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Jesus quiets the raging sea (Mk 4:35-41)
This miracle is also recorded in Matt 8:23-27 and Luke 8:22-25. There are many reflections and life applications in this incident. Now let us examine several things in the environment surrounding the disciples and the lessons that we can learn from them.
(the unusual storm)
It is certainly not a small storm but “a great storm of wind” (v37a). The storm is so great that even “the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.” (v37b) In other words, the storm is risking their lives. The professional fishermen eventually shouted to Jesus, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (v38b). Besides, this great storm came so suddenly. They never expected to face such a great storm that could endanger their lives. Probably in the experience of the fishermen, this is the greatest storm they have ever met. Why? If miracle had not been performed, they could have lost their lives.
There are times when we encounter unexpected storm. It is so great and so sudden that we are simply not prepared to face it. We feel like our lives are going to get lost by the storm. And that’s when the Lord is present with us! Jesus was on the ship with the disciples. They expected to be very safe. On the contrary, the circumstance made them very fearful (v40). Do you remember the last time you were so fearful even when you felt the Lord was present with you? Why would that happen? Why would the Lord allow the storm to hit the small ship relentlessly when He was on board? Did the Lord know in advance that a storm was going to come before they set off to the other side of the sea? It is not impossible that the Father allowed the storm to befall even though the Lord was on the ship. Without doubt, this is certainly an acid test of faith for the disciples. Unexpected storms in our lives at peaceful times are usually acid tests of our faith in the Lord.
(Panic vs Peace)
It is a very interesting picture to see that the disciples were struggling to survive the storm whilst Jesus “was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow” (v38). This is certainly an extreme contrast between the fearful disciples and the peaceful Jesus. Panic is our natural reaction to the stormy environment that seems to endanger our lives. It is not until the sea was calmed did the disciples get rid of fear. It is very true for us too! Many times we manage to cast away our fear only after the difficult time has elapsed. Is that the kind of peace that we are supposed to enjoy? The fact that Jesus was able to sleep in midst of storm demonstrates to us that we can enjoy peace in dangerous moments. In fact, the peace we find in times of danger is the true heavenly peace for the believers. It is the peace amid storm rather than the peace after storm that we should gain in our Christian lives.
(Fear vs Faith)
Now it’s the time to ask this question: Why would the disciples fear so much even when Jesus their Lord was on the ship? It is simply because they didn’t see Jesus doing anything to conquer the storm but sleeping. They were forced to face the storm by themselves. Later, they even complained to Jesus for letting them face the storm by themselves without offering any help. What’s wrong with them indeed? The answer is given by Jesus himself when he questioned the disciples, “How is it that ye have no faith?” (v40). Did the disciples really have no faith? The fact that they immediately woke up Jesus and cried to him for deliverance proved their faith in their master. At least they believed at the time that Jesus could save their lives. So, why would Jesus still blame them for lack of faith? What kind of faith is he talking about? If we examine the question that Jesus raised for the disciples, we will get the answer. He posed two questions, “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” (v40). Apparently, the challenge that he was posing for the disciples is: if you have faith, you should not fear. Here is the first lesson that Jesus is teaching us:
Lesson 1: If you have faith, then you will not fear. The more faith you have, the less fear you have. You have great fear because you have little faith. The worst case is this: you will be completely overcome by the fear if you have no faith at all. The disciples had little faith, so they had great fear. They were nearly overcome by the fierce storm.
Jesus teaches us another lesson when Jesus was able to sleep amid storm. Why could he sleep as usual in the midst of storm? Well, we might say that of course, he is not afraid of the storm because he is the Son of God. He knows he has the power to still the storm. This is not wrong at all, but we must not ignore the fact that at that time he is also a man by flesh. He is facing the same storm with a fleshly body as the disciples. The difference between him and the disciples is this: (we can rightfully say that) he does not fear the storm because he has faith that his Father in Heaven has the ultimate power to calm the sea. So, when he “rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still” (v39a), he was asking his Heavenly Father to intervene the nature. The Almighty Father exercised His power and “the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (v39b) In this sense, he did not fear at all because he had faith that God would eventually intervene and the storm would pass away anyway. He was rest assured that he would be protected from any harm in the end. As a result, he could sleep as usual and enjoy full peace in heart while the ship was being hit by the storm. So, what is the second lesson that he teaches us?
Lesson 2: In the midst of storm, if you have faith that the Lord will quiet the storm anyway and the storm will be over in the end, you will be able to overcome any fear amid storm. Based on the challenge Jesus gave his disciples, we are told that there is no need to fear in midst of heavy storm. He has proven to us that we can enjoy full peace amid storm like him.
When difficulty arises in our daily lives, we have good reason not to fear because we believe that the Lord will intervene to quiet the storm and the waves will be calmed in the end. Yet in many occasions, we fear so much because we are tempted to raise doubt on our Lord’s care. We tend to ask the same question before our Lord, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” As everything seems as usual in our tough situation, we may further doubt on our Lord’s power of tackling our life problems. After Jesus calmed the sea, the disciples were shocked at his great power of taming the nature, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (v41) Obviously, they never anticipated Jesus to solve their big problem in such simple manner. Sometimes we may as well be tempted to think that not because the Lord does not care for our tough situation but He is unable to overcome the difficulties on our behalf. In any case, this marvelous miracle gives us the assurance that if we trust that the Lord loves us and has everything under control and He will surely take care of our tough situations, we will be able to experience true peace in our hearts in all circumstances. This is the kind of faith and the kind of peace that Jesus is talking about.