Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he 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?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"

Doubts, fears, anxieties, worries and any other concern that plagues us beat us about day after day. We worry about what we are going to eat, drink and wear. We worry about what people think of us. We worry about the economy. We worry about our dinners. We worry about our children. We worry about our church. And why do we worry? Is it because we have little faith? Is it because our God is not big enough in our minds?

Well, I think this passage answers these questions for us, and we will see it in four ways. Jesus planning the trip. The trouble on the trip. Jesus rebuking the trouble. The response to Jesus.

First, we see that it was Jesus who planned for the disciples to go across to the other side. This storm did not catch Jesus off guard, He knew all about it, and in fact, He planned so that it would happen in order to demonstrate His power.

Second, we see the trouble on the trip. The windstorm came and was blowing and breaking the boat about. The most important thing to note is that this was real trouble. It wasn’t as if the disciples were making this up. Rather, they watched as the waves were breaking into the boat, and the boat was filling up with water. Thus, we can see that this was real trouble and real difficultly. What then is the reaction of the disciples? they run to Jesus and immediately accuse Him of not caring about them. Isn’t this what we do when things go bad? We immediately wonder where our God is and why He would allow such a thing like this to happen to us?

Third, we see Jesus rebuking the trouble. What does He do, but overcomes the storm. He tells the wind to cease, and the sea to calm. This is Jesus Christ, the great Creator of heaven and earth, with power over both of them. After calming the storm and the sea, Jesus asks them why they were afraid when they had the Maker in the boat with them. He then asks them if they have faith.

Finally, the response to this is absolute amazement and awe. For who is it that can control the elements? Who is it that has such power that both the wind and the sea obey Him? The obvious answer to this question, which is rhetorical, I think, is that it is the Lord Sabaoth. It is the great I AM. It is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. It is the Maker of heaven and earth, the Wonder of the Universe, and the Bright Morning star.

The obvious response of the disciples should be worship, and that should be our obvious response. Not only is our God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, He is the maker of heaven and earth, and all things in heaven and earth must obey Him and submit to Him. So not only should this elicit our worship, but we should also remember that Jesus Christ is in the boat with us. He is by our side. We have nothing to fear. We have nothing to worry about, because Jesus is with us.

Let us praise God now for the fact that He is the maker and ruler of the universe, all things must submit and obey Him, and that He is in our lives with us. Christ is in the boat of life. Let us have faith and believe this.