Mark 4:35-41, Genesis 35:1-4, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?Today’s message comes from Mark 4:35-41 about Jesus calming the storm. Our text starts with “That day when evening came…” If we read the previous reading of the text today, on this particular day, Jesus taught about the kingdom of God using many parables, such as mustard seed, a part of his teaching ministry. Of course, we can easily guess that many healings might have occurred on that day, recorded in many other places in the New Testament. When the evening approached that day, Jesus told his disciples, “Let us go to the other side!” We do not know why Jesus wanted to go to the other side of the Lake; we only know that Jesus had an agenda of going to the other side. So, the story goes in our text. His disciples obeyed him, taking Jesus “just as he was” tired and hungry(?), without getting some rest(?)or changing clothes(?). They got into a boat to their destination on the other side that evening. We ought to note here that Jesus’ destination and purpose were not in the middle of the lake and being drowned there. He didn’t say, “Let us perish in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.” Do we get it? Once Jesus says it, it will happen no matter what happens on the way. Jesus says, “Let’s go to the other side!” Then it will happen. Jesus says, ‘My purpose for this church is to be an ark, Noah’s Ark, rescuing people from the darkness.’ If that is Jesus’ agenda and destination for our church, it will happen no matter what happens. The question is whether we have Jesus in our “boat.” We will get there if we have Jesus with us and go in the direction Jesus pointed at us. This leads to the second point.On our journey to the destination in the sea of this world, we ought to encounter billowy storms and high waves, especially if we are going in the right direction, as Jesus wants us to go. Do you see that Jesus was right in the boat with his disciples, yet a billowy storm hit the boat? Vs. 37, “… a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship.” A “great” (megas) storm materialized. It threatened to sink the boat. If the disciples who fished for a living thought they were bound to perish in the storm, it was an accurate evaluation of their situation. Nothing indicates they overreacted; this was no ordinary storm. However, do we remember that the disciples were going with Jesus to their destination as Jesus wanted to go? Yet they encountered difficulty, the life-threatening circumstances they faced. It was satan; Satan had a significant hand in the storm they were in, as we see that Jesus “rebuked the wind. Peace, be still!” in vs. 39. The word “rebuked” here is the same language that was used when Jesus rebuked and silenced demons. In other words, this was a spiritual battle as much as a weather crisis. Jesus rebuked the raging storm as a ‘force,’ a satanic force, threatening him and his disciples. “Do we see that satan is behind all the troubles and obstacles in our way to put a stop to our successful voyage or mission? It is satan’s agenda and purpose to hamper us from moving forward to our destination or mission. At this point, I would like us to focus on how easily the fear and helplessness can sweep us away that the billowy situations cause, which satan creates in our way. In the face of threatening waves of the sea, His disciples panicked, although they knew that Jesus was with them, the one they professed to be the Messiah and the Son of God. Although they had witnessed numerous miracles Jesus performed, they outcried in their helpless situation, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” In their fear and hopelessness, they could not think that the billowy waves could not touch Jesus or harm Him at all and that they were with the master of the universe.At times, we Christians face seemingly life-threatening situations. In peaceful circumstances, we know that Jesus is with us and how powerful Jesus is. Yet, in the circumstance of a billowy storm beating into our boat, we cry out the ultimate cry of fear, doubt, and abandonment. We also see this in the stories of God’s people, for example, in the Psalms. Where is God in the midst of my distress? Has God abandoned us, His people? It is a cry repeated in so many ways in the midst of the terrors and distresses of our world today. If God is so great and powerful and really cares about this world, then why do events in the world and my life go so badly? Does God care? That was how the disciples in our text felt. Jesus was there with them, yet they could not feel His presence and care. That is us, fragile, easily breakable clay jars!Are any of us feeling this way that God does not care for where you are in your life situation and circumstances? Do you feel hopeless and fearful? Do you feel that God abandons you and does not care for you? Then, do you also notice that crying amounts to a prayer for deliverance? When the disciples cried to Jesus, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” Jesus immediately “woke up and rebuked the winds forcefully with his double command: “Be silent! Be still! As we can see, the response of the winds is immediate. The wind ceased, and there was a “great calm.” The word “woke up” actually means “arose” in the original meaning. When His disciples cried out, Jesus rose to action. Seemingly, when God is silent, but if we cry out, he rises to action on our behalf. What can we learn from this story? If God appears to be sleeping or silent, it is to try the faith of his disciples and to stir up prayer. When we have trials, our faith might appear weak, but if we cry out, that prayer is strong enough to make God arise to action. Sometimes, we experience God’s silence so that we can reach out to God with our cries, desperately seeking His face for help. When the church is in a storm, Christ seems as if he were asleep, unconcerned in the troubles of his people, and does not presently appear for their relief, but he arises when we cry out to Him. In other words, when he sleeps, he does not sleep; the keeper of Israel does not so much as slumber Psalm 121:3-4; he sleeps, but his heart is awake, as the spouse, Song 5:2. If we are truly His brides, our groom, Jesus Christ will never silent when we cry out.Lastly, it is important to consider whether Jesus is in our boat. In our life journey, everyone experiences difficult, if not life-threatening, circumstances. Some experience their difficult situation with Jesus, and some without. The disciples in the story and we as Christians are called to recognize two vastly different worlds we might inhabit. If Jesus is in our boat, we are to acknowledge the kingdom of God, the presence and rule of God in our midst; we are to follow God in the direction Jesus points to us. Then, even if we might feel that we are all alone having to deal with life-threatening situations and circumstances, we are not alone; we are with Jesus, hearing our cries for help. Jesus responds with action on our behalf. On the other hand, those who do not have Jesus in their boats continue to live in a world of fear and chaos, seeing themselves orphaned or alone without the power of God, living in a world controlled by the power of satan or the demonic, whose destination is destruction. Do you have Jesus in your boat? Amen!
2024-06-23