Mark continues to demonstrate in his gospel what he asserted in the opening verse, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We have seen thus far that Jesus has power to heal the sick (1:32-34); power to cast out demons (1:25-26); power to forgive sin (2:10), and in this miracle, we will see his divine power over the forces of nature. God orchestrated this event in the lives of the disciples to reveal to them Jesus’ divine power and majesty. Their faith in the Messiah was tested in the process, and they came up short. They had seen Him do some incredible things in healing people and casting out demons with a word, but to still the forces of nature–only God can do that, right? Indeed!! And what they are about to witness is that the one who is in the boat with them is God incarnate. He is the creator and ruler of nature. All of nature obeys His voice.
Jesus had had a full day of ministry and He was exhausted. In an effort to get away from the crowd, He told His disciples to cross over to the other side of the lake, which was more of a countryside. While they were crossing over, He fell asleep, and a great windstorm arose. The waves began to break into the boat and fill it with water. The disciples were panic-stricken; fearing for their lives, they went to awaken Jesus from His sleep. Their words to Him were, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Well, if they only knew how much He cared. The very reason that He even was with them in the boat was because He cares. He left the glories of heaven and came to this sin-cursed earth in order to lay down His life for our sins because He cares. Jesus gets up and rebukes the wind, and tells the sea to be still. And immediately, the wind ceased and there was a great calm. This left them in a state of great fear and astonishment, wondering “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
As you read this passage, consider the following questions:
- The storm broke out while the disciples were obeying the Lord in crossing over to the other side of the lake. What does that teach us about sudden trials when we are fulfilling the Lord’s will for our lives? (cf.1 Peter 4:12)
- What are some truths about the Lord that we need to remind ourselves of when sudden trials come into our lives?
- What did the storm teach the disciples about Christ? What are some of the ways that trials can strengthen our faith in Him?
- How do you answer the question that the disciples ask at the end of the passage: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
May the Lord help us to see more of His glory this coming Sunday.
(Artwork: Backhuysen, Ludolf. Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, Tenn. Original source.)