Lord Of The Storm

The story of Jesus and his disciples in a storm on the Sea of Galilee is short. But it has a huge amount to teach us.

I’d like to show you a little video clip of an actual storm on Lake Galilee so you can get an idea of what that storm might have been like. [Video clip.]

Jesus and his disciples experienced a physical storm on the Sea of Galilee. Some people today still experience life-threatening storms at sea. Deep-sea fishing is considered one of the most dangerous forms of work. But the biggest group who are at risk from storms at sea are the migrants crossing the Mediterranean to come to Europe. Thousands have died. Storms at sea are still a real danger.

But there are other kinds of storms. Marriages can hit the rocks. Money problems can sink us. A loved one passing away a person can leave us overwhelmed by grief. Persecution or oppression can feel like a storm.

Every kind of storm is dangerous and tough to deal with. What we see in Jesus and his disciples in this story has some important lessons for us in dealing with storms – storms out to sea or storms in life.

We might wonder, can we take this passage about Jesus in a storm at sea and apply it to the other kinds of storms we might face? I think we can. In the Bible God and Jesus act in physical storms. But they don’t ONLY act in physical storms.

Let me give some examples. In today’s passage, Jesus and the disciples are facing a DISASTER. It’s beyond the ability of his disciples to cope with. If we go on to Mark 5, there are three stories, one after another. Jesus meets a man with a DEMON. No one could restrain the man. But Jesus cast the demon out. He meets a woman with a DISEASE – with bleeding. No doctors could heal her. But Jesus did. He goes to the house where a little girl has DIED. No one can raise someone from the dead. But Jesus did. They aren’t called ‘storms’ but they were definitely life crises. None of the people involved were able to deal with them. But Jesus could. So although we’re only looking at one storm, we can remember that Jesus can help in every kind of storm. And the principles we see in the storm on the Sea of Galilee also apply to other storms.

I’m going to make three points.

First, Jesus wants us to be calm in storms.

Second, the storms of life can damage or destroy our relationship with Jesus.

Third, Jesus may deliberately take us through storms so that we learn the lesson: ‘I can’t. But Jesus can.’

JESUS WANTS US TO BE CALM IN STORMS.

Jesus is the Son of God. He’s perfect and he’s the person we should be modelling ourselves on.

How was Jesus on that boat on the Sea of Galilee? He was confident, calm, cool. In fact, he was asleep!

Perhaps you’re thinking, Jesus should NOT have been asleep at that time! But remember the two rules of business. Rule 1 is, ‘The boss is always right.’ Rule 2 is, ‘If the boss is wrong, see Rule 1.’

Jesus is the ultimate boss. If he was sleeping then it was right for him to be sleeping.

I’d like you to imagine a kind of scale that shows how people respond when problems come along.

On the left-hand end of the scale is complacency. There is a genuine problem and we do nothing. We mustn’t make that mistake. Jesus didn’t. He saw needs and responded to them.

On the right-hand end of the scale is getting in a complete tizz. We panic. As far as we’re concerned, life as we know it is going to end.

In the centre there’s a sweet spot. It isn’t complacency. It isn’t panic. It’s calm.

In the boat on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus’ disciples were over on the right. They thought their lives were about to end. Jesus, on the other hand, was in the sweet spot in the centre. He was calm. As we’ve noted, he was asleep.

Jesus gave his disciples an example, that it’s possible to be calm in a storm. And he clearly wanted his disciples to be like him. After he calms the storm, he asks them, ‘Why were you SO afraid?’ I like the ‘so.’ Perhaps it was OK to be a little bit afraid. But SO afraid? That wasn’t OK.

What Jesus was teaching his disciples applies to us. In a storm perhaps it’s OK to be a little afraid. But not terrified!

Why? Why shouldn’t Jesus disciples have been afraid? What we know – which Jesus’ disciples didn’t know – was that Jesus had authority over the storm. He could simply tell it to stop! If Jesus could do that, why should they be afraid!