Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for this meditation is written in the 4th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Mark: Verses 35 – 41:
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
The incident recorded for us in the Gospel we just heard is not just a nice story about Miracle Worker Jesus saving His followers from a watery grave. It is also gives us real insights concerning the nature of Jesus as the Christ and the nature of the sinners in the boat with Him.
The events leading up to the account in today’s Gospel include a very full day of teaching for Jesus. We heard two of the parables He taught in last week’s Gospel. It’s been a long day. Jesus is tired. As is often the case after a busy time of ministry, Jesus decided to get away with His disciples for some much-needed rest and relaxation. In this case, He elected to sail in a boat, with His disciples, to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
The Sea of Galilee (also known as Lake Gennesaret) is about thirteen kilometres across from West to East at its widest point. It is situated some 213 metres below sea level and surrounding the sea, the hills of Galilee reach 450 metres above sea level and the Golan Heights (called the Decapolis in Jesus time) reach more than 750 metres. The sea’s location makes it subject to sudden and violent storms as the wind comes over the Eastern mountains and drops suddenly into the sea. The cold air, being heavier, drops as the warm air rises. This sudden change can produce surprisingly furious storms in a short time.
On calmer water with a good sea breeze, the sailing boat crossing should only take a few hours, but on this crossing, a storm came up. Now, even though several of the disciples were experienced fishermen, they were still frightened. This indicates that the storm was powerful.
Where was Jesus during this storm? In these boats there was a ‘VIP seat’ for travelling guests. A little seat in the stern of the boat with a cushion and a carpet, and He was reclined in this seat blissfully sleeping. He was exhausted from His long day and fell into a sleep so sound that even the storm did not wake Him.
The fact that Jesus was asleep is a revealing demonstration of the nature of the Christ. Other than His actual death on the cross, there is no better demonstration of the humanity of Jesus than the sleep of exhaustion. Every human being on the planet knows what it is to grow tired and fall asleep. Here Jesus demonstrates His unity with all people. He sleeps like any other human being.
But then the disciples wake Him and ask for His help. The question in my mind is why did they wake him? It’s true that by this time, the disciples had seen Jesus do some miraculous healing and heard some of His wise teachings, but these men did not have a good track record of faith in and understanding of Jesus mission. So, we should not assume that the disciples were expecting much from Jesus. After all, he was brought up as a carpenter, not as a sailor. But, He was their leader and teacher, and they were in a panic, so they took the problem to Him. I mean how could he sleep through all this anyway? At the very least he could be another set of hands to help bail the water out of the boat or some other similar activity.
I am inclined to think that they were overwhelmed, and Jesus was their last hope, so they woke Him to get Him involved. Ever get that feeling of despair? You know you feel you’re in deep trouble, with no answers in sight, and, pardon the pun, you feel as though you’re in the same boat as the Disciples that night. The thing is though, when they woke Jesus, I am sure they did not expect what happened next.
Jesus woke up and had a word with the elements. The word “rebuke” in the text means that Jesus scolded the wind and the water rather harshly. After that, the wind and the water became calm.
Now, you and I could scold the weather until we were blue in the face, and nothing would change. In fact, if we continued in that sort of activity, people might wonder if they should take us somewhere to get a mental check-up.
Jesus, on the other hand, scolded the weather and the weather paid attention. It paid attention because Jesus is not just your ordinary, sleepy human being. He is also the God of all creation.
Jesus’ ability to control the wind and the waves with just a word clearly shows that He is God. So it is that this one event very clearly demonstrates that Jesus is both 100 % man and 100 % God in one person.
The disciples may have been full of fear on account of the storm, but, on the other hand, when they witnessed Jesus calm the storm, they were terrified. The original Greek says that they feared a great fear. They were in a boat with someone who could talk to the wind and the waves, and the wind and the waves would pay attention to what He said.
They began to question who their master and teacher really was. Isn’t it a sad indictment on out human nature that we have to be shocked into belief? When we don’t really come to terms with our sinful nature until we realise we are in the presence of God Himself? Why else would they have great fear? They realised they could be riding in the same boat as the God of creation.
This is one of the themes in Jesus’ life. People often ask who Jesus is. Today, we heard that the wind and the waves know who Jesus is. In other parts of the Gospel account, we learn that diseases, birth defects, and injuries know who Jesus is. Even the demons know who Jesus is. But, when it comes to the human beings, Jesus is a great mystery. They regularly ask, “Who is this? Where does He get this authority?” This reminds me of the words that the Holy Spirit spoke through His prophet Isaiah. (Isaiah 1:3) “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”
All through the Old Testament whenever God appeared, there was great fear. You see it is not until God’s presence becomes obvious in our lives do we realise how sinful and inadequate we are.
The terror of God traces its way clear back to Eden. God called and Adam replied, (Genesis 3:10) “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid.” Adam had sinned and the presence of the holy and almighty God terrified him. It is the same for all people who see their sin clearly in the holy presence of Almighty God. (Hebrews 10:31) “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.
That is the reason it so important that Jesus be both man and God. If Jesus were only God, He could not take our place under the law and live a holy life for us. He also could not suffer the penalty we have earned for our sin. If Jesus were a man, and nothing more, then His perfect life and sacrificial death would earn the salvation of one and only one person. The rest of the world would be lost. It is essential for our salvation that Jesus be both God and man.
We need the salvation that Jesus provides because the storm on the Sea of Galilee is just one instance of the many disasters that the sin of humanity has brought into this world. The destruction that storms bring is an expression of the curse that came when sin entered the world. Our sin not only brings sickness and death to us, but even the world is cursed. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to the Romans: (Romans 8:22) “We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now”. Floods, fires, cyclones, tornadoes, hail, lightening, earthquakes, and all the other natural disasters are the result of the curse that our sin brought into the world.
These natural disasters are not the only limited to the storms that our sin has brought into the world. There are other adversities in our lives as well. There are the medical storms of infections, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, cancer, and so forth. There are the relational storms of broken families and friendships. There are the financial storms of businesses closing and staff layoffs. Ultimately, there is the storm of death that comes to all of us sooner or later. We may try to deny the existence of sin in our lives, but these storms, both private and public, say otherwise.
It is in the incarnation of Jesus Christ – the fact that the Son of God assumed human nature – that we see God’s loving plan to deal with sin. In Jesus Christ, God assumed human nature to save humans from their nature – their sinful nature. It is our own original sin that doomed us to perish – not just from this earth, but also from the blessings of God’s presence with us.
The good news of the Gospel is clearly announced to us in (1 John 1:7) “But the blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin”. Christ’s human nature allowed Him to be the target of God’s wrath as He hung on the cross for our sake. Christ’s Divine nature allowed Him to endure that wrath for all people in all times and places. So it is that God took on human flesh and saved us from our sins.
We can have complete confidence in that salvation that Jesus earned for us because death was unable to hold Him. For Christ did not remain in the grave, but, after He conquered death, He rose from death never to die again. After He rose, He showed Himself to His disciples. He encouraged them to examine the marks of the cross in His body. He talked with them and ate with them. He interacted with them in very human ways. At the same time, locked doors and windows were no barrier to Him as He appeared and disappeared at will. In His resurrection, He demonstrated that He lives forever as both God and man in one person.
Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. With that combination, we find our full salvation from sin, death, and the power of the devil. In His humanity, He was able to suffer on the cross in our place and for our good. In His deity, He was able to defeat our foes and rise from the dead to give us eternal life. It is in the person of Jesus Christ who both slept and stilled the storm that we have confidence that He will still the storms in our life.
The vital question for us is, when our boat is rocking and the storms are raging in our lives, are we prepared to wake Jesus in prayer? Do we have the faith to be confident that, regardless of the circumstances, He will bring calm and peace back into our lives? Hear His promise (Matt 11:28-30) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”. Amen
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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