Mark 4:35-41 begins a section in this gospel in which Jesus and his disciples make six voyages back and forth across the Sea of Galilee. In this way, Mark makes the point that the ministry of Jesus was to both Jews and gentiles. The western side was inhabited by Jews and the eastern side by gentiles.
Growing up, I always thought of the Sea of Galilee as a much larger body of water than it actually is. I remember how surprised I was when I visited Israel for the first time and our tour bus stopped atop a hill overlooking the body of water. I could see the entire thing! It is only thirteen miles from north to south and eight miles from east to west.
It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth. The Jordan Valley makes a cleft in the earth and in the very center of this cleft is the Sea of Galilee, some 680 feet below sea level. Because of this, the climate is usually very gracious and warm, but to the west of the sea are the mountains and some large gullies. Sometimes the cold wind blows down through these gullies and causes sudden storms. All the great writers who have lived near the Sea of Galilee have experienced these sudden storms and repeatedly reported that at one moment the water can be as still as glass and then almost without warning it can become quite turbulent with enormous waves and high winds.
The scene described in Mark 4:35-41 finds Jesus and his disciples suddenly caught in one of these violent storms. Jesus had just finished preaching and was tired, so he lay down and went to sleep. When the storm arose, the waves threatened to overcome the small boat and the disciples were afraid they were going to be tossed overboard and drowned. When they turned to Jesus, they were amazed to find him asleep. They cried out to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus then calmly stood up and commanded the waves to be still. The sea became calm and the storm was gone.
Even though the disciples should have recognized who Jesus was by virtue of his command over the wind and sea, they still seem dumbfounded. The text says, “They were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’”
Don’t they remind us of ourselves? When we find ourselves in the storms of life, don’t we have similar difficulty in placing our confidence in the One who guards and keeps us? That may be the chief reason the story has been preserved and retold by generation after generation. It contains important spiritual truths and we occasionally need to be reminded of them.
Whenever we are isolated or alienated, we tend to become anxious and desperate.
This was not the first time the disciples had been in a storm. It was not the first time a turbulent sea had threatened to overturn their boat. Why did they react they way they did on this occasion? I believe it was because they felt that Jesus was unconcerned about them. They cried out, “Don’t you care?” And, in the face of their panic and despair, he calmed the angry sea. Of course he cared about them and of course he cares about us.
The storm story shows us that the disciples needed to hear a voice in whom they had confidence.
When Jesus woke up and heard the cries of the disciples, his voice rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” You and I need to learn to listen for, recognize, and trust the voice of the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls who is greater than our greatest fear, mightier than our biggest enemy, and who has the power to issue orders to the storms that threaten us. Our ears are particularly well atuned to other voices, particularly those that raise our anxieties. We want the voice of our Savior to be familiar enough and clear enough to stand out above the rest.
Wherever and whenever Christ is with us, the storms of life grow calm.
I don’t know what is going to come to my life or yours today, but I know that Jesus Christ is with us and that his presence brings peace. As a pastor, I have stood with people in just about every imaginable kind of life experience from remarkable victories to devastating defeats, in moments of joy and in moments of deepest sorrow. Whether it’s been a whirlwind of celebration or a tempest of tragedy, the presence of Jesus Christ calms the storms and brings the peace which passes understanding.
P.S. This text brought this hymn to mind.