The Miracles of Jesus - The Calming of the Storm

 

By: Rev. Dr. George Toma

 

Two weeks ago the miracle that I talked about took place at the seashore of Gennesaret in the Holy Land. Today’s miracle happened at the same place. It means that this is not the first time for Jesus to teach at this Lake as it is written in the book of (Mark 4: 1, 2) “Again he began to teach by the seaside; and many people gathered to him, so that he went up and sat in a boat on the sea; and all the people stood on the land by the sea. And he taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching he said,”

For review I want to mention that this Lake is known by three names:

• Lake of Gennesaret
• The Sea of Galilee
• The Lake of Tiberius

About today’s miracle we can read in the book of (Mark 4: 35-40) “On that day at evening, he said to them, Let us cross over to the landing place. And they left the people, and took him away while he was in the boat. And there were other boats with them. And there arose a heavy storm and wind, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that the boat was nearly filled. But Jesus was sleeping on a blanket in the stern of the boat; and they came and roused him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? So he got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind quieted down, and there was a great calm. And he said to them, Why are you so fearful? and why do you have no faith? And they were exceedingly afraid, and said to each other, Oh, who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

 

This Lake was well known for the storms. These storms were sweeping suddenly and were disrupting the stability of the people, whose life was depending upon the sea and its food sources (fish).

 

This Lake was around 680 feet below sea level. It was encircled by high mountains and from the north the Jordan River, where the baptism of Jesus took place. This river emptied into this Lake. The current winds caused violent and sudden storms, which descend upon the Lake when everything seemed to be calm and suitable for fishing.

Before I go into details of the story, let each one of us ask him/herself the following questions:
1. Why our Lord Jesus calmed the storming Sea?
2. Why it is important for us to consider this event and to discover for ourselves?
3. How can we apply it to our own lives?

 

In fact the whole day Jesus was teaching and preaching to the crowd, who had gathered on the shore. He also healed the sick people. So at evening He was exhausted that’s why He told the Disciples to go to the other side as it is written in (Mark 4: 35) “On that day at evening, he said to them, Let us cross over to the landing place.” The Disciples took Him in a boat and at the same time there were many boats accompanying His boat. Suddenly a dangerous storm swept the boats. Even though several of the Disciples already experienced many severe storms, but this storm was very difficult and exceeded their experience and knowledge. They were in panic while Jesus by that time was sleeping. They went to Him and said as it is written in (Mark 4: 38) “..., Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

 

We can understand from the question that the Disciples asked Jesus and they used the word “we” to include Him (We, all are drowning) because of the following:

• The Disciples were in panic.
• Jesus, however, was sleeping and at peace in the face of the storm.

Even though they witnessed many miracles that Jesus did, but still they gave themselves a permission to include Him in drowning. They tried to bring Him into their level although He is the Creator and Ruler of all and at the same time He is the Giver of Life.

 

Let’s consider this question:

Is it right for the Disciples to include Jesus in their circle of drowning after they witnessed many miracles done by Him?

 

By reading the story we see that Jesus rose up and talked to the wind to calm down and asked His Disciples the reason for being so afraid as it is written in (Mark 4: 39,40) “So he got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind quieted down, and there was a great calm. And he said to them, Why are you so fearful? and why do you have no fait?” We noticed that the storm, which caused fear in minds and hearts of the Disciples, calm down at the words of the Creator.

 

We can apply this on our lives. Through our daily life we face and encounter many storms (problems), which leave us in panic. We also wonder and ask ourselves where to go and to whom to turn.

In this case we have two options.
1. To become worried that our Lord no longer cares for us.
2. To resist fear and put our complete trust in Jesus Christ.

 

If we are going through a panic situation, we need to confess our need for God, and trust Him to care for us. In the story we see that the Disciples didn’t recognize the Presence of our Lord with them in the boat. So, it was obvious that a need was still exist within these troubled fishermen to know Him well.

 

It is not enough to say that we know a lot about Jesus, but we have to have a close relationship with Him, to feel His Presence by studying about Him from our reading the Bible and by talking to Him through our communication with Him in our prayers.

 

From reading the story it is obvious for us that even though the Disciples walked with our Lord for three and half years, but still they were not able to underestimate His Power. Many times we are in the same boat as His Disciples. In other words we do the same mistake as the Disciples did two thousands years ago. We also sometimes underestimate His Power to us to handle our problems and difficult situations in our lives.

 

According to Jesus’ instructions the Disciples were to go to the other side of the Lake. Read (Mark 4:35) “On that day at evening, he said to them, Let us cross over to the landing place.” Jesus was with them and He didn’t leave them alone. For sure they survived the sudden terrible storm because of Him. The question for us is, how we experience peace in the face of difficulties and problems? The answer is simple to have Jesus with us.

 

Let each one of us take a moment and review his/her own life, we realize that many times things didn’t go right with our lives. Even now things seem not to go the way we have planned or imagined. We, as Disciples, are encountering the storms within our families such as hostilities
between family members or friends or we have been laid off from our jobs. There are many people among us, who seem from the outside to be happy, but inside they are depressed and struggling for certain things in their lives. It is fact that we, like the Disciples, show a fear when we are encountering the above storms in our lives. However, the Bible teaches us that as long as we are alive, there is no life free from storms (problems). Read about that in the book of (James 1: 2, 3) “My brethren, take it as a joy to you when you enter into many and varied temptations; For you know that the trial of faith will increase your patience.”

 

In the beginning of the story everything seemed calm and in peace, but as they began their journey to the other side, everything changed. Storm started to rise up and damage and destroy the old and not in good condition boats. This applies for all of us also, and nobody is excluded. It happens that in a split of second our lives change for a specific reason or for unexpected storms of life. These storms come in a time when we are not aware. In that moment we could go through anger, frustration, and fear. We don’t know our future. We all are exposed to the test of our trust and confidence in Jesus. Nobody, even Christian believers, is exempt from the test. That’s why Jesus Christ is the only One; through Him we can overcome the storms that we encounter in our life journey.

 

Testing a believer is not a sign of sin, but it is the outcome of obedience. We can read about that in the book of (James 1: 2-4) “My brethren, take it as a joy to you when you enter into many and varied temptations; For you know that the trial of faith will increase your patience. And let patience be a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.” Many saints went through a lot of problems and difficult times, and their faith was tested in different ways, some by fire, some were executed by sword, and others were hanged. Read (Hebrews 11: 32-38) “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Samson and of Jephthah and of David also and Samuel and of the rest of the prophets, Who through faith conquered kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, routed the camps of enemies, Restored to women their sons, raised people from the dead; while others died through tortures, not hoping for deliverance, that they might have a better resurrection; Others endured mockings and scourgings; still others were delivered to bonds and imprisonment; Some were stoned,
some were sawn apart, some died by the edge of the sword; others wandered about, wearing sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, afflicted and tormented, of whom the world was not worthy; they were like those who are lost in the desert, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

 

If we pay attention to today’s story we notice that the Disciples faced the storm as a result of their obedience to the Lord when He told them to go to the other side as it is written in (Mark 4:35) “On that day at evening, he said to them, Let us cross over to the landing place.”

 

Let us focus on Jesus in this story. We see that after He told His Disciples to go to the other side, He was below in the boat sleeping in peace, not in fear when the storm arose, and He had full confidence of His Father in Heaven. Read (Mark 4: 37, 38) “And there arose a heavy storm and wind, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that the boat was nearly filled. But Jesus was sleeping on a blanket in the stern of the boat.” However, the Disciples were afraid when they saw the serious storm. They ran immediately to Jesus and asked Him for help, while Jesus asked them for the reason to be afraid. Read (Mark 4: 38, 40) “and they came and roused him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he said to them, Why are you so fearful?” We learn that the time we encounter problems in our life, we should do as the Disciples did. It means we should run immediately to Jesus to present Him our difficulties and troubles. We should not be afraid but entrust Him with our life, because we are in good hands.

 

When we face difficulties and problems in our lives, we should turn our eyes upon Jesus and look into His face. The time we do that our problems will seem smaller and smaller in comparison with the Grace and Mercy of Our Lord.

 

In the middle of the dangerous storm Jesus was in peace and slept because of His absolute Trust in His Father, while we are not able to sleep when we are facing a storm of life. Let us ask ourselves what is the reason behind that? The reason is that we don’t ask our Lord of Mercy to get us out of the storm. We try to depend on ourselves to solve our own problems instead of submitting our storm of life to Our Lord. We learn that we need to seek help from Our Lord because nothing is impossible with God. He is the only One, Who will find a solution for any problem that we encounter.

 

In the middle of any storm of life, I want you to go to the Bible, to find out how precious you are in the eyes of Our Lord, and how much He cares about you. Besides, He doesn’t want you to have fear, and He will never leave you alone. For this reason I did choose some phrases from the Bible as a reminder and as references in the time of need.

1. (Mark 4: 40) “And he said to them Why are you so fearful?”
2. (Matthew 28: 20) “ ………I am with you always, to the end of the world.”
3. (Isaiah 43: 1-3) “But now thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel; Fear not; for I have saved you, I have called you by your name because you are mine. When you shall pass through the sea, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I gave Egypt for your sake, and Ethiopia and Sheba for you.”
4. (1 Peter 5: 7) “Casting all your cares upon God, for he cares for you.”

n the story when the storm arose, Jesus rose up and talked to the storm and said as in (Mark 4: 39) “……Peace, be still”, and then the sea calmed down and waves were still. The story teaches us, that the storms of lives will not stay with us forever, because if we let Jesus get involved in our lives, He will attack the problem at the root and peace will come from above. However, below are two questions for us to consider and think about:

• What do we do after the storm has been calmed?
• Why should we put our faith in Jesus after the storm of our lives is calmed and it is over?

The fact is that Jesus is always there to comfort and strengthen us. But there is no guarantee that we are not going to face another storm, which will be of equal or greater intensity. He is ready to share with us our joys and sorrows. In other words He is with us in good and bad times. The problem of the Disciples was not the storm, but fear and lack of faith. So, the lesson for us is not to fear and to put our faith in Jesus Christ, because God has never stopped calming down the storm of our lives. It is we, who stopped looking unto God to calm our storms and problems.

 

At the end I want to say one more time that we, all, are in the boat with Jesus, which does not mean that we will not encounter storms in life with Him. The only thing we should be sure with, is, that we have no need to fear any storm when we are with Jesus. He is with us and we will be safe in His Care.

 

I want to conclude this lecture with the following questions for you to think about. However, before you answer these questions, I want to remind you to read (Romans 8:28) “And we know that those who love God are helped by him in everything for good.” In addition I want you to remember that sometimes the storm is calmed immediately, and sometimes our Lord lets it rage for awhile, and calms His child who trusts in Him.

1. Why would you not want to go with Jesus in the storms, which confront your life?
2. Why would you want to take a journey in life in your own boat?
3. Why would you take different risks instead of seeking Jesus’ Help and Guidance?

 

Summer Theology Course
At Mar Jewries Church
July 19, 2006
Summary of the lecture prepared by Jenny Soro