Introduction:
A. Let’s begin with two questions: Have you ever been really afraid of something? What is the scariest situation you have ever experienced?
B. Let me share a terrifying experience that took place when I was very young, probably 14 or 15.
1. It wasn’t funny at the time, but our family has enjoyed laughing about it over the years.
2. My scary situation occurred during the middle of a hot summer night.
3. All of the bedrooms of our house were on the second floor and my bedroom was the first one at the top of the stairs.
4. During the middle of that hot summer night, I awoke to the sound of an intruder coming up the stairs.
a. As I laid there in bed with my heart beating fast in my chest, I listened as the intruder came to my door and hesitated.
b. As the handle to my door started to turn, I wondered what I should do.
c. I quickly and quietly slipped out of my bed and went into my closet and closed the door.
5. I heard the door to my room creak open and I knew that when the intruder saw that the bed had been slept in but was now empty, that they would look in the closet.
a. Thinking that the intruder would kill me either way, I decided to yell a warning to the rest of my family.
b. So I began to yell to the family as loudly as I could that someone was in our house.
6. A few seconds later, my closet door opened and there stood my concerned family.
a. They wanted to know why I was sitting in my closet screaming in the middle of the night.
b. Well, the intruder didn’t kill me, but I thought I would die from embarrassment.
7. I made my dad take me around the house to confirm that there was no stranger inside our house or any signs that someone had broken in.
8. The obvious explanation was simple: a windy summer night, an open window, a creaky door, and a vivid dream that scared me, which in turn scared everyone in the house.
C. Fear is a universal experience and fear is a God-given emotion.
1. There are some things that we should be afraid of and there are other things that we should not fear.
2. God does not want fear to cripple us or control us.
3. God wants to help us control our fears and the main way we do that is through faith in God.
4. Today, we are going to see how the disciples faced a fearful situation and how having a greater faith in Jesus could have helped them deal with their fears in a better way.
5. So, let’s get into the boat with Jesus and His disciples and learn about faith and fear.
D. Today as we explore Mark 4:35-41, we enter into a new section of Mark’s presentation of Jesus.
1. Each part of the story Mark tells reveals a little more of who Jesus is and like an expert storyteller, Mark gradually reveals Jesus’ identity.
2. After Mark’s initial introduction of the Gospel in chapter 1, he shared many things about Jesus’ long day in Capernaum.
3. After that, Mark shared a number of stories of conflict and controversy in chapters 2 and 3.
4. Then, Mark shared a number of Jesus’ parables in chapter 4.
5. Now, in the new section that we start today, Mark shares 4 stories of Jesus’ miracles – these stories highlight Jesus’ authority over nature, demons, disease and death.
6. And with each story the true identity of Jesus gets clearer and clearer.
E. Mark’s story begins: 35 On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. (Mk. 4:35-36)
1. Mark’s reference to “on that day, when evening had come” reminds us that a lot had happened that day.
2. That day probably began back in chapter 3 and verse 20 where we learned that Jesus had entered a house and faced the accusations of the Jewish leaders that He was ministering with the power of Satan.
3. While Jesus was correcting their false understanding about the source of His power, His mother and brothers arrived to restrain Him because they thought He had lost His senses.
4. Jesus proclaimed that those who do the will of God are His true brother, sister, and mother.
5. Then Jesus left the house and went to the shore of Galilee and the crowd followed Him, and He got into a boat and taught them a number of parables.
6. And then our story continues with Jesus deciding to leave the crowd on the shore and take the boat He was in and travel to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
7. There is no indication given about the size of the boat, but the discovery in 1986 of a remarkably well-preserved 1st century fishing boat gives us a possible idea.
a. The boat that was discovered measures 27 feet long, 7.5 feet wide, and 4.5 feet high and is made of cedar planks with an oak frame.
b. The boat was propelled by 4 roarers and could carry up to 15 people.
c. Jesus and His 12 apostles could easily have fit into a boat that size, although Mark tells us that there was more than one boat in their convoy that day.
F. In today’s story, Mark used the Greek word “mega” three times and it can be translated “great” or “enormous.”
1. As Mark told the story and used that word over and over, he wanted to draw our attention to the mega storm, the mega calm, and the mega fear.
2. So, let’s explore this story by using that three part outline.
I. The Mega Storm
A. Mark wrote: 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” (Mk. 4:37-38)
1. The Sea of Galilee was and is notorious for its sudden storms – they literally come out of the blue with shattering and terrifying suddenness.
a. The Sea of Galilee sits 700 ft. below sea level in a basin surrounded by hills and mountains with Mount Hermon standing 9200 feet high just 30 miles to the north.
b. Cold air from the mountains clashes with the warm air coming up from the Sea of Galilee resulting in furious thunderstorms and squalls.
2. Let’s remember that at least four of the disciples were fisherman and were well acquainted with making a living on the Sea of Galilee.
a. If it had been obvious that a storm was brewing, surely those fisherman would have suggested to Jesus that it would not be wise to make a trip across the lake.
b. So, we have to assume that they began the journey with clear skies and calm waters.
B. But the tranquility of their journey across the lake ended when Mark reports that a great windstorm arose.
1. The word translated “great” by the CSB is the Greek word “mega.”
a. Other translations render the word as: furious, fierce, violent, and strong.
2. In Luke’s account, he reports that the winds descended on the lake (8:23) which conveys how the winds raced down the slopes and whipped across the water.
3. Matthew used the word “seismos” (seismic) to describe the violent shaking of the storm.
4. The ferocious winds quickly turned the surface of the lake into a raging, convulsing sea and the waves were breaking over the sides of the boat, filling it with water.
5. Can you picture the disciples in the boat trying to bail the water out of the boat as quickly as it was entering the boat?
6. Even the experienced sailors among the group feared for their lives.
C. Meanwhile, where was Jesus? Mark reports that Jesus was in the back of the boat asleep on a cushion.
1. How in the world could Jesus sleep in the midst of a storm like that?
2. A first and obvious answer might be that Jesus was exhausted – as we mentioned early, it looks like Jesus had had a very busy day of conflict and teaching, so He should have been tired.
a. When we are really really tired, then we can sleep through anything right?
b. Have you ever been so tired you fell asleep in a group setting where you shouldn’t fall asleep? Like at a party, or at school, or at work, or at worship?
1. Every woke up to a pool of drool, or woke up with a snort?
c. A truth that we often find hard to accept is the humanity of Jesus – Jesus was God incarnate – God in the flesh – but the body of Jesus got tired, just like our bodies get tired.
d. Incidentally, this is the only story in the Gospels where we read that Jesus slept.
3. A second less obvious answer to the question, “How could Jesus sleep through such a storm?, is that Jesus’ trust in God allowed Him to sleep despite the danger.
a. Psalm 4:8 says: I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.
b. Proverbs 3:21-26 suggests that if we maintain wisdom and discretion, then we can safely go on our way, and that we can lie down and not be afraid, we can lie down and our sleep will be pleasant.
c. Jesus knew His Father and His Father’s protection better than anyone, so He certainly could lie down and sleep in peace because of the safety of His Father.
d. I hope our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father can help us sleep that peacefully! Amen!
4. Mark tells us that Jesus’ sleep was short-lived because the disciples woke Him up, saying: “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
a. This was truly a rude awakening, because their question was full of criticism and annoyance.
b. Now to their credit, the disciples turned to Jesus in their fear and woke Him up.
c. But to their discredit, they took His ability to sleep through their turmoil as a lack of concern for their safety – “don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
5. What do you think those disciples expected that Jesus would do when they woke Him up?
a. Do you think they thought He might help man the oars, or help bail water?
b. Based on their reaction to what Jesus eventually did, they certainly didn’t expect Him to do what He did.
c. Otherwise, they would have awoke Him and said: Jesus please use your power and stop this storm.
d. I think they woke Him up so at least He would be awake when they all sank with the boat.
e. The old saying is true: Misery loves company!
6. The mega storm then led to the second mega thing.
II. The Mega Calm
A. Mark wrote: 39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mk. 4:39-40)
1. Jesus woke up and two amazing things happened.
2. The first amazing thing that happened was Jesus’ words themselves – He spoke a command of utter conciseness and simplicity – “Silence! Be Still!”
a. Jesus didn’t clear His throat, roll up His sleeves, and raise a magic wand.
b. In the face of a ferocious storm, Jesus spoke like He was talking to an unruly child: “Quiet, be still” “Hush and settle down.”
3. The second and more amazing thing is that the storm obeyed like a compliant child.
4. Mark reported that the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
a. What might sound like redundancy is actually a vivid description as Mark described what happened to the wind and the waves.
b. By the power of Jesus the wind and the waves stopped immediately and simultaneously.
c. If you have ever been around the water, you know that waves take a while to dissipate after the wind dies down.
d. The choppy waves can continue to go back and forth as they diminish.
e. But that’s not what resulted from Jesus’ command, rather the wind and waves immediately ceased and there was a mega calm.
f. All the way across the Sea of Galilee and all the way up and down the mountains around the sea, everything was calm and still.
B. Perhaps nowhere else in Scripture is the humanity of Christ and the divinity of Christ more dramatically juxtaposed.
1. The One who had been so exhausted by the day that He was asleep in the stern of the boat, is the One who stopped the storm by His command.
C. Jesus turned to His disciples and said, “Why are you afraid?”
1. Don’t you think that’s a strange question to ask men who had just been in danger of losing their lives?
2. Why shouldn’t they have been afraid? Right?
3. The second question that Jesus asked them is the key: “Do you still have no faith?”
4. The problems of fear and faith go hand in hand.
5. Great fear can be overcome by great faith, but weak faith is no match for fear, which leads us to the last mega mentioned by Mark.
III. Mega Fear
A. Mark wrote: 41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” (Mk. 4:41)
1. The CSB translates the first phrase as “and they were terrified.”
a. The Greek says that they became “mega phobic.”
b. Other translations render the phrase: “absolutely terrified” “great fear” “feared exceedingly” and “very much afraid.”
2. But isn’t this interesting, before Jesus calmed the storm the disciples were afraid, but after Jesus calmed the storm they were “mega afraid.”
a. Why were they more terrified in the calm than they were in the storm?
b. The answer is because Jesus was even more unmanageable than the storm.
c. The storm had immense power and they couldn’t control it, but Jesus had infinitely more power and they had even less power over Jesus.
B. But here’s the huge difference that our faith in God should make, even though we should fear God and stand in awe of God, we know that God loves us.
1. The storm doesn’t love us.
a. Nature can wear us down and destroy us – if we live long enough, our bodies will give out and we will die.
b. And maybe we will die even sooner by a tornado, fire, or car accident.
c. Nature is indifferent to us, but God is filled with untamable love for us.
2. If the disciples had really known that Jesus loved them, if they had really understood that Jesus is both powerful and loving, then they would not have been scared, by the storm or by the calm.
3. Their premise, that if Jesus loved them then He wouldn’t let bad things happen to them, was a wrong premise.
a. God can love us and still allow bad things to happen to us, because He is God and because He knows better than we know.
b. Elisabeth Elliot put it beautifully when she wrote: “God is God, and since he is God, he is worthy of my worship and my service. I will find rest nowhere else but in his will, and that will is necessarily infinitely, immeasurably, unspeakably beyond my largest notion of what he is up to.”
1. You will remember that Elizabeth Elliot’s husband, Jim, was a missionary who had been killed by the tribe he was trying to teach the Gospel.
4. The only place we are ever safe is in the will of God.
a. The storm isn’t safe and it doesn’t love us.
b. God isn’t “safe,” but He loves us.
5. This is something that C. S. Lewis explained in his book “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
a. Mr. Beaver explained to young Susan: “Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.”
b. “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
c. “Safe?” said Mr Beaver ... “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn't safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
6. God’s power is unbounded and unlimited, and so are His goodness, His wisdom, and His love and that’s why we can trust Him.
C. So, is there anything or anyone that we should fear?
1. The Bible teaches us that we should fear the Lord and that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.
2. If we fear God, then we will have nothing else to fear, because there is no one and nothing greater than Him.
3. Many people are afraid of a multitude of things, but many do not fear God.
4. To fear God means we acknowledge and respect His Holiness and power.
5. Having the proper reverence for God will cause us to love Him, obey Him, submit to His discipline, and worship Him in awe.
D. I can certainly sympathize with those disciples, because they were still trying to figure out who Jesus really was – “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him!”
1. They had demonstrated enough faith to leave their jobs and follow Him, but their faith was still so new and immature and it needed to grow.
2. They had seen Jesus do great miracles and teach with authority and cast out demons, and yet they had no idea what He could do to the storm.
3. We know what God has done in the past, and we know that God has the power to do anything, and yet when we suddenly face a storm we sometimes quickly forget everything we know.
4. It’s easy to shift into the “woe is me” mode and to panic and accuse God of forsaking us.
5. But one of the main lessons we learn from this story is that even the worst of storms can’t sink a boat that Jesus is in.
6. And that when we find ourselves in the storm, we should fix out eyes on Jesus because He has the power over every storm.
7. God wants us to look at life’s storms not as disasters, but as opportunities to see God’s transforming power at work in our lives.
8. Trials are opportunities for growth because suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope.
9. We must never doubt for a moment that God doesn’t care about us and or doesn’t care about what we are going through.
10. God never leaves us and is with us in the boat in the middle of the storm – We must learn to trust our God who doesn’t always deliver us from the storms, but works through the storms.
11. We live in an unsafe world, but we can find security in Jesus and in God’s will.
E. Who is Jesus?
1. He is God Almightly.
2. Speaking of God, Psalm 89:9 says: You rule the raging sea; when its waves surge, you still them.
3. Psalm 107 sounds like a poetic paraphrase of today’s event in the life of Jesus and His disciples: 23 Others went to sea in ships, conducting trade on the vast water. 24 They saw the Lord’s works, his wondrous works in the deep. 25 He spoke and raised a stormy wind that stirred up the waves of the sea…28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. 29 He stilled the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed. (Ps. 107:23-25, 28-29)
4. Jesus is the Lord of the storm and the Lord of death and the grave.
3. Jesus is our Savior who loved us enough to purchase our salvation by His blood.
F. And what is the primary thing that we should do? Put all our trust in God – Father, Son, and H.S.
1. God is completely worthy of our trust and He welcomes our trust – He says, “Trust Me!”
2. We can bring any fear or anxiety to God and ask for insight and assistance.
3. We can honestly cry out “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.”
4. We can know for sure that those who trust in the Lord will not be disappointed and will not be put to shame.
5. Are you trusting in the Lord? Will you put all your trust in the Lord?
6. Putting all our trust in the Lord leads to peace, perfect peace.
Resources:
• Truth for Today Commentary: Mark 1-8 and 9-16, Martel Pace, Resources Communications.
• Fear-full or Faith-full, Sermon by David Owens
• Who Then Is This? Sermon by Nate Shinn
• Jesus the King, Timothy Keller, Chapter Five: The Power, Riverhead Books, 2011.
