Mark4(AMP)
35 On that same day [when] evening had come,
He said to them, Let us go over to the other side [of the lake].
36 And leaving the throng, they took Him with them, [just] as He was,
in the boat [in which He was sitting]. And other boats were with Him.
37 And a furious storm of wind [of hurricane proportions] arose,
and the waves kept beating into the boat,
so that it was already becoming filled.
38 But He [Himself] was in the stern [of the boat],
asleep on the [leather] cushion;
and they awoke Him and said to Him,
Master, do You not care that we are perishing?
39 And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea,
Hush now! Be still (muzzled)!
And the wind ceased (sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating)
and there was [immediately] a great calm (a perfect peacefulness).
40 He said to them, Why are you so timid and fearful?
How is it that you have no faith (no firm relying trust)?
41 And they were filled with great awe and feared exceedingly
and said one to another, Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?
Three questions in such a short event in the life of the disciples and Jesus....
Three questions that I pray would be answered today and for the rest of this week and hopefully for the rest of our life.
QUESTION#1:
“...Master, do You not care that we are perishing?”
“...Master, don’t you care that we’re drowning?”PHILLIPS
DOES GOD REALLY CARE?
Answer:
Definitely yes!
1 Peter 5:7
Casting the whole of your care
[all your anxieties
all your worries
all your concerns
once and for all] on Him,
for He cares for you affectionately and cares about youwatchfully.
Then, why is it that God allowed the violent storm to happen in the lives of these apostles?
Why is it that He allows anxieties, worries and concerns to happen in our lives?
To come to Jesus!
There is nothing in this world that God wants us to do except to come to Him...
So, do He really wanted that we should be anxious? Worried?
NO! He wanted us to learn from such ordeals to help us grow in faith and be blessed from such encounter. Jesus showed them that His teachings (v7, and the explanation of it in vv18,19) of Mark4, and when Jesus said... “Let us pass over unto the other side.”(v35) is an application of what He had taught the apostles.
God not only wanted us to come to Him but also to apply the things we have learned from such encounter....
That is the most valuable thing for God.... that we might apply His words and became powerful for us...
QUESTION#2:
Luke8:25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” (ESV)
It is worthy of notice how considerately the Lord defers this rebuke till He had first removed the danger, in the midst of which they would not have been in a state to listen to anything.
How is it that ye have no faith?--next to none, or none in present exercise.
In Luke 8:25 of the same scenario, the writer, Dr.Luke... specifically stated “where is your faith.”
Which means to say... where is the faith of the teachings I just told you when we were on the other side?
9And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable.
22For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested;
neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
23If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
24And He said unto them, Take heed what ye hear:
with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you:
and unto you that hear shall more be given.
25For he that hath, to him shall be given:
and he that hath not,
from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
Mark4: 26¶And He said, So is the kingdom of God,
as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27And should sleep, and rise night and day,
and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself;
first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
33And with many such parables spake He the word unto them,
as they were able to hear it.
34But without a parable spake He not unto them:
and when they were alone, He expounded all things to His disciples.
ANSWER:
Use Your Faith in Jesus.
Learn what you have Heard.
QUESTION #3
“Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?”
The question of the disciples is probably rhetorical, and the answer is left for us to supply. That answer is not difficult to arrive at.
The Jews believed that only God had power over the winds and the seas. “O Lord God of Hosts, who is like Thee, O mighty Lord? Thy faithfulness also surrounds Thee. Thou dost rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, Thou dost still them” (Psalm89:8,9).
The disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel,
but because their concept of Messiah was largely shaped by that of their contemporaries, they had much to learn. Their understanding of this One would continue to increase, even until the time of His ascension. But now they are forced to the conclusion that He was far more than they anticipated. He had authority even over the forces of nature.
ANSWER:
The answer is left for us to supply.
That answer is not difficult to arrive at.
Our understanding of Jesus would continue to increase, even until our last breath...
But for now, we arrived at a conclusion that He was far more than we anticipated Him to be!
Let us continue to have this faith in the midst of our storms....
Does God really care
Where is your faith?
What manner of Son God/Man is Jesus?
“That at the that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:10-11 TLB
Lastly, That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Philippians3:10).
The first step for that hidden faith in the storms of life be revealed....
BE REVEALED LORD JESUS!
