“He’s Amazing! Who Is He?”
Mark 4:35-1
Life is filled with what we call ‘bad days.’ This bad day account was supposedly taken from an actual insurance claim report. It’s highly doubtful but worth thinking about. Mr. Insured had just purchased a new 7509cc Honda motorcycle. After a few leisurely trips around the block to become acquainted with this powerful new machine, he parked the cycle in front of his home to show it off to his neighbors. It started to rain, however, and not wanting to get the cycle wet, Mr. Insured decided to bring the cycle into his house. He put down several large boards over the front steps to make a ramp. He started the cycle up and drove up the ramp, but being unfamiliar with the power of his new cycle, he lost control on the porch, crashed through the front door and into the television set. He sustained a fractured collarbone and the living room was covered with gasoline and oil. The ambulance took him to the local hospital and while he was there his wife and daughter cleaned up the debris, soaked up the gasoline in towels, and wrung them out in the toilet. Several hours later Mr. Insured returned home, full casted from neck to waist. Soon he went into the bathroom, where he lit a cigarette; he tossed the match into the toilet…Needless to say the ambulance was called again. As they were carrying the battered and burned Mr. Insured out of the house one of the medics asked his wife what happened. Upon hearing the story both medics broke out laughing, slipped on the wet porch and dropped Mr. Insured, fracturing his arm. On the way to the hospital the ambulance was involved in an accident, but at least there were no further injuries. Talk about a bad day! The motorcycle was sold the next day! Often life does not go according to our plans.
So the disciples learned. On this day, recorded in Mark 4, everything was going well – until the unexpected happened. Let’s look at some lessons the disciples learned.
First they learned that STORMS COME WITH LIFE. No one is exempt from them. For the disciples it had been another busy day of ministry. Jesus had spent himself teaching, healing, and dealing with the crowds. He was exhausted. So the disciples took him into a boat and headed for the other side of the sea where they could all be refreshed and renewed.
And it was a perfect night. The wind had died down when the sun had set; the water was like glass. It didn’t take long for the lapping of the gentle waves to lull the weary Jesus to sleep and to relax the tired disciples. But EVEN THOSE CLOSEST TO JESUS EXPERIENCE STORMS. Without warning, the wind began to blow and quickly increased in intensity. Soon the rain poured down and the disciples began working frantically to keep the boat afloat and on course. Eventually the boat took on water and they began to bail. They were frightened. To top it off they were also frustrated that their Master, who could have been of help, was still sleeping. When they finally hit the panic stage they shouted to Jesus and roused him from his sleep. And because they were so frightened and frustrated they judged Jesus as they called to him. They actually condemned him: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” How can you sleep? Here we are, your beloved disciples — who have given up everything to follow you – and we’re about to drown while you sleep! What kind of deal is this? Wake up and help us! We cannot do it alone!
What a scene! The disciples had seen his miracles, heard his teachings, and left everything to follow him; now they ask if Jesus if He cared about them! We wonder what got into them, what possessed them. And yet we know – storms, after all, come with life.
SO WE EXPERIENCE STORMS IN OUR LIVES. Just read the papers or listen to the news. An airplane crashes and all on board are killed; does God care? A preschooler wanders out the door and drowns in a swimming pool; does God care? A youngster walks his bike down along the side of the road, and is hit by a car and dies; does God care? A policeman lays down spikes to stop a fleeing car and the driver of the car runs him over and kills him; does God care? Men are being massacred, women raped, and families forced to drop everything and leave their homeland; does God care? Young men and women, leaving families behind, are asked to go serve in war-torn areas and put their lives at risk; does God care?
And what about the storm produced fears we frequently experience? We need to go to a meeting for work where everyone will be a stranger; our spouse or child is 2 hours late coming home – and it’s dark; 2 houses in our neighborhood have been burglarized in the last three weeks; our child is seriously ill and the prognosis in unknown; the cancer is gone but there’s no guarantee it won’t come back; the road is covered with ice and the car behind us won’t get off our bumper; our company is going to lay off 200 people in the next two months; we’re home alone and hear a strange noise outside the window; our child is starting to hang around with a crowd of which we do not approve; we’re moving to a new city where there is no one we know; we have a problem with which we need help, but it’s embarrassing and we fear it will ruin us if others know; we’ve been married for over 20 years but it now may be over; as we get older we fear not death itself, but the process of death. In all of this, does God notice? Does He care? Is Jesus asleep? We, too, ask, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
So we pray for help; we expect, with great faith, a miracle. But none comes. Nothing happens. We read of miracles happening to others and wonder why they won’t happen for us, just this once. Master, don’t you care? How can you sleep? Does any of this sound familiar? Storms come with life. But that is only the first lesson here.
The second lesson is that THE STORMS END IN STILLNESS. There will be a miracle; the storm will not last forever; we will survive! It’s guaranteed, because JESUS BRINGS PEACE. When the disciples awaken him Jesus rises up, surveys the scene and simply says, “Quiet! Be Still!” And then, wrote Mark, “...the wind died down and it was completely calm.” Jesus muzzled the forces that pushed the raging storm. Like an exhausted creature tired of fighting, the storm rapidly sinks into a motionless rest. The fierceness of the storm is now contrasted by the quietness of the sea. Jesus had taken hold of the forces behind the world, and stopped them dead in their tracks. No wonder the disciples asked in amazement, “Who is this? Even the wind and seas obey him!”
Mark’s message to the church at Rome is clear. He was telling a persecuted people that JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, WOULD BREAK THROUGH INTO THEIR LIVES AND GIVE THEM POWER. They would have the power needed to hang on and survive. The Church of Christ will not die! We marvel at the scene; we long for it to be duplicated in our lives. We may see the evil muzzled in other’s lives, but not in ours. We want one more sign from Jesus that He rules our lives too, that He really is not asleep as we toil and struggle. We want this same peace for ourselves.
So JESUS CONFRONTS US at an even deeper level. He said to the disciples, “Do you still have no faith?” ”Why do you think I might forget you or not care about you? You are not alone; I am here, fully in control. Isn’t that enough?” Jesus does not accuse them of unbelief – no, then they would have ignored Him all together. His point is they do not trust Him enough. Their courage had fled because their trust had failed.
He ASKS US TODAY SOME AMAZING QUESTIONS. Do we always need tokens from God? Do we need to be petted like a spoiled child to be constantly reassured? Is our view of God so small that we can only trust Him as far as we can see Him? Do we not realize that while we’re busy complaining about what we do not have we are slowly losing what we do have? Jesus wants us to know that GOD DOES NOT ALTER PHYSICAL LAWS SOLELY FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE. God is still in charge – do we really want Him to change His design and plan? Besides, He sends the rain on both the just and the unjust. Perhaps we do experience more fire; but the gold is in the fire precisely because it is gold. Corn is threshed because it is true corn. A superior diamond will be cut more carefully than an inferior one. For God to let the bush burn but not be consumed is far greater than to put out the fire. He does not ask us to understand. HE ONLY WANTS US TO TRUST HIM ENOUGH THAT WE KNOW WE WILL NOT SINK. We will never go lower than the grave; hell will not touch us, let alone claim us!
Think about it! If we, being evil, give good gifts to our children, what about the Father in heaven? Would you allow your child to be tortured, to suffer, to drown before your very eyes without lifting a finger to help? Look at the face of the crucified Savior and see if you find compassion or detachment. It is filled with compassion! If He has saved us by His blood, will He now be indifferent? Will Christ be a hypocrite and not love us? “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” “What more could He give – He gave His life! What more could He give: O How He loves you and me!”
Jesus’ most frequent greeting after His resurrection was, “Peace!” or “Fear not!” He could say that because, by the power of the resurrection, He will always be on board. Just because He’s on board, however, does not mean the sailing will be trouble-free. But if Jesus is on board it means that He, too, will be tossed; He will share the storm; He is one with us! The only question is how far our faith will take us before we panic and yell at Him. Christ’s power is sufficient; it only takes a storm to prove it! It takes a tornado to test the roots of a tree; it takes storms to test the roots of our faith. Have you no faith? Remember that after the wilderness comes the promised Canaan. After the battle field comes Beulah Land and the chorus of saints. The storm will calm. Christ may be asleep but He is still at the helm. The boat will not sink; the storm will not last forever!
It’s so easy to say. But listen to THE DISCIPLES AMAZING QUESTION. They asked Jesus to help and yet when He did they seemed surprised. “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him?” I wonder what they had expected Him to do? For that matter WHAT DO WE REALLY EXPECT HIM TO DO? Who is He, that the
wind and waves obey Him? Surely that invites the response of faith – that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior. Jesus – so human that He sleeps through storms, yet so kingly that His voice calms the storms. The wind and waves obey Him like well-trained puppies. He handles the evil powers like He is in charge. Could it be that He really is Lord. We say that if we could have been there and seen that we would certainly say “Yes - He is Lord!” But now it’s not so easy; some ships do go down; 747’s still crash; cancer still kills; believers are still tortured. How can we know for sure if He really is Lord?
We can know because the CHRIST OF THE BOAT IS THE CHRIST OF THE CROSS. The same Jesus died on the cross and is alive again! He who once stood in a boat and calmed the fears of His disciples also stood on the cross and won victory and peace for us. We can know for sure! He may not always heal, He may not always help bail us out of the waters, but the cross proves He cares and that He will always brings us to safe harbor. “What more can He say than to you He hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”
In invite you this morning to fill you heart with Jesus when the weather is peaceful, and faith will much more quickly kick in when the storms arrive. With a heart full of Jesus there is no room for fear. Today, once again, “Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the waters, put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea.” Then take Him with you – into your relationships, your dreams, journeys, jobs – wherever you go. Who knows when the next storm will strike? Put your hand in His hand now! Claim His peace as your own. Experience the stillness of His presence. He’s amazing!
