Even the Wind and the Sea Obey Him!
Bible Passage: Mark 4:35-41
Pastor: Michael Willitz
Sermon Date: June 27, 2021
Mark 4:35–41
35On that day, when evening came, Jesus said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” 36After leaving the crowd behind, the disciples took him along in the boat, just as he was. Other small boats also followed him. 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves were splashing into the boat, so that the boat was quickly filling up. 38Jesus himself was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to drown?”
39Then he got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still lack faith?”
41They were filled with awe and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
Even the Wind and the Sea Obey Him
- He has the power to save from all storms.
- He grants a great calm through his Word.
Dear fellow redeemed in Jesus Christ our Lord,
When I was in the 6th grade in Florida, I went on a school field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, and one of the highlights of the Museum of Science and Industry at that time was the hurricane room. It was a long, narrow room with thick windows and seats on both sides bolted down to the floor. As we entered the room and chose our seats, they handed each of us a pair of goggles and earmuffs. Then, when everyone was ready, they began to blow the air through vents at one end of the room. It started out as a breeze: 10 miles per hour, 20 miles per hour. Gradually it got faster: 30 miles per hour, 39 miles per hour – the wind speed of a tropical storm. It continued getting faster: 50 miles per hour, 60 miles per hour, until finally the wind speed reached 74 miles per hour – the required speed for a category 1 hurricane. It was a fun experience for 6th graders, and I think what made it a fun experience and not a terrifying one was that it was all simulated. We knew what was going to happen. We knew what to expect. We knew that it was only going to last a little while, and we knew that at the end someone somewhere was going to stop it.
When the storms of life hit, those aren’t as fun, are they? They tend to be a lot less predictable, and they tend to incorporate a whole lot less of our control. You’re going along at one moment, and you think you have a good, solid grasp on the wheel, but then the wind picks up, and waves start crashing, and the whole boat goes reeling completely out of your control. You know how this goes; you’ve seen storms like this, and if you haven’t, it probably won’t be long before you do. Life’s storms arise suddenly. They arise whether we are ready for them or not, and they have a way of showing us just how small and just how fragile we are.
That doesn’t mean, though, that there is no one in control. It doesn’t mean there is no one who can push the button and stop the wind. It just means that the person who has that control isn’t you. In the case of the disciples, the One who had control was fast asleep in the stern of their boat after a long day of preaching.
They were on the Sea of Galilee. It was evening when they set out from one side of the sea to travel to the other. The Sea of Galilee is a low-lying lake about twice the dimensions of Lake Mendota. It is surrounded by hills, forming a natural basin. At times, winds can enter the basin and can alter the weather rapidly, rapidly enough to take even professional fishermen by surprise. Such an unexpected storm arose that night, while they were trying to cross the lake. The wind was blowing, the waves were crashing into the boat. They were taking on water when they began frantically calling for Jesus.
It’s worth noting that Jesus does not rebuke them for calling on him or for waking him up in the middle of his sleep. After all, he is the same God who said in the Psalms, “Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me,” [Psalm 50:15]. We should never be shy about calling on Jesus in the midst of any and every trouble. The fact that these disciples call upon him now demonstrates that they believe he can do something to help them. But still, a problem is apparent in their doubt-laced prayer. They don’t question if he can do anything. Instead, they question why he doesn’t do anything. “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to drown?” [38]. “Don’t you care?” they asked, as if Jesus, the God-incarnate, could be accused of not caring. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Does he care what happens to them? He’s in the boat, he’s in this world, he’s in human flesh because he cares. He cares deeply what happens to their bodies, and he cares deeply what happens to their spirits. Why are they so afraid? Why do they still lack faith?
Those questions that Jesus asks of his disciples could be asked of us at times, too, couldn’t they? “Why are you so afraid? Why do you still lack faith?” [40] Storms can arise in our lives quite suddenly, and when you find yourself there in the wind and the waves, perhaps you don’t struggle so much wondering whether your Lord can do something. Perhaps you struggle a lot more with the question “Why hasn’t my Lord done something?” Perhaps you’ve even questioned him, “Doesn’t he care? Doesn’t he care . . . that I’m in pain . . . that I’m lonely . . . that I’m in danger? Doesn’t he care . . . that I’m in temptation . . . that I’m being persecuted . . . that I’m in the middle of a storm and I can’t make it stop. I can’t find my way out. I can’t save myself.”
The Lord didn’t explain himself to Job in our Old Testament reading. He doesn’t explain himself to his doubting disciples. We shouldn’t expect that Jesus is going to explain himself to us, either. He’s not going to apologize about being insensitive to our fears. He’s not going to make excuses for the way that he runs the cosmos. You see, the problem isn’t that there is any deficiency in his care. The problem, instead, is that there is a deficiency in our trust.
Thankfully, that doesn’t stop him from taking action at the proper time. Jesus takes his head from the pillow. He stands up straight and looks out at the tempest. “Peace,” he says. “Be still,” he says. I don’t know exactly what the disciples were expecting. Did they think Jesus could form his hands into a bowl and help them shovel water from the middle of their swamped boat? Did they think he could propel their boat forward and bring them to the shore, or at least to shallower water? Maybe they had nothing specific in mind; they just knew it was time to call Jesus. But whatever they might have expected, they were not ready for what happened. “Who is this? He just gave orders to the wind and the sea! Who does that?” That’s the type of behavior you’d expect from a person who just escaped the mental ward. But when Jesus does it, the waves listen. When Jesus speaks, the wind stops. “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him! [41]”.
You see, Jesus is not just the man who can escape from the wind and the sea. He’s got the sea on a leash. He’s got the wind tamed and bridled. Even Satan has to ask for his permission before he strikes. There is nothing that escapes from the scope of Jesus’ rule, which means that we should fear him. Don’t fear the wind. Don’t fear the waves. Don’t fear a virus. Don’t fear other countries. Don’t fear your own country. Don’t fear the devil. Don’t fear death. Fear the One who brought the entire creation into existence, the One who simply speaks a Word and brings the wind and the waves to a halt. Fear him, and trust him.
I can’t explain for you all the things that Jesus himself doesn’t explain to us. But this much I can say, and this much the Scriptures compel me to say: Jesus is with you in all the storms and all the sufferings of life. He is not a far-away god. He is not aloof to your pain. Remember the promise he told us, “Surely I am with you to the end of the age,” [Matthew 28:20]. He is not a stranger to storms, and he is not unfamiliar with suffering.
In a recent visit, I told one of our shut-in members that Jesus is ruling all things in our world. She responded, “He must have his hands full these days.” Think of the way that your Savior already took into his hands all the storms and all the sorrows and all the sufferings of this fallen creation. He opened his hands to have them pierced by our sins, so that he alone could endure all of the ruin and all of the terror that we sinners were due. Yes, you are going to endure storms, and you won’t figure out just why Jesus is sending them. But you can trust him. You can trust that the Ruler of the universe is for you. His cross puts all our doubts to death. His empty tomb assures us that the most terrible storm of all, the storm of God’s wrath is already passed. As the Apostle Paul once said in the face of many trials, “What then will we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him?” [Romans 8:31,32].
Our text tells us that after Jesus spoke to the wind and the sea, “there was a great calm,” [39]. The word that is used there in the Greek refers to an unruffled surface in the water. No waves, no ripples, no commotion; just peaceful, perfectly still water. That’s what’s left after Jesus speaks. The storms cease, and a great calm sets in. By faith, we already know this great calm. It’s the peace in our conscience when his voice is heard, saying, “Take heart, your sins are forgiven!” [Matthew 9:2] It’s our courage in the face of death, when his words are in our ears, saying, “Because I live, you too shall live!” [John 14:19]. It’s our strength to persevere through a world of many troubles, when his promise is repeated, saying, “Be courageous! I have overcome the world!” [John 16:33]. By faith, we can already taste that calm of our Savior’s victory, and when he returns and he calls us from our graves, then we will see it. No more storms, but a throne and a clear, glassy sea.
Who is this man? He is the God-man, who loves you and is with you all the way. Over all things he reigns. Even the wind and the sea obey him.
Amen.
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