Let’s take another look at the gospel story in which Jesus and His disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee when a huge storm threatens to capsize their boat. Mark 4:37-41 describes strong winds, fierce waves, and some very worried fishermen. Despite all the commotion, Jesus sleeps peacefully on a cushion in the stern of the boat.
The heart of the story contains 3 questions and no clear answers. I think it is up to us to figure out the answers for ourselves.
The first question comes from the frightened disciples who wake Jesus up and ask Him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” Jesus answers their frantic question with a powerful action. He “rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And… there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:38-39)
Jesus asks the second question. It has two parts which are answered by an awkward silence. “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?’” (Mark 4:40) The astonished fishermen don’t know what to say to Him, because “They were filled with awe.”
Then they ask themselves the third question: They said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?’” (Mark 4:41) They still aren’t sure Who Jesus is. Perhaps the thought of being chosen by the Messiah Himself made them even more anxious than the storm did.
Mark’s gospel is probably the oldest of the 4 gospels, but the questions this story raises are timeless. When we find ourselves facing the “storms of life,” problems without solutions, questions without answers, it may seem like Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat. We want to wake Him up and say to Him, maybe even scream it:
“JESUS! DO YOU NOT CARE IF I _____?”
If I what? Lose my job? Or get terrible news from my doctor? If I’m worried about money or about my family? Screaming may make us feel better, but it isn’t necessary, because Jesus isn’t asleep. He always hears us. And I’m pretty sure He asks us the same question He asked His terrified disciples that day, in the boat: “Why are you afraid?” In times of distress, fear, grief, or worry, we need to remind ourselves of the promise He makes in John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” For us, that promise has the power to calm the storms we face; because, long ago, we figured out the answer to the third question, the one the disciples asked each other: “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?” Mathew, Mark, and Luke all record a major turning point in the life of the first disciples, when Simon Peter confidently proclaimed the answer to that question, the answer that gives us courage, the answer that has the power to calm every storm:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
(Matthew 16:15-17, Mark 8:27-29, Luke 9:18-20)
Thanks be to God.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalms 46:1-3,10
Right on! ❤️🙏