The Jesus Boat
one of 600 sermons by
Jackson Snyder, June 20, 2002
http://jacksonsnyder.com/arc
Mark 4:35-41
Today’s Gospel story is known as “The Calming of the Storm.” Jesus and the disciples are in a boat, crossing the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret). A great storm overtakes them and the boat is swamped with water and sinking, yet Jesus remains asleep through it all until his hysterical disciple awakes him with the words, “We are lost; don’t you care?” Jesus arises and rebukes the wind, then commands the sea to be still. Following his command, the storm abates and there is a great calm. Of course, the others in the boat are amazed that Jesus has authority over weather conditions. “Who can this be?” they ask each other in amazement.
If we turn over to Matthew’s version of the event, we find Jesus and his disciples setting out from the town of Capernaum, their headquarters. Capernaum is situated on the northern shore of the Sea. Jesus has been teaching in Capernaum, staying at Simon Peter’s house (we suppose), where he healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever (Matthew 8:14-15). Simon Peter owned a fishing business that employed several of the other disciples.
The outstanding event of our story today is that Jesus destroyed the storm. It was a miraculous sign. Skeptics today simply don’t believe that such a power was available to him. Even many Bible scholars profess that the miracles of Jesus were not historical facts, but greatly exaggerated accounts of natural occurrences, written for the purpose of converting readers. In fact, one of the most influential Bible scholars of the 20th century, whose work is studied in every mainline Bible school in the country, maintained that absolutely nothing could be known about the Jesus of history (Rudolf Bultmann) – there was just too little evidence of his life outside of the New Testament.
Searching for History
For the last two hundred years, Bible students have been looking for this Jesus of history that stands behind the Jesus of faith that we know so well. This “Quest for the Historical Jesus” (Albert Schweitzer) has taken many roads over the years, including:
· The in-depth study of both biblical and non-biblical texts relating to Jesus,
· Major attempts at locating the actual places mentioned in the Gospels, and
· Widespread archaeological digs throughout Israel in search of clues.
In the field of archaeology, there have been many stupendous discoveries that shed light the Jesus of history and his world: The evidence points more and more to the historicity and factuality of the Gospel accounts. I want to tell you about two amazing evidences that have come to light in the last twenty years, both pertain directly to Capernaum and Jesus’ forays upon the turbulent Sea of Galilee.
Simon Peter’s House
The first find is the very house in which Jesus stayed, taught and healed the mother-in-law. Yes, Simon Peter’s house has been located, identified by etchings of crosses and over one hundred graffiti in five ancient languages scattered over the foundation stones and remaining wall structures. The house has been dated to the time of Jesus by coins found within. Fishhooks were found under the pavement. A large room had been forged in the middle of the house, which had been plastered several times over, a sign of frequent use, undoubtedly as a gathering place. The walls were too weak to support a tile roof; tree branches, palm fronds and mud were used instead, reminiscent of Mark 2:1-5, the story of letting the paralyzed man down through the roof. Peter’s living room in Capernaum, right beside the seashore, is the earliest church ever found; Jesus himself was the pastor. This is indeed sensational.
The Ginnosar Boat
The second fabulous discovery was made in 1986. There had been a drought in Israel and the Sea of Galilee was at low ebb. Not far from Capernaum, buried in the mud of the lake, was found a wooden boat, which was cleared of mud, enclosed in foam and floated out. To the amazement of scientists, carbon dating revealed that this boat had been in use during the time of Jesus.
The boat was built to last from the wood of other boats. It’s ribbed, mortared and nailed together. At 26 ½ feet long, 7 ½ feet wide and 4 ½ feet high, this boat was plenty large enough to accommodate 13 men. We can’t help but speculate: could this be the very boat that held Jesus and the disciples on their journeys across the lake, the boat from which he taught the crowds, the boat from which he commanded the storm to silence? Could this be the boat? Well, maybe. To have his boat in our possession now might be a greater miracle than his stopping a little old storm. Appropriately, it became known as “The Jesus Boat.”
The discovery of Simon Peter’s house in Capernaum and the “Jesus Boat” nearby helps confirm our faith in the fact of Jesus’ historical life and ministry. Such finds and many others excite me and cause me to wonder, what’s next? What will be the upcoming, physical and historical, signs of Jesus’ life way back when and of his imminent return in our time? Time will soon tell.
Symbolism, Conflict & Resolution
In the meantime, let’s journey from the Jesus of history to the Jesus of faith. There’s a lot of symbolism in our Gospel story today to feed our imagination. The storms, with their wind, thunderings and lightenings, are universal signs of testing, trial, danger and judgment. Earlier we heard a passage from the book of Job (38). We all know his story; he had lost everything and was afflicted by Satan to the point of his crying out angrily at Yahweh,
Job 2:3. 11. Why was I not stillborn, or why did I not perish as I left the womb? 16. Or, put away like an aborted child, I should not have existed, like little ones that never see the light.
Over the course of 37 chapters, Job wrestles with his trials, reasons with his friends and rails at the Almighty. It is out of the “the heart of the tempest” that Yahweh finally answers his prayer and eventually saves him from perishing. Over the course of our own 37 chapters, every one of us faces angry seas and malicious storms; some of us are facing hurricane-force gales now. Yet it was out of the great tempest that Yahweh set Job straight in his understanding then restored his life. No doubt he tries to restore us today through our trial-storms; but are we listening? And if we are, do we heed his counsel?
Still Aboard the Boat
No doubt the terror-stricken disciples remembered Job or Jonah while the wind and rain pelted them from above, the choppy cold depths of the sea threatened below. The boat, their only safety zone, is filling with water. The disciples work madly to keep it afloat, but their own efforts are without effect. Their lives pass before them; the bars of Sheol are closing in. In the rocking madness of the situation, they just give up. Their only hope is in the strength of the boat and the little man asleep on a cushion under an oilcloth.
Like Yahweh in Job’s narrative, the Son of Yahweh rises from the death of slumber, his feet pressed hard against the floor planks of the old boat – man and ship become as one. The Jesus of history transforms into the Jesus of faith when, as with the voice of a trumpet, he commands from the heart of the tempest, "Siopa! Pefimoso!" “Peace! Be still!” (Ps 46:10) Like the Almighty at creation, he speaks and chaos becomes order – his “word controls unbridled power” (Harper’s). The storm and the waves quickly blow themselves out and peace sets in. The Bible says there was “a great calm,” for with the tempest departed the insane fears of the men on board; the crisis is over, their lives are spared.
Overcome with awe, they wonder among themselves, “Who is this master of the sea and wind?” They had been with Jesus for months and had seen other great acts of faith. So why would they wonder about his identity now? In those days people believed that the Creator took direct charge over the weather, controlling it through angelic hands. Consider John’s testimony; in a vision: “I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow” (Rev 7:1). Men didn’t possess such authority. It belonged only to G-d.
Jesus contradicts their fears; “Why are you so scared? Don’t you have any faith?” It’s as though these disciples believed something in their minds that they really didn’t believe it in their hearts: head knowledge they had, but not heart knowledge. Listen: Knowledge of something doesn’t necessarily impart faith in something.
Consider church people who, after years of prayers, sermons and rituals, put themselves entirely into the hands of doctors when they receive a poor diagnosis. Sudden, intense fear destroys knowledge. Doctors are fine for lancing a boil, but doctors can’t save you. Lawyers are fine for typing out forms, but they are of no use in pleading for your soul before the Eternal Judge. Pastors are fine for a word of encouragement, but pastors can really only pray. For what ails the soul, one must go beyond the historical, beyond the realm of site, beyond the human façade and find the Jesus of faith.
The disciples know the historical Jesus; but in the storm they meet the Jesus of faith. Despite the fear and foreboding that clutched at the windpipe of their souls, they don’t yet realize they inhabit the Jesus Boat. Calamity could come close, but no closer. The disciples’ fate was solely dependent upon that of the Sea-master. They belonged to him. Their entire lives were wrapped up in his life. Their physiologies, freedoms, fortunes, families, futures, fates, fellowships, foundations and faculties were wholly beholden to his. There was absolutely no alternative -- they dared not step out – and though their fears crumbled their knowledge and hindered their faith, they were still saved in the end because they were aboard the Jesus Boat.
I Was Done
In 1995 we took a church youth group out to one of the abandoned beaches on Perdido Key. I swam with six young people out a ways to the sand bar. I carried the smallest boy out on my back. The water in the gulf in early May was pretty cold and I miscalculated how much energy it would take. By the time I got to the sand bar, I was exhausted. Soon a strong current carried us out into water that was over our heads. “What do we do now?” one of the boys cried. I said, “Everyone’s on their own. If you get back, send a boat for me.” The boys all started dog paddling toward the shore, which looked to be a mile away. I prayed they would make it, but I was too tired to go with them.
I tread water and tried to float. Because of the current, these efforts played out the little strength I had left. After what seemed like ages, I heard a loud engine -- an ultra-light plane flew just 20 feet above me. The pilot must have seen me, but there was nothing he could do to save me. I felt frozen, and started to realize I might die at sea. I cried out, “Jesus, I am lost. Save me.” My life flashed before my eyes. Had the boys made it back? I thought about portrayals of drowning on TV. I prayed the Lord’s Prayer between gasps for breath. As I began to sink, there was only one line that crossed my mind again and again: “Deliver us from evil. Deliver us from evil. Deliver us from evil.” I put myself in His hands and resigned to fate. I was going down! It was at this last moment that I heard a faint voice:
“Brother Jackson – It’s Troy! I’m over here, and I have a boat!” Hearing the voice brought a new burst of strength. Troy, a fifteen-year-old, had come back for me. But how could he have found a boat on that barren beach? His “boat” turned out to be a tiny vinyl toy inflated with just enough air to keep him afloat. It was almost filled with water. But that yellow vinyl boat looked like a Coast Guard Cutter to me, and Troy was like the young Jesus. All I could do was grab hold while Troy paddled us back in. I was saved in the nick of time by the Jesus Boat. However, had Troy never returned, and had I drowned, I would have still been saved.
Are You In The Boat?
Friend, when it comes to sink or swim, neither option is very appealing. You can only tread water so long until you sink. To know about Jesus, who lived in Capernaum, preached from a boat and stilled the storm, is good. Yet when it comes to your salvation, knowledge takes a back seat to true faith. You need to surrender to him now while there is still time. You need to invite him into heart-fellowship today. This might be your last opportunity before the currents of life’s uncertainties draw you out farther and farther from the shores of perfect peace. Won’t you finally step into the Jesus Boat today? Won’t you accept his gift to you right now while we’re between tempests? Of course you will. Let’s invite him in.
{invitational prayer}
