By Jim Barnette, Ph.D.
Samford University and Brookwood Baptist Church, Mountain Brook
Jesus Rules
Mark 4:35–41
Following Jesus does not exempt us from storms. (35–37)
It is the evening after a full and exhausting day of teaching. Jesus wants to spend some quality time with His disciples, so they leave the crowd by taking a boat. The Sea of Galilee is like a basin: it is 700 feet below sea level, and it is surrounded by mountains. Through a slight opening at the southern cleft, violent winds from the southwest can blow down suddenly upon the water. Since the wind is nearly always stronger in the afternoon than in the morning or evening, fishing was done at night. But when a storm arises in the evening, it is all the more dangerous.
All the fishermen among Jesus’ most intimate disciples knew from experience the danger of sudden storms at sea. They knew this sea to be a deep one, and that consequently these storms could produce waves of eight to 10 feet. As this particular storm emerged, even these seasoned anglers could not help but be terrified.
Jesus is present with us in the storms. (38–39)
While the storm rages, Jesus lay sleeping in the stern. His head is on the pillow that was customarily kept under the coxswain’s seat for those who were not involved in the actual sailing or fishing. The frightened disciples interpret His sleep not as faith but as indifference to their plight. They awaken Jesus, and their cry carries a sharp tone of rebuke: “Teacher, do you not care if we drown?”
There are connections here with the Jonah story, which has a boat on the sea, a huge storm, terrified passengers and Jonah asleep below deck. There are significant contrasts, however, to the two stories. Jonah embarks on the sea to avoid preaching God’s word to the unbelieving people of Nineveh. Jesus, on the other hand, sails to take His good news to Gentiles on the eastern side of the sea. Another significant contrast is found in Jonah 1:6 — the captain awakens Jonah to pray for their situation, and this is what the disciples should have done.
Having received an undeserved rebuke from the unwitting disciples, now Jesus directs two amazing rebukes at the storm. First He rebukes the wind. The word here for “rebuke” means “to muzzle.” The literal translation of His command to the waves, “Be still,” is “be muzzled like a dog.” This is the same language used to rebuke and silence the demon in Mark 1:25. A terrible storm can remind us how vulnerable we are to the dark forces of this broken, chaotic world. The miracle of calming the storm underscores for us the power that Jesus has to help us weather whatever types of storms we might face.
Following Jesus requires faith. (40–41)
“Have you no faith” does not capture the temporal unbelief of the disciples. “Are you still without faith” (NIV) or “Do you still have no faith?” (NLT) more correctly portray the “incomplete” belief of the disciples. Once they experience the miracles of Easter and Pentecost, their faith is transformed into a mighty force. Such is the challenge for us to carry on that confidence of our early church brothers and sisters that indeed the Lord Jesus is “ruler of all nature.”
It is not surprising that in early Christian art, the church is depicted as a boat driven upon a perilous sea; with Jesus in the midst, there is nothing to fear. A contemporary word of such faith is found in the words of a sign hanging in my church treasurer’s office: “Don’t tell God how big your storms are; tell your storms how big God is.”
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