Theory Before Practice
In Mark 4:35-41, we find an interesting story about Jesus and the disciples. Here we find them crossing the Sea of Galilee, in order to accomplish an important ministry in the region of the Gerasenes. This episode, in the lives of Jesus and his disciples, is sandwiched between the parables of Mark 4:1-34; relating to the kingdom of God and faith, and Mark 5:1-20; concerning the episode where Jesus drove out Legion from the demoniac. Nothing in scripture is by coincidence.
The fact that these three events: Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God; the storm at sea; and the demoniac are next to each other in the bible, suggests that they are related, and that they are significant. One could conjecture that it was the purpose of Jesus to explain the theory behind God’s kingdom in these parables. This would be followed by the disciples witnessing Jesus demonstrate his authority before them, when he brought deliverance to the demoniac in the region of the Gerasenes.
As it says in In Mark 5:4-2 (NIV), ’They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.’ It is important to take note of the fact that Jesus was not demonstrating his authority before the disciples just for the fun of it. On the contrary, he was preparing them for when they too would need to preach the gospel and drive out demons, which would take place just two chapters further along in the book of Mark. As it says in Mark 6:7 (NIV), ’Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.’
The disciples were in the unique position of receiving the theory about God’s kingdom from Jesus; followed by a practical expression of that faith; followed by their own field trip to practice what Jesus had taught them. But sandwiched between theory and practice was a test. This test was something that the disciples needed to go through, at night and in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, which they could not escape from. And this test related to trusting God through a dark storm, which we will now consider in the rest of this sermon.
Testing Times
In Mark 4:35-36 (NIV) it says, ’That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.’ The first point that we need to be aware of here is that Jesus initiated the journey across the Sea of Galilee. Likewise, the Holy Spirit had initiated the testing of Jesus in the desert in Matthew 4:1 (NIV) when it says, ’Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil’.
The second point is that whenever we go through times of testing, such tests can only be initiated by God. At no point would God ever allow anyone to go through a test initiated by the Devil, simply because we are not answerable to Satan. And before you quote Job at me, let us read exactly what happened, just before Job entered his time of testing. In Job 1:8 (NIV) It says, ’Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” ’
Notice that it is God who brings Job to the attention of Satan, and not the other way around. In fact, Satan had not considered testing Job because of the simple fact that God had placed an hedge around him, which he was unable to penetrate. As Satan says in Job 1:9-11 (NIV), “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” Clearly, God is in full control of Job’s situation. It is only when God permits Satan to inflict harm on Job that the test begins, under the directions of God. As it says in Job 1:11-12 (NIV), ’But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.’
God allowed Job, Jesus, and the disciples to be tested, so that they would develop a greater dependancy and trust upon him. Likewise, because we are God’s children, he permits us to be tested so that we might find a deeper level of trust in him. Satan is just the agent God uses, so that everything might work together for our benefit. As it says in Romans 8:28 (NIV), ’And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’
Back in the boat, at Mark 4:37 (NIV) it says, ’A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ’ In fact, in Matthew 8:24 (NIV) It says, ’Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat...’ From my own experience I too, like most Christians, have entered into difficult circumstances, suddenly and without any warning. I have often wondered why I have ended up in difficult circumstances without warning, or without any hint that things were about to go wrong for me. But I have come to the conclusion that God uses these suddenly’s to grab our attention, so that we might become aware that a test has started.
But, like most people, my initial response to a test has been one of panic, before eventually learning to put my trust in God to see me through the storm. I suppose that these suddenly’s are a bit like the bell ringing at school, telling everyone that class, or a test is about to start. And it probably makes sense for God to sound his alarm bell, to let each one of us know that the test has begun, if only we were able to discern that we are in a test.
A Wake Up Call
In Mark 4:38 (NIV) it says, ’Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” ’ A key observation from Mark 4:38, was that Jesus was asleep in the boat. Now, unless Jesus spoke in his sleep, he would not have had much to say while ever he had his head down on the cushion. And this can be our perception of Jesus, when we face the storms of life we go through. We assume that Jesus is not with us, but Jesus is with us, even though he may not be saying much to us at the time. And Satan wants us to think that Jesus is not with us when we go through the storms of life. We need to bare in mind that Satan wants us to believe that Jesus is not in the boat with us, so that he can break our trust away from him.
And just because Jesus is not speaking to us, does not imply that he is not with us in the storm. The mistake that the disciples made was to wake Jesus up and ask him for help. Let me ask you one question? If the disciples had not woken Jesus up, would the boat have sunk? I’m going to take a guess here. My guess is that the boat would not have sunk. But, because the disciples lacked trust in Jesus, they woke him up and asked for help. As it says in Mark 4:39 (NIV), ’He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm’.
The lesson that Jesus was trying to teach the disciples was dependancy upon God. Often the tests that God puts us through are bigger than we can cope with. This is so that he can move us away from depending upon ourselves, in order that we might start depending more upon him. And this has been a spiritual principle right through the entire bible, as we can see from an example of God’s working in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Here we see the Moabites, the Ammonites and the Meunites come against Jehoshaphat with overwhelming force, like a tidal wave in the ocean.
But God sent word to Jehoshaphat, Israel and Judah through Jehaziel son of Zechariah, in 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 (NIV), ’He (Jehaziel) said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ”
In like manner, Jesus was able to calm the storm in the middle of the Sea of Galilee for the disciples. As it says in Mark 4:40, ’He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Faith operates in different ways and in different circumstances. Jesus was not necessarily suggesting here that the disciples should calm the waves themselves. However, he was suggesting that the disciples should have exercised their faith in the form of trusting Jesus to get them safely across the Sea of Galilee, and safely to the shore.
Although the disciples were not aware of it, Jesus had a destiny to fulfil with Legion in the region of the Gerasenes. The heat of any battle or storm that we are going through can distract us from seeing where God is leading us. However, his purpose is to bring us safely to the destiny he has planned for us. Like the disciples, God is not always expecting us to perform great feats of faith, although sometimes that can happen. On the whole, God is looking for us to exercise our faith by trusting him to get us through whatever problems might come against us. He is not always looking for us to fix the problem, he is looking for us to trust him through the darkest storm, no matter what.
Interestingly, not only were the disciples afraid as they were passing through the storm, they appeared to be equally afraid when Jesus calmed the storm. As it says in Mark 4:41, ’They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” ’ However, the fear that the disciples were expressing here would not be because they were in a storm, but because they had seen the hand of God move on their behalf. And when we see God calm our storms, it allows us to see how awesome God is on our behalf too. As we know from Mark 5:1-20, Jesus and the disciples reached their destiny, where he was able to bring deliverance to someone who was in great need. And the good thing about the storms that God allows us to go through, is that God is preparing us to trust him more and more. Trusting God through difficult circumstances has the effect of placing us in a position to help others, who may need to be healed and delivered from circumstances beyond their control.
Second Time Around
To conclude this sermon on who’s going to wake Jesus up? let us presume that, later in the day, the disciples got in the boat and returned home. And we are only presuming that this happened. Let us imagine that another storm arose while Jesus was taking a nap. This time, would the disciples have woken Jesus up, or would they have trusted him to get them safely to the other side? My guess is that no one would have woken Jesus up. I once went through a difficult circumstance, where I spent a lot of time and effort praying and fasting, so that God would come to my rescue. Over time, God came to my rescue and delivered me from my adverse circumstances. Recently, I went through the exact same circumstance, but this time I did not utter a word in prayer to God. I just trusted him in the matter. And I got the same results as I did from the first time I went through the same circumstances, where I had spent a lot of effort in prayer and fasting.
I have learnt that when the storms of life hit us and the waves sweep over our soul, it is not necessarily a time to wear ourselves out in prayer, trying to get God to change our circumstances. In fact, it would have probably served me well to have prayed and asked God to keep me in the storm, until I had learnt the lesson he was trying to teach me. However, I was not that brave.
So, if you are going through the storms of life, and you feel that the waves are sweeping over your soul, remember! Jesus is in that boat with you. And although you cannot always hear his voice, this does not mean that he is not with you, because he is. So the final question is this. Are you going to wake Jesus up and cry for help, or are you going to learn to trust Jesus to get you through the storm, and safely to the other side?
