0957 Mk.4.35-41 The Awesome Power of Jesus Pt.1
Notes
Transcript
Superhero photo: “And that is how I saved the world”
We are so familiar with these surrogate superheros & they really conform well to the world’s view of what it means to conquer with force
Of course, they fall short because they think saving people only happens when you smash & subdue
Jesus saves people from eternal judgement, not from smash & subdue, but by letting Himself be smashed & subdued
What a contrast! But the real difference lies between the temporal & the eternal
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What I mean by temporal is that for many people, life ends at death - there’s nothing more - therefore, everything must be about this life & this life only
On the other hand, the eternal means that life continues after death - therefore, everything must be about eternity
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The superheros we see at the cinema & on TV for the most part save people temporarily
That is, they save them only for this life
They do nothing & cannot do anything of eternal value
This is why there is such a distinction between Jesus & the superheros that are constructed by man’s imagination
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However, Jesus is not some inept Saviour who only submits to being smashed & subdued by those who hate Him
He will also show that He was not just born as a man, but is the incarnation of God Himself - God in the flesh
Being God, He has the power to conform everything according to His purposes
1. When Fear Displaces Faith Mk.4:37
1. When Fear Displaces Faith Mk.4:37
Galilee has a large freshwater lake but it is more of an inland sea & its called the Sea of Galilee
This sea is subject to sudden violent storms that rush down from the north over the Golan River that feeds into the Sea
Open fishing boats with low sides shows just how venerable these fishing boats can be
One such 2000 yr old boat was discovered buried underwater in the Sea in 1986 & it is now preserved and presented in the Kibbutz Museum at Ginosar (which is the biblical Gennesarat)
From the Jesus boat website, we read… (but show boat)
In 1986, two brothers from the Kibbutz have discovered the remains of the ancient boat on the northwest shore of the Sea of the Galilee. 27 feet long and 7.5 feet wide, the boat was constructed of ten different kinds of wood, and was meant to allow fishing close to the shore. The extraction and preservation process of the boat was long and complex, and now it can be seen at the Kibbutz's museum.
https://www.jesusboat.com/ginosar-home-of-jesus-boat/
This shows that the fishing boats on the Sea of Galilee are great for fishing, but not so good or riding out a violent storm
This fierce gale of wind caused the waves to start breaking over the boat & filling it up with water
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Interestingly, in this account, you see 2 sides to Jesus
He has divine power, but He’s fast asleep at the stern of the boat
Apparently the boats have a raised section where Jesus could lie down on a cushion for a nap
For this level of detail, you would have to say that it is given by an eyewitness account?
Actually, Mark’s Gospel is said by church historical writings to be the eyewitness accounts from the apostle Peter
Mark wrote down what Peter relayed to him, so Mark’s Gospel can equally be said to be the Gospel According to Peter
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Q. Why was Jesus asleep?
For good reason - remember when He got home to Capernaum that the crowd was so intense that He couldn’t even eat a meal - what chance, then, did He have of having a sleep
It seems that sheer physical exhaustion has caused Jesus to sleep soundly in the stern of the boat
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Q. How long can a person stay asleep through a violent storm?
I dare say the rocking of the boat may have helped in the sleep situation
I remember when I had to travel up to Springbrook as an apprentice Carpenter - up in the Hinterland of the Gold Coast - about a 45 min drive
Both me & the other apprentice carpenter would have to lie down in the back tray of the ute so we wouldn’t be seen (no seat belts)
There were not enough seats to go round in the Ute
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Well, after a days work, me & the apprentice would be lying down asleep before 5 mins down the road & then had to be woken up after we arrived back at Southport
The rocking of the vehicle was sleep inducing which is probably why mothers rock their babies to sleep
Jesus was in a deep, deep, sleep which explains why they needed to wake Him up even though the boat was beginning to fill with water
Now most of you know that it is excruciatingly unpleasant when someone wakes you up, when you are not ready to be woken up - isn’t that right Elly, Evie?
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So the fact that Jesus was still sleep at this point is entirely understandable
What is not understandable is the lack of faith of His disciples
These are the insiders - the ones who get given the knowledge of the kingdom
Yet, now they are acting like outsiders
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There’s a miracle here - not what you think
That Jesus didn’t bite their heads off is amazing
When you get woken suddenly, your mode is usually not good
Especially, when someone is tearing strips off you
Jesus merely asks, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith”
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But, what we find here is that the fear of dying has overcome the disciples
Jesus may be good at healing people & even driving out demons, but can He really save us from the forces of nature?
The mark of a true disciple of Jesus is to respond to a crisis with full confidence in Him
Rather, the disciples fear causes them to display a lack of faith in His ability
2. The Blame Game of Insufficient Faith Mk4:38
2. The Blame Game of Insufficient Faith Mk4:38
Q. How has this lack of faith displayed itself, however?
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?”
Now… However you look at this statement, it was not friendly
It was laced with sarcasm for His lack of awareness of, or indifference to, the danger that confronts them
One commentator translates the impertinence of His disciples with this translation
The Gospel of Mark (a) The Subduing of the Sea. Ch. 4:35–41
“Teacher, are we to drown for all you care?
Their inability to see who Jesus really is has led them down this path
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I’m reminded of the faithless Israelites who after seeing what God did through Moses with the 10 plagues of Egypt & the miraculous division of the waters of the Red Sea, to then accuse Moses & God of bringing them into the wilderness with the direct intention of killing them because they were thirsty
Save them miraculously to then kill them - I don’t know about how they could put 2 & 2 together & come up with 5 on that one
I’m reminded of Adam who says to God “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”
The audacity of men & women who would speak to God in this way - I hope we don’t ever do it
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Im also reminded of Jonah who faced a similar storm out to sea & was asleep & had to be waken by the sailors
5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. 6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”
Sorry, Cap, but I’m your problem, not the storm
Jonah was asked to pray to His God; the disciples, to their credit assumed that Jesus would know what to do
However, there lack of faith was seen in their fear of dying
That may seem quite a normal reaction, but Jesus was right there with them in the boat
3. The Power of God in the Power of Jesus Mk.4:39
3. The Power of God in the Power of Jesus Mk.4:39
Q. What are we to see here?
39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
He speaks to the sea & the wind as if they are living beings
We call this figure of speech, anthropomorphism
He rebukes the wind & the sea as if they are badly behaving loud mouths
It’s like He’s saying, “Knock it off” - crudely put
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This is similar to His stern warnings to demons to be silent
25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
To rebuke is to cast blame, as in this case today, blame on the wild, wild, weather
No one likes to receive a rebuke since to receive rebuke is to receive blame
When a person gives a rebuke, they’re taking the high ground
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Most people have seen Forrest Gump and Lieutenant Dan who was up the top of the crows nest of a fishing trailer in a violent storm cursing at God
He’d lost his legs in the Vietnam war & had a resentful spirit against God
They survived the storm, but that storm put all the other shrimping vessels out of business & so Lieutenant Dan & Forrest Gump scooped the pool
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Jesus wants His people to come to a position of faith/trust in Him that causes us to have confidence that God will take care of us & will do all He has said
Unlike Lieutenant Dan, cursing at God because of a storm thinking that God is playing vindictive games
It actually had more to do with a person’s disappointment with life
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Jesus’ disciples in the boat failed to recognise who Jesus really is
They may have understood Him as Messiah, but they could not accept that He is the living God incarnate
Jesus wants us to exhibit such faith that we become utterly convinced & confident because we understand that Jesus is God in the flesh & has made the promise & has the power to keep us for all eternity
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As we look at the OT, the only One who can tame the weather is God
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
9 Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, And He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither; The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
Notice what is common here - the Lord rebuked the sea & made it dry; at His rebuke the waters fled; He rebuked the Red Sea & it dried up - & the Israelites passed through on dry ground
Jesus is doing more than just stopping the storm with a rebuke, He is saying something about Himself
Q. If God, in the OT rebukes the waters & they obey Him; what does it mean when this Jesus rebukes the waters & it obeys Him?
I think there is a real point being made here
“The elements have found their Master … This man is more powerful than the forces of nature … Christ is the one who commands nature as its Lord and King. Thus the unconditional lordship of Jesus is powerfully revealed in this ‘ἐπιτιμᾶν’ (rebuke)” - E. Stauffer
So the point here being made is that faith in Jesus’ power is indistinguishable from faith in God’s power
This was not just a demonstration of power; it was an epiphany (“an appearance or manifestation...of a divine being)
What is true of the God of Israel is true of Jesus
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This photo was meaningful to me as a young Christian
I’m not into art, but as I look at this photo, I get a lot of meaning from it
Likewise, in early Christian church art, the church was depicted as a boat out in the dangerous, tossed about sea with Jesus their in the middle - showing that there was nothing to fear
4. Being Afraid, Being Very Afraid Mk.4:40-41
4. Being Afraid, Being Very Afraid Mk.4:40-41
41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
The disciples have been in flap, in fear of their lives being lost at sea
Jesus said, “Why are you so afraid”?
But in response to the wind instantly dying down & the sea becoming perfectly calm at His word, the disciples fear, didn’t disappear
You would have thought that relief would have over them - oh, the sea is calm
But no, they became “very much” afraid
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The word is mega in the Greek - mega fear - meaning greater than the fear that they had of drowning
Sorry, I don’t like the ESV’s translation at this point - “filled with awe” - just doesn’t seem to cut it
Lexham Bible: “they were terribly frightened”
NIV: “they were terrified” - I believe are on the mark here!
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Q. What gave them so much more fear?
It can be summed up in the disciples statement
“Who o o then is this, that even the wind & the sea obey Him”
Perhaps, this mega fear is along the lines of what Jesus said here
4 “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. 5 “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
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This is not the only time people have been amazed & freaked out by Jesus’ authority & power
When He was driving out evil spirits...
26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
15 They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened.
Here the women who came to the tomb & were confronted with the angel & the truth that Jesus had been raised from the dead...
8 They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
These kinds of responses are appropriate when faced with a display of divine power or glory
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This miracle on the Sea of Galilee is the first nature miracle in Mark’s Gospel
That Jesus calmed the storm by a mere word is vastly different in kind from healing people & driving out demons
The Jews practised exorcisms & they had their physicians
Granted that their exorcisms with elaborate rituals with the use of charms, amulets, drugs, and prescribed ritual procedures were only partially successful
David played the harp for Saul that only partially relieved the torment from the evil spirit that overcame him
Likewise, their physicians were only able to treat the most lightest of sicknesses & they did this with natural medicines
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But what Jesus did went way beyond the abilities of the exorcists & physicians of the day
Jesus was able to give TOTAL healing & TOTAL removal of demons
Even after Jesus ascended to God, He used His apostles to demonstrate His resurrection - that He is alive - through giving them supernatural ability to heal & to drive out demons - which showed that Jesus is alive
We have an incident in the city of Ephesus where some Jewish exorcists were seeing the success of Paul & they were trying to emulate what Paul did
To their shock, they were forced to realise that what Paul was doing was not based on some elaborate ritual, but on His appointment as representative of the risen Jesus
13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.
So healings & exorcisms are incredible displays of power, but nature miracles, I suggest, takes this power up to another level altogether
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Some have objected & have tried to raise the point that storms can dissipate on the sea of Galilee as fast as they can come
But what some of these doubting commentators fail to understand is the reaction of Jesus’ disciples
Remember, these men are experienced fisherman who have lived their whole lives around the Sea of Galilee
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To His disciples, it could not have been more clear
This was an act of God, not some natural movement of the storm
“Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm… The disciples became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
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Forest for the trees; forest for the trees
We ought to not fail to see what this nature miracle is presenting
It is saying something about Jesus that takes Him up to the level of God
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There are plenty of things to fear in life, but these disciples, while like us, feared for their lives with the probability of being drowned
Once things became calm, their fears ratcheted up another level
Here, all around them, was perfect calmness, yet they had mega fear
Their fear was not the elements of nature, but the Person of Jesus Christ
“Who then is this, that ever the wind & sea obey Him”
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Q. Who then is this? When we come to chapter 8 in Mk’s Gospel, that question is put to the disciples
27 Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” 29 And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
Matthew adds to that… “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
This question - Who then is this Jesus is squarely put to all who read the Gospels
Who do you say that Jesus is; what response would you give?
Importantly, what have you done, or are going to do, in response to the Person of Jesus Christ? Each of us have to make a response to Him