Mark 4: 35 – 41
Jesus Stills a Storm
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
What the passage says
V. 35-36 Jesus withdrew from the crowd and traveling to the other side of the region. He and his disciples are in a boat, and they meet a storm, so powerful the disciples fear for their lives.
V. 37-41 Jesus wakes up from his nap, calms the storm and rebuke his disciples. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (v. 40 NRSV)
What does the passage say to me/us?
We are bound to meet a storm, as we live in this world. We are bound to experience an event that will lift our life upside down.
What is our reaction to those times? Are we swamped in fear? Or do we act like a person who has faith? (As a matter of fact, this Sunday I will talk more about this in the sermon on our third Advent series.)
The reason why we should have faith is that Jesus is with us. We call it ‘Emmanuel (God with us).’
‘If our God is with us who can ever stand against us?’
Prayer
Lord, be with us. Lead us to green pastures, and also be with us in the deepest valleys of our lives.
In Christ name, AMEN.
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