“Peace! Be Still."
Mark 4:35-41
December 30, 2007
by C.W. Powell
Mark 4:35-41 “And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”, (Mr 4:35-41)
This is a most amazing miracle, recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is one of those miracles, like the feeding of the five thousand and the turning water to wine, and raising the dead, that demonstrates in no uncertain terms the power of the Lord Jesus over the very stuff that makes up the universe, showing that He is the Lord of Creation and can do as He pleases with the material that forms it. But more than that, it shows His power over the very energy that moves the stuff of the world. By a word, he can still the great forces that move the wind and the waters so that they rest in peace. As we consider the events of the past year and look ahead to the new year, it might be important for us to take a look at those things that we cannot see, the things that we cannot sense with our five senses.
The energies that move the world are beyond our senses. We can sense the effect of the winds, and we can explain that the wind itself is moved by that great force that we call gravity. We do not know what it is, but we see its effects, in the mighty movements of the planets in their orbits and the stars in their courses. There seems to be some form of attraction between the masses of material that are in the universe, but the word “attraction” is a figure of speech that does not explain it. Boys are attracted to girls; the attention of passerbys is attracted to an accident along the road; a beautiful sunset attracts our admiration. Attraction is different in all these things, and in the last case, we have difficulty of putting a value on either the word attract, or admiration, for neither of these things possess qualities that can be measured or sensed with the five senses.
And so in our ignorance, we speak of such things as gravity, without really knowing what we speak of. The heavy air falls to the earth, and the lighter air rises, causes the winds and the storms, the waves of the sea, and such. A small child may say, “Why does the heavy air fall?” “Because of gravity,” we say. But if the child says, “But what is gravity?” we wish he would go way and dig in the dirt, for all we can say is to try a definition in terms of what gravity does, which is like saying a man is something that dreams. Such a definition is true, of course, but it misses the point. We might try “Man is the image of God,” but that would lead us to an even more difficult question, “What is God?” and the lawyers say we cannot answer that in school. No wonder kids get bored and boys want to break things.
But I do not seek to answer those questions, but to consider one that can be answered. Who is this one who has power over these great forces that move the world; and what meaning does that have for me?
I. First, let us look at the details of the history, recorded by Mark, and also confirmed by Matthew and Luke.
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A. Jesus had been instructing His disciples on the nature of the kingdom of God. Mark emphasizes His teaching; Matthew His miracles; Luke both His teachings and miracles.
1. Both His teaching and His miracles emphasize the invisibility of the Kingdom of God. The word is sown and is hidden in the ground; in some soil it brings forth more grain than others; Jesus does not explain this. It is like a net cast into the sea that brings up all kinds of fish, some good and some bad. It is like a man that sows good seed in the field, but at night his enemy comes and sows bad seed. They must wait until the harvest before the wheat will be separated from the tares.
2. The emphasis is upon the hearts of His disciples. It is what takes place in the hidden places of the heart that directs the body. The material that we can see is moved by what we cannot see. He cautions them that there is nothing, however, that is hidden that shall not be made manifest, and they are not to keep any of His teachings hidden or secret, but are to proclaim His word with great boldness and authority. They are to set their light on a candlestick so that it may lighten the whole world.
3. Those they were not to hide His teachings, yet only those who have ears to hear will hear. No one knows how the seed grows in the ground: and the Kingdom is like seed sown in the ground that grows while a man sleeps, no one knows how.
B. Then as night is coming on, without leaving the ship upon which He is sitting as He speaks by the lake, Jesus sends away the multitude and commands them to sail to the other side of the lake. Being weary He goes to sleep in the ship and a great storm arises, a very great storm. The rising seas fill the boat with water, and it looks as if it will capsize and that they will all perish. The disciples are frightened and cry out to the Lord, “Don’t you care if we all die?” He arises, rebukes the wind, and told the sea to be quiet. They obeyed His voice, and He then rebukes his disciples for being timid and having no faith. They are now even more afraid, more afraid of Him than they were of the storms. “What manner of man IS this?” they ask one another. Thus the details.
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A. The obvious: Jesus is the Creator and has power over the physical creation.
B. The not so obvious: Jesus is the Creator and has power of the forces that move the physical creation. There is great mystery here, one that has occupied the minds of the greatest thinkers of all the history of the world, both pagan and Christian. The fact is that things move on the earth; the question is, how do they move? Do they move by themselves, or does something move them? The answer is here: God knows, and His Son knows. If we have a problem with it, it is not a problem of knowledge, but a problem of faith. Jesus does not rebuke them for their ignorance, but for their unbelief.
C. This storm did not arise by accident. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then we must believe that this event is for our instruction, and we must take instruction from it if we are to be wise. “the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet,” as Nahum writes.
D. Neither is this event for the purpose of teaching us about the forces of nature and Christ’s authority over them. There are far more serious storms than storms of wind and water on a small lake in Palestine. Consider these passages:
1. War: Am 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
2. Results of Idolatry: Ho 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.
3. Chastening of God’s people: “11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, 12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. 13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.” (Jer 4:11-13 av)
4. Banishment from their homeland and desolation: Zec 7:14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
5. Ordinary dislocations of life: Jesus spoke of the foolish who built their house of upon the sand, and the rains descend and the wind blows and the house falls. There are many perils in this life, but do you think that Christ is just speaking of water and air in this passage. The wise hears the sayings of Christ as does them, and he is like a man who builds his house on the rock. He and his house survive the winds and the rain, because his house is built on the rock. Is Christ speaking of architecture here alone? Or is this parable a picture of something else. Of course it is a picture of something else.
6. In your life you will know many kinds of storms; you folks with gray hair know what I am talking about: Financial storms; health storms; personal relation storms; religious storms, family storms; and yes storms of wind, snow, hail, and water, but these latter will some of little concern in terms of the others.
7. The book of Revelation is a book that reveals that it is God who holds all things under His command and power, for His own purposes and plan. Even the angels standing on the four corners of the earth [this is a figure of speech—even children can understand figures of speech] that control the four winds and stop them from blowing on the earth are under the power and control of God.
8. The storm that most concerned the Lord Jesus Christ, was not the storm of wind and wave that threatened the boat, but the storm in the hearts of His disciples. After he rebuked the sea and the wind, He dealt with the storm in the hearts of his disciples, and this is where the lesson is for you and for me.
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A. Let us consider the rebuke of Jesus to His disciples. His rebuke was two fold.
1. Why are you so afraid.
a) Why are you afraid after this manner. Calvin is wrong here in his commentary. This word mean “in this manner.” It was the manner of their fear, not that they had too much of it, that is the concern of Christ. In a few moments they would be much more afraid than they were of the storm and tempest, but it would be the right kind of fear:
b) Jesus said: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Fear is a very healthy motive, and those who are totally without fear will not live long on the earth, for it is given to us to preserve life and protect our bodies. It is useful. A wise man foresees the evil and hides himself. If you live where there are hurricanes, you probably should not build your house on the shore; if you do you should understand the risk you take. If there is a large religious movement that threatens your life and the lives of your families, you should support the military and a strong national defense. These are healthy fears and are felt by wise men.
c) But Christ would raise our souls to something far more important: not just to fear the things that we see, the things that all wise men fear, but to fear the things that we do not see, that may be far more critical to us than what we do not see. The unbelief in the hearts of the disciples was far more dangerous to them than the wind and the waves that towered above them.
a) Salvation does not appear to us by God ripping away the veil and showing us His glory. No, salvation appears when God clothes Himself in human form, is weak and weary and sleeps in the boat. But this is salvation that only the eyes of one like Simeon can see: “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” If the disciples had had the eyes of Simeon they would have said, “Jesus is in the boat, we do not need to be afraid. Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lords. Won’t it be beautiful in Heaven with the Lord and our loved ones?” Would I have done that? I assure you, not when I was twenty-five or thirty, but I had storms in my heart just like the disciples.
b) “Don’t you care that we perish?” Fear and unbelief makes drama queens out of us. We disregard the evil that is in our own hearts and shift the blame to others. But when they blamed Jesus, they blamed God. “But we didn’t know He is God.” But you should have.
c) No matter what the storm, we must beware the storm in our own hearts, and that is a problem of faith, for faith sees that which is invisible. Yet we are called to trust in Him who is invisible, who has his way in the whirlwind and tells the storms to shut up.
B. Conclusion: Jesus said,
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Jesus did not say, “If the storms come….” They will come. I saw the reaction of the grey-headed ones. You know the storms that come. All the godly do. You did not always have peace in your hearts, either, and often a storm of fear and anger raged in your souls. That’s where the real danger is, and the real threat to the soul. This is what Jesus is speaking of.
I will close with these words from the Apostle Paul from Colossians 3:-
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him
Amen and Amen
May God bless you.-
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.