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Sermons

September 2/3, 2017

The Stilling of the Storm

Jason Meyer | Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 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?” 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. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 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?”—Mark 4:35–41

Introduction
I want to draw your attention to next Sunday, Sept 10, and our 100-year celebration (David Livingston and Brad Nelson, 30 years each; Sam Crabree and Chuck Steddom, 20 years each). We will have a brief service at 2pm at the Downtown Campus and a reception to follow. Here is my personal plea: Make every effort to come. Let them know how God has used their ministry to bless you. Notice how I worded that? Not if their ministry has blessed you, but how. They have served in the strength that God supplied—I want God to get the glory in this 100-year celebration. Highlight the evidences of God’s grace that have come to you through them. If you can’t physically come, send a card or a note. Don’t let this chance to outdo one another in showing honor pass by you.

My guess is that many of you here today are familiar with the story of the stilling of the storm. There are two mistakes that people sometimes make. We could call them the secular problem and the spiritual problem. Some try to give this story a secular spin by explaining away the miracle. One commentator tried to explain the miracle away by claiming that Jesus actually said, “What a dreadful storm! It must be over soon.” His disciples misunderstood his words and took them as the cause of the sudden calm (H.E.G. Paulus, quoted in David E. Garland, Mark, p. 194). I don’t want to mock this secular impulse. I want to call attention to it because though I disagree with their conclusion, their instinct actually recognizes something crucial that evangelicals sometimes skip over.

Others try to take this story and immediately spiritualize it: We read about a physical storm that Jesus stilled for the disciples and we spiritualize it so that the story is about Jesus stilling our storms of suffering today. Both of these approaches totally miss the mark. I am going to suggest very strongly that this passage is not first and foremost about us, but about Jesus. Only after we see what the text says about him, only then can we see what it has to say to us and about us. 

The story follows a situation/response format. Mark describes the situation in verses 35–37. A windstorm comes up and the waves of the sea rise so that water begins to fill up the boat. Jesus’ response is seen in verse 38—he is sleeping. The disciples’ response follows in verse 38: They frantically wake him up and ask him if he cares that they are going to die! Then Jesus responds: He rebukes the wind in verse 39 and then he rebukes his disciples for their lack of faith in verse 40. Finally, the disciples respond in verse 41 with the main point of the whole story: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Rather than have a five-point outline of situation and response, let us zero in on what Jesus expects to find, and then we can be on the lookout for it as well. Do you see the question he asks in verse 40? “He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’” That question really is an interpretive key. We see fear, but we should be seeing faith. That question suggests a three-part outline 

  1. The Need for Faith (vv. 35–38)
  2. The Model of Faith (v. 38a)
  3. The Object of Faith (vv. 39–41)
  1. The Need for Faith (v. 35–38)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him (vv. 35–36).

These verses will help build the bridge between the previous text and this one. Remember that Jesus taught in parables; the crowd was so large that he taught them from a boat while they gathered on the shore.

Mark paints the scene as Jesus teaching with a full day of parables (public ministry) and then private explanation to the disciples (at some other time). Now evening has come and he wants to go to the other side (we are talking about Gentile territory, as we will see in chapter five). He was already in the boat teaching parables, so they took him as he was (in the boat).

Remember that there is a private disclosure to the disciples—they get to see more than the crowds do. We are about to find out how much more! Now comes the crisis moment.

 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion (vv. 37–38).

Notice that this crisis moment has two components. First, the windstorm was great—so much so that the waves broke into the boat and the boat was filling full of water. Second, Jesus was asleep during this storm. The disciples fear for their lives and the fact that Jesus seems oblivious to the danger only heightens this crisis.

Therefore, the disciples ask a frantic question. Fear has replaced faith and has caused a crisis question (v. 37):

And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 

The way they frame the question is important. There are different ways to frame a question in the original language. You could ask a question that does not imply an answer, or a question that implies a negative answer or a positive answer. For example, Paul asks a series of questions in 1 Corinthians 12:29–30 that imply a negative answer. “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” (1 Corinthians 12:29–30). The implied answer to all of these questions is “no.” All are not apostles, all are not prophets, etc.

Our text gives us an example of a positive question: “You do care that we are perishing, don’t you?” (Mark 4:38b). It is an important point to make here that this question comes from disciples who have walked with Jesus. Their relationship with him means that their question arises from a disposition of trust. We believe that you care. Suffering introduces dissonance into this disposition of trust: We believe that you care, but we are in a storm and it seems like we are going to die, and you look indifferent or oblivious. Help us know how to put these two facts together so that they make sense.

Suffering is disorienting, isn’t it? It disrupts our disposition of trust. We think God cares, but when suffering comes it stretches our ability to see his care. It can seem as if he is sleeping. It is interesting that the temple liturgy of Jesus’ day would often recite Psalm 44:23. “Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O LORD? Awake, do not cast us off forever!”

This is a question/demand that we can also raise. We want to know why God can seem silent in our suffering. He is so silent that it seems like he is sleeping—even though God never slumbers or sleeps. It didn’t just seem like Jesus was sleeping, he was! There is far more than meets the eye happening there in the stern on that cushion.

  1. The Model of Faith in the Storm (v. 38a)

But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.

First, sleep is proof of Jesus’ humanity. It is so obvious that we can be oblivious to it. Don’t miss the glory of the incarnation on display. We have definitive proof that Jesus is fully man. He sleeps on a sailor’s cushion! I don’t have to stretch my imagination very far to picture the scenario that Jesus is tired after a full day of preaching. What we do see is that Jesus is fully human! Psalm 121 tells us that God does not slumber or sleep. Jesus is doing something that only humans can do. He was not faking it with one eye open. He was really sleeping. Because he is fully human, he can fully sleep. But that observation only sets the stage for the second one.

Second, the source of sleep is faith, not lack of sleep. Now some of you may rightly say, “Wait a minute, I don’t see the word ‘faith’ in verse 38; I only see the word ‘asleep.’” You are right—and so am I. The word “asleep” here is downstream from faith.

The best commentary on the New Testament is the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, there is a frequent link between sleep and faith (Psalm 3:5, 4:8, 121:3–4; Prov. 3:23–26). Take Psalm 3 as an example. David is on the run from his son, Absalom. David looks at his great opposition in verses 1–2. They are pursuing him to the death. They are taunting him, saying, “There is no salvation for him in God” (Psalm 3:2). But then David looks at his great God in verses 3–4. God is a shield. He is a God who hears and answers a cry for help.

After looking at the great threat against him in the light of looking at how much greater his God is, verses 5–6 happen: “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” David slept and woke up again. Do you see the link between faith and sleep in this story?

In the ancient world, they would attack at first light. If you knew that you had tens of thousands of professionally trained killers coming after you at first light, how would you sleep? Counting sheep is not going to help! David laid down and slept because God was his shield. He cried out to God. He knew that God hears and answers prayer. He could look at thousands of killers and then look at God and say, “He who is for me is far greater than those that are against me.” I sleep, I wake because the Lord sustains me.”

In the same way, Jesus can sleep in a storm because his Father sustains him. Jesus kept his eyes on his Father at all times, and he knew his Father had his eyes on him at all times. Jesus sleeping on a cushion is a faith-filled model for us to emulate. Our Father is a shield, a rock, a refuge, a very present help in times of tumult and trouble.

Transition
We have seen the need for faith and we have witnessed that Jesus is the model of faith. But now we see in the climax of this story that he is far more than the model of faith; he is also the object of faith. He can be the model of faith because he is fully human; he can be the object of faith because he is fully divine.

  1. The Object of Faith in the Storm (vv. 39–41)

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. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 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?”

Some people read these verses and see that someone far greater than Jonah has come. A question about “perishing” is found in both stories: “So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish” (Jonah 1:6). The stories both end with the storm ceasing and both the pagan sailors and the disciples are said to be “exceedingly afraid” (Jonah 1:16, Mark 4:41). But the similarities end there. Jonah is fleeing the presence of the Lord; Jesus is not. Jesus sleeps in the stern, not the hold (Jonah 1:5). The disciples don’t battle the storm and empty the cargo and cast lots to see who caused the storm (1:5, 7). The calm in the book of Jonah comes when Jonah is thrown overboard, not when he speaks (1:15). Jesus does not pray to God, like Jonah, he addresses the sea directly. We will see later that there is no need to offer sacrifices in this situation either.

Something different is happening here. The language of “stilling” the sea is quite common in the Psalms. Consider Psalm 89:9. “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them” (see also Psalm 65:7). But by far the closest parallel is Psalm 107. Every Jew knew that God alone caused storms to start and stop.

Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.—Psalm 107:23–27

In other words, the sailors of Psalm 107 and the disciples were in the same boat (pardon the pun): scared to their very wits’ end.

What did they do in Psalm 107?

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed—Psalm 107:28–29

Did the disciples think they were crying to the LORD himself in their distress? Maybe they thought Jesus would cry out to God and God would still the storm. They did not expect to see what they saw next. Jesus did not cry out to God to still the storm. Jesus did it: “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” (Mark 4:39).

We know that they did not expect him to do this because of the next verse. Compare the response of the sailors in Psalm 107 and the response of the disciples in Mark 4.

Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!—Psalm 107:30–31

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.—Mark 4:41

The prior question (Do you care we are going to die?) has faded into the background and now another question pushes its way forcefully to the forefront: Who is this? The sailors went from fear to happiness after the storm passed; the disciples went from fear to a greater fear after the storm passed. Why? The disciples do not have it all put together at this point. They don’t know what the reader knows. Jesus is God. Think through a syllogism of their beliefs and their experience and why they would ask who Jesus is. 

Belief:  Only God stills storms

Experience:  Jesus stilled the storm

Question:  Who is Jesus? Is Jesus God?!?

You can see that this event has exploded their previously existing categories. The reader knows that Jesus is the Son of God from Mark 1:1. The disciples have not figured that out yet. Therefore, you can see that we err by first making this a story about our storms. We cannot start by making this story about us. This story reveals the glory of Jesus. Jesus’ rebuke in verse 40 shows us that this story is really about the need for faith in him: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 

Don’t they see who he is yet?

Main Point

The stilling of the storm reveals that Jesus is the Son of God.

Application: Moving From ‘the Boat’ to ‘the Cross’ to ‘In Christ’

  1. Two Questions in the Boat

Therefore, remember that there were two questions in that boat. One during the storm: “Doesn’t he care that we are perishing?” And one after the storm: “Who then is this?” As we move through the Gospel of Mark—those two questions are on a collision course and they come together at the cross.

  1. The Question on the Cross—not “Why do we suffer?”—but “Why did the sinless one suffer?”

Jesus comes into this world not to be part of the coastguard and rescue people from storms. He doesn’t come to put an end to all suffering. He suffers himself on the cross. And on the cross, you hear Jesus ask a question of his own to the Father: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:37). The gospel narrative does not draw our focus to our suffering, but to his.

This is such an important point. We often skip over it. In suffering, we often want to know: God, what are you up to—what are you doing? In other words, we want God to explain himself—we want to start with the sovereignty of God. But the Gospels force us to start with the suffering of God to see the love of God and the care of God. The cross and the Resurrection offer the ultimate answer to the disciples’ question. Jesus came into this world of suffering and suffered himself on the cross to save us from eternal suffering—eternal perishing. Jesus does not merely rescue people from a scary storm but from the horrors of an eternal firestorm. He was forsaken so that we will never be. He died so we might live. The storm causes our fear of death to come to the surface. The cross and the Resurrection highlight that Jesus conquered the condemning power of sin and death.

So when storms come, like they just did in Houston—a storm that led to a storm of suffering—we respond. Yes, we care. We will give our money and our time to show the love of God that way. Pastor Brad Nelson is heading up our relief efforts, and I am excited about what we are doing. Get in contact with him about our Hurricane Harvey Cleanup. But let’s be clear. These efforts will fall short of full love—if we try to only relieve their temporary suffering and don’t do anything about their eternal suffering. We don’t just do relief—we do evangelism and missions.

This story is ultimately about the Son of God bringing salvation. How do we know that? Look at the strange language of “rebuking.” He didn’t just still the storm. He rebuked it. Why? The language of “rebuking” the sea connects this story with even more Old Testament expectation of salvation as a second exodus (Psalm 104:7, 106:8–12; Isaiah 51:9–11). These texts connect the power of the Creator and the act of redemption at the Exodus.

Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
     did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
     but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
     that he might make known his mighty power.
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
     and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
So he saved them from the hand of the foe
     and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
And the waters covered their adversaries;
     not one of them was left.
Then they believed his words;
     they sang his praise.—Psalm 106:7–12

Even more striking is the way that Isaiah 51:9–11 picks up this theme.

Awake, awake, put on strength,
     O arm of the Lord;
awake, as in days of old,
     t
he generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
     who pierced the dragon?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
     the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
     for the redeemed to pass over?
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
     and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
     they shall obtain gladness and joy,
     and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

God our Creator came into this world he made to become God our Savior. A new question trumps all of the others: who then is this, that is sinless and yet dies on the cross for sinners? Amazing love, how can it be that Thou, my God, would die for me? Who then is this, that is no longer in the grave, but is alive forevermore?

God’s love and care are forever proven here. Listen to Dietrich Bonhoeffer make this same point (Life Together, p. 54):

It is not in our life that God’s help and presence must still be proved, but rather God’s presence and help have been demonstrated for us in the life of Jesus Christ…The fact that Jesus Christ died is more important than the fact that I shall die, and the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground of my hope that I, too, shall be raised on the Last Day. Our salvation is ‘external to ourselves.’ I find no salvation in my life history, but only in the history of Jesus Christ. Only he who allows himself to be found in Jesus Christ, in his incarnation, his Cross, and his resurrection, is with God and God with him.

  1. Suffering in Christ: It can’t separate us from him but throws us upon him.

Therefore, our focus in suffering shifts from the abstract (how well are we doing—or what is God doing) to suffering that takes place in Christ. This is so important because often our focus in suffering subtly shifts to ourselves, even our performance. How am I doing? Am I suffering well? Our assurance is not the degree to which we are like Christ, but the degree to which we are in Christ. In Christ, we can make it through the storm. He is there in the boat with us—never leaving and never forsaking. 

Suffering can become a pointer to Christ and what he did for us. And then we look for him to reveal more of himself in suffering. The way we approach suffering does point to the glory of Christ. Moses once told God that he preferred a howling desert to a land flowing with milk and honey if God wasn’t there (Exodus 33:12–15). If you won’t go with us, then don’t lead us from this place. I am not going if you are not going. I don’t care how pleasant it is. Is that the way you feel about your dear Savior. I would rather be in the boat with him seeing his glory than in a beach chair on the shore where he is not. If the goal of your life is merely to avoid hard times, then suffering can only be seen as a burden. If the desire of your heart is to see more of Christ, suffering can be seen as a blessing.

The great theologians of the church are unified on this front. Consider what Martin Luther said. He read Psalm 119:67 and noticed that the danger we face is going astray: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”

It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.—Psalm 119:71

Luther called suffering the touchstone of understanding (What Luther Says: An Anthology, Vol. 3, p. 1,360):

[They] teach you not only to know and understand but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God's word is: it is wisdom supreme.

This was not abstract—you come to know Christ more through suffering.“I know not where He leads me, but well do I know my Guide.”—Luther

And from C.H. Spurgeon (The Anguish and Agonies of Charles Spurgeon, p. 25): 

I am afraid that all the grace that I have got of my comfortable and easy times and happy hours, might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable.

And …

I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.—Spurgeon

The cross also created a family of sufferers. We can point each other to Christ and tangibly be the arms of Christ—show the compassion of Christ—weep with those who weep.

And we remind each other that he is coming again. In the first coming, he suffered to save us from eternal suffering. In the Second Coming, he will banish all suffering so that his people are safe on that happy, heavenly shore—everlasting joy upon their heads.

Do you think the disciples looked back on this moment and wished that they had never got into that boat? I think they would all say, “I would do it all over again just to see the glory of Christ on display once again” or “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” You can only say that because you are persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, not things present nor things to come, nor powers, neither height nor depth nor any storm in all creation can separate us from his love, the waves won’t cause separation—they will throw you against the Rock of Ages.

Sermon Discussion Questions

Outline

  1. The Need for Faith (vv. 35–38)
  2. The Model of Faith (v. 38)
  3. The Object of Faith (vv. 39–41)

Main Point: The stilling of the storm reveals that Jesus is the Son of God.

Discussion Questions

  • How does the story show that Jesus is the model of faith?
  • How does the story show that Jesus is the object of faith?
  • How does the whole of the Gospel of Mark answer the question of the disciples as to whether Jesus really cares about our suffering?

Application Questions

  • What does it mean to say that suffering is not the point, but a pointer?
  • How does the gift of the body of Christ change suffering?
  • Do you feel like you are currently in the storm of suffering? Commit that you will not remain in the storm alone, but will bring others into the boat with you. Invite someone else into the boat with you and ask for prayer. How will this sermon change the way that you will ask for prayer?
  • If you are not currently experiencing suffering, do you know anyone who is? How will this sermon change the way that you pray for them? How can you step into the boat with them and be a pointer to Jesus?

Prayer Focus

Pray for a grace to see and savor the glory of Christ in our suffering and point others to him.