June 4, 2023

The following transcript has been electronically transcribed. Any errors in spelling, syntax, or grammar should be attributed to the electronic method of transcription and its inherent limitations.

 I don't know of anything that is more universally terrifying than the open sea. Most people are terrified of open water. I am one of those even people that work and have spent a lot of time on open water, there is a tremendous fear of the open sea and for good reason. Think about all the reasons that the sea just has a good reason to be fearful for us.

So be afraid of the open sea. First of all, the, the size of it, the immensity of the open ocean. You can be on the ocean and as far as the eye can see, the curvature of the earth will only let you see. We're told on a clear day, 2.9 miles, and on the open water, that's, that's nothing. The Pacific Ocean is 9,600 miles across.

So on the clearest of days, you can see three 10,000th of the way across the Pacific Ocean. That's incredibly big. And not just to mention the size of it, but just the, the unknown of what's underneath it. You see the pictures or the videos or maybe been on the open water and you look down and you know that beneath you is a depth of water.

You don't even know how deep it is, but you know, it's thousands of times deeper than you are tall. Not to mention the unknown things that are living under, there's a whole world living right under the surface that you don't see, that you don't know. We've all read the stories I'm sure of how ancient mariners were terrified of what was under the water because they had no idea.

They couldn't see down there. They, they invented all sorts of stories of sea monsters because they didn't know what was under this that was behind the success of Jaws. We all remember the story of Jaws the unknown right beneath there, and how it was just waiting to kill you. So the, it is the terror of the size of the thing, the depth of the thing, the weather.

We all know just how susceptible the open water is to sudden storms. Not just sudden storms, but severe storms. Not to mention the fact that there's nothing stable on the water. Everything is just bobbing. There's, there's no solid, stable, anything to anchor yourself to on the open water. And then of course, on top of all that is the danger of drowning because none of us can survive for very long at all in the open water.

So the tea, the sea is a very terrifying thing, and we can all relate to that. And that's one reason I think that the story that we come to today is so compelling and resonates with us because this is one of Jesus's most well-known miracles. This is probably one of the most visibly stunning miracles that Jesus performs.

If you think about it, many of Jesus' miracles were not necessarily all that visually startling, many of his miracles. You sort of had to know the backstory to be amazed by it. For example, you had to know that this particular man was born blind and had been blind for 40 years to be stunned by the fact that he now sees, or you had to know that this man had been paralyzed and couldn't walk up until a few moments ago in order to be stunned by what Jesus just did.

Many of his miracles, like as he healed Peter's mother-in-law in Mark chapter one, wasn't all that visually startling, the baskets of bread and fish, that that just never depleted, never gave out. Not necessarily vis visually stunning, but when we come to this miracle, I think this is one of the two miracles that Jesus performed that at its very sight was amazing, astounding.

This put together with the miracle of walking on the water. Both of them, Jesus showing his dominance over the sea that we'll talk about in a little bit later. But both of those were visually stunning miracles on par with, of course, the parting of the Red Sea, another water miracle. And so the miracle that we come to today, the calming of the sea is a miracle that we will find both, both compelling, interesting, and also one that will have great relevance to our lives.

So if we are together here in Mark chapter four, let's begin by reading the text together. We're still on page 998 if you're in a Pew Bible. And we'll be looking at verses 35 down through verse 41, beginning from verse 35. On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, let us go across to the other side and leaving the crowd.

They took him with them in the boat just as he was, and other boats were with him, and a great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace. Be still, and the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him. So in turning to this story, we turn a whole new page in the Gospel of Mark.

We know, as we've said before, that the chapter divisions and our Bibles are artificial. They were all added later for our benefit to help us navigate our way around the scriptures, the chapter divisions, as well as the verse divisions. And oftentimes they're helpful. Sometimes they're less than helpful.

So we know that the original manuscripts didn't have chapter divisions. In fact, when Mark wrote this account, there was no such thing as chapters that was a literary device that won't be invented for centuries after Mark wrote this. But if there were chapter divisions in Mark's Day, and if we were to ask Mark: Mark, where are the chapter divisions in your Gospel?

Then he would've said to us, I'm almost certain that we just turned into a new chapter because what we turn to today is a change of pace. It's a change of direction. And so let's just spend just a couple of minutes and let's just refresh our memory for how Mark has brought us to this point.

And let's just observe the previous chapters in Mark's line of thinking and let's just see where he's taking us. Because if I were in your position and I were listening to someone exposit the gospel of Mark to me week after week, it would help me. I would appreciate to know where Mark is going, what the themes are that he's developing, so that I can look for them myself.

Because if I can look for them and see them myself, then it'll be more meaningful to me. So I would appreciate it if I was listening to an exposition of the Gospel of Mark or any book of the Bible. If I, if someone were to say to me, this is the theme that Mark is going to be developing over these stories.

So if we think back, To the beginning. I think that Mark would say to us, if we were to ask him here today, or just read what he's written and just see the clear divisions of thought, I think he would say to us that chapter one of his gospel, of course, began at the beginning and then there was the introduction and, and Jesus is declared to be the son of God.

Then there is the , introduction of John the Baptizer, the herald of Jesus, and then there's the baptism of John, the anointing of Jesus by the Spirit. Jesus goes into the wilderness for his temptation. Then after that, he chooses his very first disciples and then. The story begins in earnest, and it begins with these accounts of these miracle stories.

Miracle stories combined together with powerful teaching stories intermixed with stories of opposition against Jesus, stories of disbelief. And so we see the miracles taking place. We see the healings, we see the casting out, the demon, the , healing of the man with a withered hand, the, , cleansing of the leopard, those miracles.

We also see the disbelief, and we also read about the powerful teachings. And that section ends in chapter three, verse six, with this declaration of disbelief and opposition. Chapter three, verse six, if you want to look there with me. The Pharisees went out in immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

I think that's a clear division in Mark's story from that point. Up until that point, there's been been miracle stories, powerful teaching, also indications of disbelief, and then it all ends with this statement of disbelief. Then the next chapter, Marks chapter two, begins in our chapter three, verse seven.

And in that section, Mark, , is showing us why there's such a disparity in reactions to Jesus. The crowds are so enthusiastic, so excited about Jesus, so supportive of his miracles, but then the Pharisees are so opposed to him, they want to have him killed. And so Mark attempts to so show us how that is and what are the reasons behind it.

So he begins by showing us these four opposition stories, how Jesus is opposed by the Pharisees. He goes from that to the stories, , the, the first of his sandwich technique, the, the bracket technique. That's his favorite technique. And he brackets together these two stories. One is the story of his family opposing him, and the other is the story of the Pharisees who come up from Jerusalem to oppose him.

And in the middle of that, we get the teaching of what we know as the unpardonable or the unforgivable sin, which is the persistent, continued enlightened blasphemy having been shown. The revelation of Jesus, having understood that Jesus is the son of God, nevertheless, refusing to yield or submit to that.

That is what we said was the, the sin of the, , enlightened blasphemy. And so in that, Mark is giving us examples of what it is in the heart, because that's what the issue is. The issue is the heart. The heart that receives this enlightenment or this knowledge of Jesus yet refuses to submit. That is the basis for why some people are so enthusiastic about Jesus and others are so opposed to him.

Then we go from that to the section of the parables, the five or six parables, depending on how you divide them up. The five or six parables that are all about the same thing. Teaching about the heart, the soil of the heart, the parable of the soils, the parable of the seeds, the parable of the lamp, the parable of the measures.

And so in those parables, Mark is teaching the same thing. He's putting together these parables of Jesus to show us the issue is the heart, when the heart receives enlightenment or understanding that Jesus is the Christ and yet refuses to submit to that, that is the root of these differing reactions to Jesus.

Then that section we completed last week with the last of the parables, that would've been what I, what I would see as Marks chapter two. Now, chapter three, marks chapter three begins here at the end of our Chapter four, chapter four, beginning from verse 35. Now, in chapter four, Mark returns once again to the miracles of Jesus, and he returns to recounting some of the miracles of Jesus.

And just like Marks chapter one, he's going to follow the same pattern. He's going to show us some miracle stories, and that section will conclude with, once again, a statement of disbelief and opposition. The statement of disbelief and opposition this time is going to be the story of Jesus is being rejected in his hometown of Nazareth and how he could not do many mighty works there because of their lack of faith.

But before that, , Mark is going to tell us these four miracle stories similar to how he's told us the miracle stories in his first chapter, but there's going to be five crucial differences, and here we kind of cut to the chase. These are some of the themes that we'll be looking at over the next coming weeks, these themes that we'll just go ahead and, and look at them now so that we see them, we recognize them, and we'll see clearly all five of these things and all four of the next miracles.

Then the next section will include these four miracle stories. And then once again, we'll conclude once again, just like chapter one concluded with ab episode of unbelief and opposition. So the four miracle stories that we'll be looking at, of course today is the calming of the sea, calming of the storm after this is the miracle of the Gerasene demoniac.

And the demons lead, , known as legion and casting them out into the pigs, and then the villagers come out. And then next is this dual miracle that marks sandwiches together into one story. It's the two miracles of the woman with the flow of blood sandwiched together with the miracle of the raising of J's daughter back to life.

And then Mark concludes that section with, once again an episode of unbelief, disbelief, and rejection as Jesus is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth. So the five things that we'll see developed in all four of these miracles are as the as follows. First of all, we see that Mark slows down the pace and his recounting of the miracles gets more detailed.

In the first chapter, the miracles were more or less faceless, nameless sorts of miracles. We really didn't know the people that were the objects of Jesus's miraculous activity. We knew Peter's mother-in-law, but that was, that was all, we didn't know any names. We didn't know much about any of the people that were the recipients of Jesus's miracles.

There was the leper we were given. So very little information about the leper. The man with the withered hand. Jesus told him to come forth. The, , the man who was possessed by the unclean spirit and the synagogue. All those miracles we were given. So very little information about just a, a sentence or two.

Now Mark slows down and he's going to give us a lot more information, more details. The miracles are now going to become faces attached to them and stories attached to them. We're going to be drawn into the boat with the disciples. We're going to be drawn into the, the tortured mind of the, of the kerosene demoniac We're going to be in, , invited into the topsy-turvy life of the woman with the 12 year flow of blood.

We're going to be invited into Jar's anguish as his daughter is on her deathbed. And Jesus can't quite get there in time. We're going to be drawn to that. We're told their names, we're told something about them. And so Mark's giving us many more details. Secondly, each of the Four Miracles is going to have with it a theme of desperation.

All four of these miracles are performed in a situation of desperation. Now, that's not to say that Jesus's other miracles weren't also performed in situations of desperation. They were, some of them were at least, certainly the leper was desperate for Jesus to heal him. The paralytics friends were desperate to get their friend to Jesus, but there were also some miracles that weren't necessarily so desperate.

Jesus, after all, called the man with the withered hand to come forth because he wanted to heal him. So the sense of desperation is much less. It's much more muted in the first section. Now, the sense of desperation is heightened. It's acute, it's sharp, it's right out in front. All four, the miracles are taking place in a desperate situation.

Teacher, don't you care that we are all about to drown, or the kerosene demoniac, crawling. Face first before Jesus desperate to be freed from the hell that is his life, or the woman with the 12-year flow of blood in her desperation to touch Jesus without being known or jar's de desperation that Jesus will get to his house in time.

All of these accounts are accounts of people that are desperate, and after all their desperation, or at least their recognition of their desperation is what opens them to Jesus's activity. Because Jesus said in chapter two, I didn't come for the healthy, I came for the sick. Meaning that he came for those who have an acute awareness of their desperate need for him.

So that desperation now becomes front and center. We also see that all the miracles in this section are becoming greater, bigger, if you will. Not that Jesus' miracles in chapter one weren't great and grandiose, they were. But the greatness of these miracles really begins to take front and center stage in the next four miracles.

After all, Jesus doesn't just calm a storm. He calms the storm of the decade. Jesus doesn't just cast out a demon. He casts out legion. Jesus doesn't just heal a woman with a malady in her body. He heals a woman with a malady that for the last 12 years, has stymied every physician that's looked at her and consumed everything she has.

Jesus doesn't just heal a little girl. He at the after the moment of her death raises her back from death to life. So the greatness, the grandness of these miracles takes another step forward. We also see that each of these miracles is going to clearly be. A deliverance from something, a deliverance from some powerful influence in our life.

And that's kind of one of the themes of this section. So we could think about the, the realm of human experience. We could think about four areas, four things that influence us. And Jesus will address all four of these areas of influences, these things that press against us. He'll address each one of them and show his power over them.

The miracle today, the calming of the storm that is meant to teach us that Jesus has power over our external circumstances. The next miracle, the miracle of the casting, out of the demons known as legion, is going to show us that Jesus has power over our internal turmoil. The next miracle, the miracle of the woman with the flow of blood is going to show us that Jesus has power over the sicknesses that attack our bodies.

And then lastly, Jesus's raising of jar's daughter back to life is going to show us that Jesus has power over the death that we all fear. So all four of those, they, they constitute the entirety of what can influence us, what can come as pressure against us, and Jesus is going to show us through each miracle that he has power over each of these.

Then finally, the theme that we'll see is probably the biggest, most important theme, and that's the theme of faith, contrasted against fear, all for the miracles, have that also as front and center faith and fear, and how the scripture seems to always present those to us as contrary as opposites, faith casts out fear.

Fear is not present where there is faith. Yet where there is faith, where there is little faith and great fear, the fear can push out the faith. That's the what scripture seems to teach us. Now, all four of these miracles are going to put that theme front and center, the miracle of the calming of the storm.

The disciples, of course, are gripped with a great fear. After all, they're about to die. And then Jesus calms the storm and he says to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? You see, Jesus plainly says, faith casts out fear. If you've got fear, that means that your faith is either weak or non-res.

Then the next story, the story of the casting, out of the demons known as legion, we're going to see the fear of the villagers as they see, and they hear about what Jesus has done, and they're filled with fear and all they want is for Jesus to leave. And so there's this choice between fear and faith. The disciples have chosen fear where they've been forced to choose fear.

The villagers. In the village near the Gerasene demoniac’s home―or his home is in the cemetery―the villagers there. They choose fear over faith, and they ask Jesus to lead. Then the following story, the story of the woman with the flow of blood. She also has great fear. We're told in the passage that she's very fearful of being discovered.

She's very fearful that it is going to be discovered that this unclean woman has touched Jesus, and she's very fearful that it'll be known what she is and what she has. Yet in that story, her faith is greater than her fear because Jesus says to her, your faith has made you well. She is fearful. Yet her faith was stronger and pushes the fear out.

And then finally, the story of Jairus’ daughter. Jairus is of course, very fearful. We're told that he's fearful that Jesus won't get there in time. But Jesus says to, to Jairus, he says, do not fear only. Believe, or in other words, only faith instead of fear. So each of these four stories is going to have for us as one of its primary themes, the contrast of faith and fear.

In addition to that, each story is going to show us Jesus's power in powerful influence, his powerful sovereign control over all the influences of our life. In addition to that, we're going to see the increasing greatness of the miracles. We're also going to see that now all the miracles really are becoming up close and personal.

Even Jesus' rejection is now up close and personal. Whereas before it was just these nameless Pharisees that probably didn't even know Jesus before his, , his public ministry began. Now it's his hometown, those whom he grew up with, those who knew him since young boyhood. They are the ones who won't believe and who reject him.

Everything is much more up close and personal now. So hopefully that helps us to just kind of see ahead over the next coming weeks where Mark is going to take us. Now, having said all that, let's now turn to the text and let's begin from chapter four. Once again, chapter four in verse 36. So we begin looking at this story with these words on that day.

So we reminded of back in chapter four and verse one, chapter four, verse one again. He began to teach beside the sea in a very large crowd, gathered about him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and he began to teach. So this is the same day on that day. So earlier that morning, Jesus got in the boat and began teaching.

And the parables that he taught, , a couple of them are related to us. The parable of the soils, the parable of the seeds, but many other parables because Jesus taught throughout the day because Mark. Is the one that's going to tell us that the, the time that Jesus leaves now is the evening. So the day is spent, he's been in the boat teaching all day.

He's thoroughly exhausted. He's been on this boat teaching the crowds on the shore all day. On that day when evening had come, so the day is now spent. He said to them, let us go across to the other side. So Jesus is the one who initiates to them. Let us leave this place and let us go to the other side.

Jesus initiates the leaving. Jesus' idea is for us to leave this and go to the other side. Jesus knows very well what's going to happen on the ocean, or not the ocean, but the Sea of Galilee. He knows very well what's about to happen. It's his idea that they leave the safety of the shore. It's his idea that they leave at the end of the day.

So they'll be crossing the Sea of Galilee at night. It's his idea that they do this and go across, so those who are the inner circle of Jesus, those who are the ones whom he's called to himself, the church, the called-out ones. These are the ones that Jesus takes into the open sea because look at the passage.

When evening had come, he said to them, let us, and that word us, let us Throughout the whole passage that refers to this group of people, Jesus has called into himself those whom he desired. He called him himself, the, the called-out ones, the church, so to speak. He said, let us go across to the other side and leaving the crowd.

So the crowd, there's a differentiation here. Mark says that he's now left the crowd. Jesus and the called-out ones have left the crowd and they themselves took with him in the boat just as he was, and other boats were with him. So there's a collection of boats, like a little Flotilla, boats crossing the Sea of Galilee.

We talked about the Sea of Galilee before, about 13 miles long, about seven miles wide. So he's going to go to the other side. If you look down at chapter five, verse one, they came to the other side. And the other side is the country of the Gerasenes, where the demoniac lives. So that is about a, anywhere from a seven to a 10-mile journey over water.

And so picture in your mind, this little flotilla of boats. Back in, , I think it was about the mid-eighties, there was a fishing boat that was discovered about five miles south of Capernaum. And this fishing boat, they dated it to the lifetime of Jesus. Possibly there's a slim, slim chance. It was actually this boat, although it's extremely unlikely.

But nevertheless, it was the same type of boat. That boat measured about 27 feet long. Seven and a half feet wide, about four feet tall. And so that would've been very typical for this size boat. This type of boat, about 25 to 30 feet long, seven, eight, maybe nine feet wide. About four feet tall. Now, the boat that was discovered, they discovered that the boat actually had a deck built into it.

So it wasn't just an open hole boat, like a rowboat or, or a John boat, but it had a deck built onto it, so it had a floor. So this would've been like the boats that Jesus was using. They would hold about 15 or so people. So we don't know how many boats it was, but it was just a small number, maybe three, four or five.

So we're talking about maybe 50 people that Jesus has called unto himself. The called-out ones the Ecclesia. So the image that we're given here is a wonderful image. It's the image of Jesus and his followers, his called-out ones or the church. On these little boats crossing the sea. Now the sea in scripture, particularly the Old Testament, the sea represents for us, it's a metaphorical representation of the rule of evil in this age, the chaos of evil in this age.

The Old Testament prophets use that imagery often. The sea represents the chaos, the rule of evil. So picture in your mind, Jesus and this little group of boats, his called-out ones, and they are floating across the sea, which represents the sea of the rule of evil or the chaos of evil in this world. And here's Jesus with his followers in the, brings to mind.

Another pitcher, doesn't it? Another picture of. The entirety of the people of God. Also, on another boat called the Ark, in that case in which they were traveling across the sea, that in that case was the judgment of God against the sin of the world. But nevertheless, the Ark carrying God's people here, these flotilla boats carrying the people of God across to the other side.

Now as they're going across to the other side, Jesus of course knows what they're headed into. And so Jesus himself, it's his idea to take them into this storm. It's his idea that those whom he has called to himself, those who have heard his teaching and received it, those who have heard his teaching and believed is Jesus' idea that they be taken into the trial.

Remember the story of the, or the parable of the soils and the story, the parable of the shallow soil, that as soon as that plant springs up to life, which represents a profession of belief, a profession of faith, the sun comes up immediately. So we said then that when we profess belief, when we profess faith, when we hear the words of God and receive them, what's coming as the, is the son.

What's coming is the pressure, what's coming as a trial. Likewise, Jesus takes his people into the storm. It's his idea to take them into the storm. So they go into the sea or they cross the sea. This metaphorical picture of the rule of evil in this world, or the chaos of evil. So he says, when evening had come, he said to them, let us go across to the other side and leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was.

Now, that phrase, just as he was maybe is a little bit confusing. Many people have kind of struggled with, what does that mean? Just as he was. It's the ad adverb as put together with the verb I need, which just means to be, it's in the imperfect tent. So literally as he was. So they took him as he was. And literally all that really means is that Jesus, they took Jesus in the boat while he was still in the boat.

Because remember, he's in the boat all day. So it means that Jesus didn't get out of the boat. He didn't come ashore, take a break and come ashore, kind of stretch his legs. He was in the boat all day, staying in the boat. He says, let's go. They all get the other boats and they leave without Jesus leaving the boat and coming ashore.

So just as he was, the other boats were with him. Now notice the connection there, the attachment. The other boats were not with his boat. The other boats were not with the sailors. The other boats were with. Him. So the attachment, the connection there is to him, they're connected to him. Jesus is the master.

He, they are his sheep. They've heard his voice and they're attached to him. So the other boats were with him, verse 37. And a great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boats, breaking into the boat―epiballo―just literally, they were crashing, they were throwing the waves were literally throwing themselves against the boat.

So this great windstorm arose. The word there, windstorm is the same word for hurricane. It's the same word that the, the Septuagint will use to describe the whirlwind that God spoke to Job out of. And this word means not just a little storm, it means a hurricane force storm. A gale force storm, this great windstorm arose.

Matthew uses the word seism moss, which is the word that we get our word seismic from. You know, seismic has to do with the quaking, a shaking of the earth. So literally Matthew says that it was a sea quake, a shaking of the sea, a rattling of the sea Mark calls it a great hurricane or a great windstorm arose.

And the idea here is that it arose suddenly and it arose fiercely. So the Sea of Galilee is a place that is a very particularly dangerous body of water. To be on at certain times. The storm that arises is a storm of great ferocity, a great fury, and also a great quickness that it comes about. We're told that the reason for this is just because of the geography of the Sea of Galilee.

So the Sea of Galilee, as we know, is a, a body of water that is below sea level. In fact, it's 900 and some 980 or 90 feet below sea level. It is the lowest freshwater body of water, freshwater body of water in the world. So it's nearly a thousand feet below sea level. And as we know also, it's surrounded by.

Hills, some of them very star, sharp ravines that protrude up from the sides coming, , , many times right up to the edge of the water. So it's a low body of water with sharp sides, , steep inclines on the side. Now, not very far from the Sea of Galilee, if we were to travel about 30 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, we come to a place called Mount Herman.

You've heard of Mount Herman before, as you read through your Old Testament, Mount Herman is some 9,200 feet above sea level, so that's a difference of 10,000 feet in elevation in a very short, geographical distance. And in addition to that, the sea is very low and surrounded almost like down inside a bowl.

So we know the nature of many storms, many atmospheric storms, the cause of which is oftentimes, probably most often, Differences in temperature, right? Differences in temperature and air pressure is what usually brings about storms, particularly violent storms. So you have a dis, a difference of 10,000 feet in elevation in a short geographical di distance.

And the bottom of this is like a little bowl onto a body of water. So the hotter air is right here on the Sea of Galilee. The colder air is up higher around Mount Gerazim, but the, the colder air is up higher. And so the collision of those two temperatures of air is what causes many storms.

And so you can just see that it's, it's a place, it's a body of water that was almost designed. For tropical type storms, quickly arising storms and violent storms. And this is exactly what happens. This great storm arises and arises quite suddenly. The waves were breaking into the boat, literally throwing himself against the boat.

Mark is the only one who tells us that the boat was already filling with water, so the waves are coming into the water. The disciples are bailing water out. So you can just imagine it's dark now because they, they set out for this seven to 10 mile journey over water at the end of the day. So it's probably pitch dark now.

The waves, the wind, the water's coming into the boat, they're bailing out as fast as they can, and I'm pretty sure that all of them probably forgot their life vest on this trip. So you can imagine the fear that's beginning to overcome them. So the waves are breaking into the boat. The boat was already filling verse 38, but he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him and they said to him, teacher, Do you not care that we're perishing?

So here's Jesus asleep In the stern, we're told asleep on the cushion. Mark's the only one who tells us about the cushion, and he's asleep here in the stern of the boat. Now the cushion. Don't think of a cushion like your nice little fluffy throw pillow on your couch at home. The cushion probably meant just the leather covered seat that the steersman sat on in the rear of the boat.

So something a little bit softer than the wood around it, but not much softer. And Jesus were told is asleep on that cushion. This, by the way, is the only place and all of the Bible that we're ever told of Jesus sleeping. We're never told of Jesus sleeping in any other occasions. All the Christmas songs talk about the sleeping baby.

Jesus we're never told that as Jesus as a baby was asleep. This is the only place that we're told that Jesus was asleep in the middle of such a storm. So he's asleep here on on the stern and the exhaustion must have been just extreme because he was asleep in the middle of such a storm and they awake him.

Now they woke him, I'm sorry, verse 38, but he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him. And they said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? So notice the, the accusation here, the sharpness of this accusation, they believe that Jesus' sleep, his slumber is a result of maybe his indifference, his lack of concern for them.

Like he's just going to sleep and he knows maybe he'll survive. But he doesn't really care if the disciples go down with the boat or not. So they wake him. They, they, there's a stern accusation teacher. Are you not even concerned? Do you not even care that we're perishing? And notice the irony of this. The irony of the accusation is this, Jesus is the one who most cared.

There's never been another who cared like Jesus cared, who cared specifically that they were perishing. John three in verse 16 says that, for God so loved the world, that the believing ones, the ones who are believing. Should not perish. He sent his son that the believing ones should not perish. He left his glory.

He left his home in heaven. He took upon himself humanity. He came to be mocked and beaten and punished and killed because he cared. There's never been one who cared like Jesus cared. Yet their accusation is, don't you care at all? Now, ironically, it's these very same disciples who themselves will sleep during, during Jesus' hour of terror.

Terror. When he asks them, he pleads with them, will you remain awake and pray with me? And yet they don't. During his hour of greatest need, during his hour of terror, they are the ones who sleep and they don't sleep. The sleep that Jesus is sleeping. Jesus is sleeping. The sleep of trust as we'll talk about in just a minute, he's sleeping the sleep of trust.

They're sleeping. The the sleep of weariness and indifference and lack of concern. These very same disciples that accuse him of not caring for them because he's asleep, they themselves will sleep when he needs them most. The irony is thick. The irony also, of course, they awaken Jesus and they say, Jesus, don't you care that we're perishing?

It's the semen who are awaking. The carpenter here. Isn't that ironic? These are professional semen. The ones on the boat we're going to see throughout the account. This is, this whole account is just replete with eyewitness details. This is Mark telling Peter's story, Peter, who's in the boat with Jesus and all of the eyewitness details.

Peter himself was a lifelong fisherman. Many of the other disciples were as well. They grew up on the Sea of Galilee. They are professional semen and in their professional opinion, The boat's about to go down and what do they do? They awake the carpenter. Isn't that ironic? And what are they expecting Jesus to do when they awake him?

Jesus, don't you know we're about to perish? What are they ex, what exactly are they expecting him to do? Because what Jesus does, clearly they didn't expect that. So from their reaction, we know that what Jesus did to resolve the situation was the last thing they thought was going to happen. What were they expecting him to do?

You know, at this point there it is proper to draw some parallels, of course, to the story that we read earlier. The story of Jonah, two men of God sleeping in a boat during a storm, and the parallels are quite amazing. Of course, Jonah, the man of God, who in his disobedience, goes and gets into a boat and goes across the sea to escape God's plan.

Jesus, the man of obedience goes onto the sea because this is God's plan. Both instances, the man of God is on the boat. During the storm, the boats are tossed about. The sea is raging and the sea is brought to a calm as the man of disobedience is thrown overboard as a sacrifice. The sea, in Jesus's case, will be brought to a permanent calm when he also is sacrificed.

But Jonah is thrown overboard as the sacrifice in order to calm the storm. This is all a result of, of the pagan sailors saying, get up and pray with us. That's probably what the disciples were thinking. Get up and pray with us. Maybe they're thinking, they're thinking his prayers could be more effective than their prayers or, or the more people praying the better.

That's probably why they awoke Jesus, but they awake Jonah, the other man of God, sleeping on the boat. They awake him and they say, pray to your God. They find out Jonah is the cause of this. They throw him over overboard. The sea is brought to a calm, but then Jesus or then, , the man of God. Jonah is rescued by God, but by the fish.

You see, the fish in the story of Jonah is not God's judgment. The fish is God's rescue. So God rescues the prophet by means of the fish and saves him. Jesus will be sacrificed in order to calm, to see, but he won't be rescued by his father. He'll go to the cross as the sacrifice and not be rescued. And then the result of both stories, the rest of the sailors are afraid.

They fear God and they worship him. The parallels and there's, there's more, but the parallels between Jonah, the man of God, of disobedience, and Jesus, the man of God, of obedience, both asleep on a boat, in a storm on the sea, and then the calming of that sea. The, the parallels are quite amazing. So they wake Jesus, they say to Jesus, wake up probably thinking, wake up and pray with us.

Or to some effect, teacher do not care that we are perishing. Verse 39, and he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace be still, and the wind ceased and there was a great calm. So we just completed a section in which we are, we were told repeatedly this theme that those on the inside of the ones who are given understanding and revelation of God, that was what the parables were all about.

That's what Jesus said in verses 10, 11, 12, 13, you, those on the inside to you has been given the, the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to those on the outside, I just speak in parables. So those on the inside are given the understanding, they're given the revelation, they're given the comprehension of Jesus.

Yet that theme didn't stop with the parables. That theme now continues because it's those on the inside who are given the greater revelation of Jesus because this is what the trip is about. The storm is not about Jesus delivering them from danger. At least not primarily. The storm is about Jesus revealing himself to them.

And so in the storm, those who are the called-out ones, those who are the sheep of his pasture, those who are in the boat, they are given the greatest, so far, the greatest revelation of who Jesus is. So what sort of revelation are they given? First of all, the revelation that they're given is given to them in the midst of this storm.

It's because of the storm that they're given this understanding. We read from Job chapter 42 and verse five, job speaking of his afflictions. He said, I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. The afflictions that I have suffered have opened my eyes to who you are. Psalm one 19 in verse 71.

It is good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn your statutes. So the affliction that the psalmist writes of, Is the means by which he gained a greater knowledge, a greater understanding of God. So Jesus stands up and he speaks this verse 39. He awoke and notice how he awoke. They, they woke him.

Verse 38. They woke him and they said to him, you, do you not care that we're perishing? Then verse 39, and he awoke. So why did Mark repeat? Jesus woke up. Did Jesus wake up twice? Did they wake him and he go back to sleep? And then they had to wake him a second time? What this means is this speaks to us something of the depth of Jesus' sleep.

This is indeed a, an eyewitness account. Th this, this is the account of someone who was there watching this because here's what happened that now you can relate to this because we've all been there, we've all been in that deep sleep. And which we are sleeping so deeply and so soundly, and then someone or something wakes us out of that sleep.

And then for about five or 10 seconds, you're not quite sure what your own name is. And then you're trying to figure out, well, you, you got to wake up because you got to go somewhere. You're just not sure if you need to get to work or you need to catch the bus to go to the third grade. One of the, I mean, you just, you know what I'm talking about.

When we can relate to those 5, 10, 15 seconds when we've been awoken out of a sleep so deep that we're not quite sure who we are, where we are or when we are, that was the first waking of Jesus. In fact, Mark uses the, the standard New Testament word for resurrection. They literally resurrected Jesus. Jesus was so deeply asleep.

It was as though he was dead. So they shake him. Imagine what they had to do to wake Jesus because the storm tossing the boat about water coming into the storm that hasn't awakened Jesus. So imagine what they have to do to wake him. They, they must shake him or shout to him. Literally, Mark says, resurrect him.

So they wake him, they shake him, and in his grogginess, he's sort of half awake and, and ha opens one eye and says to the wind and the ways peace and be still. But then when he woke, meaning, you know, after that first 10, 15 seconds, then now you remember who you are and you remember what day of the week it is, and you remember what you got to do.

Then Jesus fully woke up and coming. You see the, the wonderful detail that Mark gives us here. This is truly an eyewitness account. It's, it's wonderful for me. I hope you can share this with me. It's wonderful to read the gospel accounts and just see the firsthand perspective. Just see the personality of the writer of that gospel.

Luke, who is the physician? His gospel is the one that most frequently gives us details about a sickness or someone's body because a physician would notice that Matthew, who's the tax collector, his gospel most often give us, gives us details about finances, financial matters, and money, because that's who Matthew was.

Mark's account is the account of Peter, the seamen, the fisherman, and Mark's account is the one that most often gives us details about the sea and the water in boats. And so Mark's account is the only one that tells us that there were other boats with him. He's the only account that tells us what time they left.

It's the only account that tells us that the waves were coming inside. It's the only account that tells us what they had to do to wake Jesus up. This was Peter watching. Maybe Peter was the one shaking him. And so Jesus comes fully awake and then he speaks these words, peace be still. Now that word peace is not the word Shalom.

Which is a piece, a wellbeing piece, a contented peace. That's not shalom. Instead, this is a word that just literally means, be quiet, shut up, peace be still. Now that word be still. We've seen that before. We saw that back in chapter one, as Jesus spoke that same word to the demon possessed man in the synagogue who began to speak.

I know who you are. And remember Jesus said to him, Be ye muzzled! Same word here, be muzzled. And Jesus speaks it in a very rare sort of form, sort of form. It's the perfect passive imperative, which basically means it's a completed action in the past. Passive means it's being acted upon you, but it's an imperative, it's a command.

So literally Jesus says, Be ye muzzled, and stay that way. Be quiet and stay quiet. Shut up and remain shut up. So he wakes up out of this groggy as he is, speaks to the wind in the ways. Shut up and stay quiet. And all of this is doing for the disciples. A tremendous revelation. So let's think about what was revealed to the disciples in this storm.

First of all, what was revealed to them was his perfect humanity. His perfect humanity. Is there anything more human to be as ex than to be as exhausted and as tired and deeply asleep as was Jesus? Is there anything more human than to be that deeply asleep? And this is a, certainly a sleep of exhaustion because Jesus has taught and preached all day.

I personally know of nothing more draining and more exhausting than to preach God's word. It's, it's physically draining. It's mentally draining, it's emotionally draining, and most of all, it's spiritually draining. Jesus has done that all day. He is spent, and he's so exhausted that he literally sleeps so deeply that Mark uses the word resurrect, almost like they're bringing him back from a sleep.

That's, that's comatose. Is there anything more human than that? But Jesus is not just human. This isn't just a revelation that Jesus is human. This is a revelation that Jesus is the perfect human because you see, this isn't just the sleep of exhaustion. Jesus knew what was coming. This is the sleep of perfect trust in his father.

Perfect, complete, trust. There is not a single ounce of a chance that God is going to let Jesus drown in the sea of Galilee, and Jesus knows that. And so he can know that this storm is coming. He knows this will be the storm of a decade, and yet he can say, this looks like a good time for a nap, and he can sleep the sleep of trust, perfectly trusting in his father, Isaiah 26 and verse three, you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.

Psalm four and verse eight, in peace, I will both lie down and sleep for you alone. Oh Lord, make me dwell in safety. Jesus is the perfect human, perfectly trusting in his father. But Jesus is not just the perfect human, but also what's revealed to them is the extreme clarity of his deity. Can you imagine in front of your followers standing up and speaking to wind and waves and water and issuing forth a command in full expectation that the wind will obey you?

You know, Jesus could have prayed a little silent prayer to his father. Father, calm this storm for them. Father, make this storm cease right now. Father, he could have done that and the father would've done it, but instead he makes a show of it standing up, issuing forth this bold command, this brash command, as if to say, look at me.

I made the wind and the waves. I sustain the wind and the waves and just as my sheep hear my voice and recognize my voice, so does the creation recognize my voice. They recognize their maker and they obey their maker. Watch this, the clarity of Jesus's deity is on full display. Something that I don't need to convince you from the scriptures of this morning that you know full well is that man has no control over the wind.

I don't need to show you that from the scriptures of the scriptures. Teach us that Ecclesiastes eight, verse eight, no man can retain the wind or John chapter three and verse one. The wind blows where it will, the wind goes where it pleases. You can't control it. So we know that instinctively we don't control the wind.

How futile of us. To assume that we have any control whatsoever over something like the wind. Yet the deity of the maker, the one who created all things through him, were all things made for him. Were all things made f by him. All things exist and are sustained. The creation knows the voice of its maker and knows the voice of its master and it obeys immediately.

Notice the immediacy. There was a great calm, that word, great, we recognize it mega. So there was a mega storm, a mega le, a mega storm, and now there's a mega calm. It's the second great. Now that mega calm was instantaneous. The wind immediately ceased, but also something else immediately ceased. The waves.

Do you know that even if a storm. By natural means immediately stops. If the wind immediately stops blowing. Do you know that the energy in the waves doesn't immediately stop? That that energy will work itself out for a, for a time after that, yet not in this case. Immediately it was calm, the voice of the maker, the clarity of Jesus's deity.

I know of no other passage in all of scripture that the humanity of Jesus is squished up beside the deity of Jesus so closely as this one who is so exhausted, so spent that he can sleep through a storm with water splashing over him. Yet when he is awakened from that sleep, He will speak to the wind and the waves, and they immediately obey him.

Obey him. I know of nothing that displays both the humanity of Jesus and the deity of Jesus, both so plainly to such extremes right here together. So this revelation that they're given to him, th this is, this is what the storm is primarily doing for them. This is why Jesus took them across, because the called-out ones, those whom he has called unto himself.

Those on the inside, they are given the greater understanding. That's what the parable of the measures taught us. The one who has, to him, moral will be given. And this is the acting out of the one who has, to him more, will be given. Those in the boat all have understanding of Jesus. Yet to the ones who have more is being given.

But notice that more is only given in the context of the boat, in the storm, and that's what's happening for the disciples. They're being shown who this Jesus is. He is the strong man. Remember, that's another theme of Mark. He's the strong man, the true, strong man who has returned to oust the false strong man, the false ruler, the false king.

The true king is back to reclaim his kingdom. And this is what he's doing. He's standing up to say, the true strong man is here. I will speak to my creation. I will tell my creation, which metaphorically represents the rule of evil and the chaos of evil. I will tell it to shut up and stay shut up. And that's what Jesus does.

But notice the word that Mark uses. He awoke and rebuked the wind. Now, Jesus uses, or I'm sorry, Mark uses that word rebuke, like all the words that the writers of scripture use. He uses it with care. But this word rebuke, it's the standard word for rebuke to issue forth a correction, a rebuke a, a sharp rebuke.

Jesus rebukes the wind as though the wind has done something wrong. Isn't that interest interesting as though the wind was in the wrong and wind, the wind doesn't have morality, does it? The wind doesn't have a soul. The wind can't do right and wrong. The wind is, is molecules in the air being moved around subject to the forces of atmospheric conditions and whatnot.

So why does Jesus rebuke the wind as though the wind has done something wrong? Because in a sense, the wind has done something wrong Because Jesus is the strong man who is here to reclaim his kingdom. And a big part of his kingdom is the creation that we are told has now been subjected to the futility of the fallenness of man.

Because of our sinfulness. We have cast all of creation into the state of fallenness. In Romans eight, we read that the creation groans from the presence of sin, from the curse of sin upon it. And so in a real sense, Jesus is rebuking the wind because you know what? The wind was never supposed to terrify man.

The storm was never supposed to frighten man. And so Jesus, in a sense, is setting everything right. Again, Jesus as the second Adam. You can look at the, at your notes there from Romans chapter five or one Corinthians 15, the talk about the second Adam who has come to set, right what the first Adam set wrong.

And so Jesus has come to set those things, right? Jesus, as the perfect man is here to do what we were intended to do all along. Now, when I say that, I don't mean that God intended for man. To go around rebuking the wind and calming storms and healing diseases. That's not what God intended to do. Instead, God intended for man to never be subjected to storms, to never be subjected to illnesses and leprosy and of course demon possession.

And so Jesus the divine is setting back to normal how things should have been all along, man should have never been subjected to storms and winds, and waves. Man should have never been subjected to disease and illnesses and blindness and deafness and leprosy. And Jesus is setting all that back straight.

Jesus. Jesus. If you get this into your, into your soul, this will help you to understand the humanity of Jesus. Jesus was not and is not a superhuman. Jesus is not a human that's above what humans are supposed to be. Jesus is the normal man. Get that into your, into your soul. Jesus is the normal man. We are the abnormal ones.

Sin has made us abnormal. Jesus is the normal one. The normal one who has control over the creation, the normal one who perfectly trusts his father. That's normal humanity. We are the abnormal ones. We're the subnormal ones because sin has made us subnormal Jesus. Jesus is the perfect human. This true, strong man who is here to rebuke the storm.

But then notice also the storm is not also all that Jesus rebukes. He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, that's in the imperfect. So, , he, he spoke to the sea and kept on speaking to the sea. Peace be still and stay still, and the wind ceased and there was a great calm, the second great, the greatness of the calm.

Verse 40. And he said to them, now turning to the disciples, he said to them, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? See there once again, the contrast between fear and faith. He said to them, why are you so afraid? And have you still no faith? So Jesus rebukes the disciples. Why are you so afraid?

Literally, the word that Jesus uses there that Mark records for us is not the word for, for afraid or fear. It's the word for cowardly. So literally Jesus says, why are you such cowards? Why are you acting so cowardly? Why are you playing the coward? Have you still no faith? This is a rebuke, not the sharpest of rebukes, but it's a rebuke nonetheless.

And Jesus is rebuking their lack or their weakness or their absence of faith, because faith is the opposite of fear, and their fear shows their lack of faith. Jesus never overlooked unbelief. Jesus never coddled unbelief. Unbelief was the thing that Jesus would most quickly and most decisively rebuke.

Unbelief was the thing that Jesus would single out the most, and he singles it out here, and he rebukes them for their sinful fear, which is evidence of their lack of belief. I believe that Mark is writing this for the readers of the church in Rome. Remember, he was writing this to Roman Christians. And he's giving this them this account in hopes that they will take this account to heart.

Because I believe that possibly the Christians in Rome were maybe like the Christians in the book of Hebrews that were teetering on the brink of fearfulness. They are living at a time in which persecution is ramping up, and Mark is concerned that they will fall into fearfulness. And so he's saying to this, he's giving this them this account so that they will take this to heart.

Be not afraid. Don't play the coward. Don't act like the coward. Get rid of your sinful fear and only believe. So all of us have sinful fear. If we are human, we have sinful fear. Every Christian, every believer has sinful fear. The question is, what are we sinfully fearing? What are you sinfully fearing in your life?

Because all of us are sinfully fearing something. Because Jesus says to us, there's only one fear that the Christian is to have, and that's the Lord their God. And besides the Lord, we are to fear nothing else. God takes it as an affront to himself. When we fear, for example, men, Isaiah chapter 53, Jesus or God says, who do you think you are?

Who do you think you are fearing men and what men can do to you? I'm the Lord. So God takes it as a personal affront when his people, when his children fear other things. So all of us have sinful fears. The question is, what are you sinfully fearing? We are coming out of a time of a couple years in which there have been a lot of sinful fears among God's people.

This pandemic, the Covid and everything. Now there's certainly some legitimate concerns, but there's also certainly a lot of sinful fear. That's been taking place among God's people for the last couple of years. Sinfully fearing what creation can do to us sinfully fearing what can happen to our bodies.

When God says to us, why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? What about anything else in our life there? There are so many things that we sinfully fear and I don't. I'm not passing judgment on anyone. Everyone has their own situation, their own circumstance. I'm not passing judgment on anyone. Instead, what I'm doing is I'm inviting you to do what scripture invites you to do all the time, which is judge yourself.

Look to your own heart, your own life, and ask yourself, what am I sinfully fearing? What am I fearing? That if Jesus were here in the room, he would say to me, why are you so afraid? Have you no faith? Why are you afraid of that? So perhaps we should all imagine Jesus in the room with us asking us that question.

Why are you afraid? Did I not create you? Did I not die for you? Did I not shed my blood for you? Did I not rise for you? Why are you afraid of what people can do to you? Why are you afraid of what people can take away from you? Why are you subject to what other people can give you? Why are you so afraid?

Have you still no faith? So he rebukes the disciples, unbelief, why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with a, and here's the third. Great, A great fear, a mega fear. Literally, Mark says they feared with Omega fear. So their fear, the disciples fear. Of their own death pales in comparison to their fear of who's in the boat with them.

And that may be the most important takeaway of the passage, is they have a right and correct fear of the one in the boat with them that casts a shadow upon their fear of their own death. Imagine that their own death, their own impending death, was less frightening to them than the revelation of who is now in the boat with them.

That's why they're on the water. And you see, Jesus couldn't have taught them that in parables. Jesus couldn't have told them a parable and showed them that this was something they had to learn on the boat, in the storm with Jesus in the boat with them. The ones on the inside to you has been given the secrets of the kingdom.

To those on the outside, everything's in parables, but to the ones on the inside to you is given the secrets of the kingdom. And this is the greatest secret. The one in the boat with them is the one who made the water. The one in the boat with them is not just the great teacher that they've been listening to, is not just the amazing healer that they've been amazed with.

The the miracle worker, the one with such profound teachings, the one in the boat with them is the one who rightly deserves their worship. The one in the boat with them is the one who knew them before they were born. The one in the boat with them is the one who made every molecule of their body and sustains every molecule of their body.

And so this is the consistent and the right reaction that mankind always has when it's in the presence of deity. The majestic holiness of God is something that we have largely lost sight of today. The church in the Western culture, we love Jesus as the great teacher. We love Jesus as the healer. We love Jesus as the son of God, but the awe struck, hol holiness of God, the majestic magnificence of the one whom we should rightly fall on our face before.

That's what the disciples had to be taken into the storm to see. They couldn't see that on the shore. They couldn't see that in the safety of, of the home in which Jesus would teach them. They couldn't see that on the, the slope of the, the on the side of the shore. As Jesus was teaching in parables, they had to see that in the danger of the storm.

They had to see that Jesus is greater than any storm. But notice that to the disciples, Jesus is still a stranger, and they were filled with a great fear. Literally, they feared with a mega fear and they said to one another who then is this? Who is this? That even the wind and the sea obey him? That's the theme of Mark's gospel.

The theme of Mark's gospel is, who is this man? Jesus. This began from the very first ver verse, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God. 10 verses later, God declares from heaven. This is my beloved son. And then the theme continues from there. Who is this man? Jesus. Chapter one, verse 27.

What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even unclean spirits. Chapter two, verse seven. Who can forgive sins but God alone? Chapter six and verse two. Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? And then chapter eight, verse 29. We're familiar with this. Who do men say that I am?

Who do you say that I am? Chapter 14, verses 61 and 62. The High priest say to him, are you the Christ? The chosen one, the son of the blessed. And then of co, of course, the culmination, the climax of the entire gospel. Mark chapter 15 in verse 39, the gospel written to the Romans where the climax is the Roman of Romans, the centurion, the Roman of all Romans saying, surely this man was the son of God, but to the disciples, this man in the boat, they thought they knew him.

But did we really know him? Who is this man? For those on the inside, to truly know Jesus, they must go through the storm with him in the boat. The storm is not just about Jesus delivering them from danger. The storm is about God lovingly and graciously taking them into a place. The only place in which they can come to an understanding of the fullness of who this man really is, the majestic holiness of God, and the fear of who is it with them in the boat.

You know, this isn't the only time that Jesus will do something magnificent and those who see it. We'll be filled with fear. If we were to flip forward to the end of the gospel, the very last verse of what Mark writes in, in chapter six and verse eight, they went out and they fled from the tomb after realizing that Jesus is now raised and they were trembling and astonishment had seen seized them.

So this fear, this isn't the last time that we'll see this, but those on the inside have known Jesus, as we said, as a powerful teacher, as a powerful healer. But now they must know him as the sovereign creator and the rightful object of their worship. So lastly, let's just draw just a couple of final observations.

And the first one is this, the passage. This recounts an actual real story. Jesus really went on the water. There really was this storm. He really did miraculously calm the storm, but at the same time, the story also has a metaphorical application. As Brother Darryl sang about and mentioned earlier, this passage is about the Lord who will calm the storms of our life, and it really is about how Jesus has sovereign control of our external circumstances, all of our external circumstances.

Jesus has sovereign control because Jesus stands up and he says peace and be still speaking to the storm, but speaking to the storm, the peace that he speaks is really the peace that the disciples really need because you see the disciples, their biggest need is not for the storm to be calmed. The biggest need is not for the the water to stop coming into the boat.

The biggest need, the dis the disciples have is to have peace in the midst of their storm. Don't misunderstand the story to mean. That whenever we have storms in our life, we cry out to God and he immediately calms them. That's not what the story's about. The story is about what's far more important than the calmness.

The story is about having peace in the storm because that's what you really want. That's really your greatest desire. Do you realize that about your own heart, that what you really want is not for God to resolve all your problems? What you really want is to have peace in the midst of them, or we think that we want God to fix our problems.

We think that that's the answer. When we have a conflict, when we have a problem, when we have a situation, we think that the answer is for God to fix it, to resolve it, to make it go away. That's not the answer because there is just as much unrest in the heart of humans in a calm sea, as in a tumultuous sea.

The the storm really doesn't matter. What matters is the peace of God within, and that's what the disciples really want. That's what you really want. What you really want, whether you realize it or not, is to have peace in the midst of all the storms of your life. Look with me at Isaiah chapter 43, but now thus says the Lord who created you.

Oh, Jacob, he formed you. Oh, Israel. Fear not for I have calmed your storms. No, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I'll deliver you out of them. No. When you pass through the waters, 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. And the flames shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy one of Israel, your savior. Do you hear the theme there? Do you hear God saying, I'm not going to put out the fires, but when you go through them, I will bring you through them. I won't calm all the storms, but I will be with you through them.

I will give you the peace in the midst of, of the storm, which is what we really, really want and what we really need. Peace is the goal, not calmness. Next. When the Lord seems to be asleep or silent, he's often just awaiting the perfect moment to give reassurance of his presence and power. Did you pick up on that in the story?

Jesus is asleep and the disciples just seem just desperate. They're just in desperation to wake up. They need Jesus to wake up, and it's as though Jesus is asleep until just the perfect moment. You know, if Jesus had quelled the storm at the first little puff of wind as the first little storm cloud that peaked over the horizon, if Jesus had calmed storm, then the disciples would've gained nothing for this.

It's as though Jesus waits until the disciples are desperate, because in their desperation is the only place in which they'll hear him, the only place in which they'll see him. And it's as though Jesus waits until that moment. He's silent, he's asleep, but he's God. And God never sleeps. And he waits for that moment because that is the moment that he needs to come in order for the revealing of himself to take root.

Similar to how Jesus waits three days for Lazarus to die and be put into the tomb because Mary and Martha need that to happen. In order for them to see and believe and truly understand that Jesus is the resurrection in the life in a similar way. He waits until this moment. And Jesus, I think, often does that in our life.

I think he often just seems silent and absent and even indifferent. And it's not because he is silent or absent or indifferent. It's because he's waiting. He's waiting for the storm to crash the water over into the boat of our life. For us to reach that point, for us to say, Jesus, we're desperate.

Do you not care? We're about to die. We're about to drown, in which Jesus says, okay, now you're ready to see me. When Pastor Andrew Davis preaches this passage, he uses an illustration for this point. The lyrics of a song, and I can think of no better illustration, so I'm going to take as and I'm going to use it.

This is a song most of us know by casting crowns. I'll praise you in the storm. Listen to these lyrics. I was sure by now, God, you would've reached down and wiped our tears away. Stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say amen and it's still raining. Well as the thunder rolls. I barely hear your whisper through the rain.

I'm with you. As your mercy falls, I'll raise my hands and prays. The God who gives and takes away. I'll praise you in this storm. I will lift my hands for you are who you are. No matter where I am. And every tear I've cried you hold in your hand. You never left my side. And though my heart is torn, I will praise you in the storm.

I remember when I stumbled in the wind, you heard my cry to you and raised me up again, but my strength is almost gone. How can I carry on if I can't find you? I lift my eyes into the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, and the song continues from there, I know no better illustration of the God who intentionally appears to be quiet and asleep until we are ready to see and ready to hear.

Now, one final application very quickly is this, the strong man is foreshadowing the day when the sea in its storms are no more. All through the Old Testament, the sea represents the rule of evil and the chaos of evil. But then this metaphorical theme of the sea shows up once again in the revelation. In fact, all through the revelation about six or eight times.

In the book of the Revelation, it shows up again. And we read in the book of the Revelation from exam, for example, from chapter four verse six, before the throne was for before the throne. There was, as it were, a sea of glass. So now the sea, which represents chaos and evil, is now glass. Or we read in places like 21 and verse one, I saw, saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven, and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.

So we see again and again in the revelation, either the sea is no more or the sea is now glass, or the sea has given up, its dead. And all that is to say that the strong man will one day put a permanent end to the storms. And this is a foreshadowing of this, this life. And this is the final thing for us to hear this morning.

This life therefore, is the only chance you will ever have to trust God in a storm.

When this life is over, you'll never for eternity have another chance to trust God in the storm because there will be no more storms. This is the life. This is the opportunity. This is the chance that we have to learn of him, to see him, and to trust him even as Casting Crowns will sing when the rain is still falling.