain the word, exegete the word and apply the word
Where is Your Faith?
Where is Your Faith?
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
We have seen the disciples lost and forgot all they had heard and learned
So Jesus asked; “how is it that you have no faith”
The disciples had their sight on Jesus but did not have their sights on Jesus because they were nascent, distracted, preoccupied, bugged, immersed with what was going on around them
A boy and his grandmother got into a plane. When the plane took off it reached its cruising level. Suddenly, the plane got into violent turbulence which rocked the plane. Everyone on the plane started praying, confessing, bringing out bibles, pamphlets, crosses etc, making the sign of the cross etc.
The grandmother was hanging on to dear life, but the boy was just there playing with his iPhone. The grandmother became so livid and said to the boy, why are you not scared, don’t you know the plane might crash? The boy turned to the grandmother and said, grandma, the pilot of the plane is my father!
Faith is a tool that was to be exploited by the disciples in their time of trouble
11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
God says, “why are you crying out to me (verse 15)”, but the book does not tell us where and when Moses cried. All it shows is Moses was speaking (preaching) to the people
Moses was crying for a miracle but the miracle was in his hands
God tells Moses to raise his staff over the sea
In essence:
The miracle is in our hands but we might just need to be told that we have it
for Matthew - For some of us the miracle is in our hands, but we just need a nudge from someone to tell us that it is in our hands
We have the tools for a great transformation, but we need to exploit it
An Exceeding Fear
An Exceeding Fear
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 disciples were no longer afraid of dying but were now more afraid of who was with them
This was a profound experience of the disciples
If He saves you from the trouble, then He can make bigger trouble for you. So fear Him!
What this verse simple states is “Set Your Priorities Right”
Many Christians today receive miracles or are miracle focused. They expect that to be a given. They see miracles as the condition on which they come to Jesus. If there is a miracle, I will worship, if there is none, then it is not worth my time!
We have to be very careful when we ask/pray for a miracle. When we get it, we would do well to fear the giver of the miracle!
It is the greatest opportunity to express our true worship to Him
Put Jesus at the Centre
Put Jesus at the Centre
Many people want to follow Jesus because it feels cool, comforting, secure, fresh, fitting. So, we hop into the boat.
But following Jesus is a test of our faith. It is a test of how long we can endure with Him.
Being in the boat with Jesus will not calm the storm
But Jesus being in the boat WITH you will calm the storm i.e., Jesus being in my circumstances, situations, life
In 2022, let us burn with a new fire
A Holy desire for Jesus
Let us turn our attention to Jesus
Let us put Jesus at the centre, and not at the stern
Let us put Jesus at the centre...
The One that's worthy to be praised, worthy of honour, worthy to receive; glory, wisdom, power, and strength.
When there is a Lailaps:
You don’t want Him in the stern, you want Him near
When there is a Lailaps:
You don’t want to make Him a stranger but a friend
When there is a Lailaps:
You don’t just want to venerate Him but build a relationship with Him
When there is a Lailaps:
You want to remember “Untroubled Serenity of Divine Omnipotence”
KEEP YOUR SIGHT AND LET US CROSS OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE!
God Bless You All