Series
The First Mark Marathon

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Martineric @ Flickr

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Jesus and his followers have had a very full and busy day. Jesus has been teaching a large crowd with many parables beside the Lake of Galilee and now evening is starting to draw in. The Lake is roughly oval shaped, fourteen miles in length and between six and nine miles in width.  The area is said to be according to Josephus (a first century Jewish historian) a perfect paradise, producing every luxury under heaven at all seasons of the year. Much of this is due to the fact that the area is very low lying with the lake being the lowest fresh water lake in the world. It is much lower than the nearby Mediterranean.

There were many large cities near the Lake including Chorazin, Capernaum, Gennesaret, Magdala Bethsida and Tiberias. This made it an ideal place for Jesus to be based, to enable many to hear his words. The surrounding areas were quite hilly also possibly another benefit for preaching as it would enable many to be on the hillsides and see Jesus rather than being stuck at the back of a crowd looking at the back of someone’s head. These hills also funnel the wind from the North and mean that storms still to this day can whip up very quickly.

Jesus and his disciples were probably quite tired and were about to seek rest away from the crowds. Jesus had been busy all day; but he also knows that there is not going to be much rest in the boat. Jesus knows what is about to follow is a time of trial of faith for the disciples (putting into practise some of what they have heard or not), a storm and a miracle to be performed. Jesus was of course totally prepared for what lay ahead but his disciples on the other hand end up in fear and panic.

Verse 35 might not seem to say much: “And on that day, when the evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other side.” It is what it doesn’t say though that is quite amazing. When we re-read the passage and know that Jesus suggested the voyage in the knowledge of what was going to happen, we appreciate how the peace that is present in Jesus is always there.

In Verse 36 the use of the phrase “just as he was” implies that there were no preparations made for this trip but it seems to be a spur of the moment thing. This is often the way with Jesus and we are sometimes called to act similarly. Jesus was not unprepared but took with him all he actually needed. It was not just the disciples that followed without any prior arrangements but “There were also other boats with him.” (v36).

The storm that takes place is very sudden and catches even the reader unawares. “A furious squall came up” (v37). Even the disciples with four of them recruited from the very shores of the lake (the fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew and the brothers John and James) are not prepared for this. They are instantly thrown into panic and fear. The waves break over the boat and almost swamp it. Even these experienced fishermen are “terrified” (v41).

Jesus on the other hand was ready. He was “sleeping on a cushion” (v38) understandably after such a busy day but ready for action and totally at calm with the situation. It wasn’t the storm that woke him but the frantic disciples who asked “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (v38). The disciples seem to feel that Jesus has his priorities wrong. Why is he sleeping when they could well be about to drown.

Once the disciples have woken Jesus he is very calm, peaceful and authoritative. Jesus commands the storm to be quiet and still. With these words everything became calm. This is so far fetched from the disciples’ response of running around in panic and fear. Although the storm could be argued to be a very natural phenomenon the way it calms is not. Storms at sea will cause the sea to remain turbulent even after the wind has stopped. When Jesus commands the storm to be still though even the sea is calm.

This is clear proof of the authority of Jesus over creation which he was so intimately involved in its creation.  Colossians 1:16-17 “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Jesus asks his disciples why they are so afraid? The Hebrew used here is delios which means to be timid rather than the panic. What Jesus is meaning is that they should have been confident. The storm although a mighty event should not have made them scared. They should have instead remained confident in their faith. If they had clung to their faith they would have been confident and not fearful.

This is often the case with us when “mighty events” take place in our lives. We can become scared and timid when we lose sight of our faith. It is very easy to take our eyes off Jesus and start to look at the waves around us. What sort of things make us panic in life when things appear to be going wrong…money, relationships, health, work?

The passage finishes with the disciples terrified again. This time the fear is more an awe of the power that Jesus has. The absolute authority that Jesus has over creation should give us the same fear. It’s a fear that actually should bring confidence also. Knowing that this Jesus who cares for us; is so amazingly powerful and in control. As Jesus commands the storm to be still and calm he also wants us to be calm and confident in the faith we have.