Jesus taught the crowd from a boat.
At the beginning of Mark 4 Jesus is teaching the crowds by the side of a lake. But according to Mark 4:1 (NIV), "The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge."Yes, Jesus taught the parable of the sower, the lamp on its stand, the growing seed, and the mustard seed from a boat.
In these parables Jesus was challenging the crowds, and his disciples in particular, to be more than spectators and good listeners. (See Mark 4:12) He wanted them to understand his true identity— to know him as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the creator of the universe, the giver and sustainer of all life, the promised messiah, and the Son of God. If they would believe in him, they could turn away from their old lives and have their sins forgiven. Jesus had the authority not just to forgive them, but to deliver them from their sins once and for all.
Up to this point, the disciples have been merely spectators.
I want to warn you that listening to the gospel preached is a dangerous thing. Up to this point in the gospel of Mark the disciples have only been spectators. They’ve seen Jesus drive out evil spirits and demons, cure leprosy, heal every kind of disease and sickness, regenerate a man’s shriveled up hand, and reverse a man’s paralysis. They have seen Jesus challenge the religious leaders and call out to sinners. In Mark 3:14 Jesus appoints twelve of his disciples to be apostles, to embrace the mission of God in their world.
But make no mistake about it. Up to this point in the gospel of Mark there has been no danger for the disciples. Their faith has been largely untested. They have mostly been like good Bible students,privileged listeners of Jesus' teachings. But now, all of that is about to change suddenly and dramatically.
And friends, this is exactly what happens in life. One minute we are gathering at Lakeside, being the spectators, and listening to the teachings of our Lord. But then in the next moment we're thrust into dangerous circumstances, into a perfect storm of sorts, where we can no longer be neutral about Jesus' identity, andwhere we have no other recourse but to believe.
Suddenly, a storm blowsfuriously across the lake.
So here we go. Mark 4:35-36 (NIV) says, "That day when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, 'Let us go over to the other side.' Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped."
We know nothing about the origin of this storm. We only know that it had deadly intensity. We know that the storm was battering the fleet of fishing boats which were traveling with Jesus. We know from Mark 4:40 that the storm terrified these disciples, many of whom were seasoned commercial fishermen by trade.
One of my favorite shows, which I love to watch in HDTV, is "The Deadliest Catch." The show captures the real-life adventures of five Alaskan king crabbing boat fishermenas they fish the Bearing Sea. They have one of the most dangerous jobs in America. They fish in hull-crushing ice, sub-zero temperatures, and in near-hurricane strength conditions. They regularly encournter rogue waves whicharetowering several stories, blasting crew members off decks, shattering glass, and bending steel. Those fishermen are half-crazy! They practically taunt the storms, "Bring it on! Is that all you've got?"
But every so often the cameras capture genuine fear— storms which are so intense that the captains fear for the safety of their crews. This is the situation in which the disciples find themselves."A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped."
These menwere in hand-crafted wooden boats. They didn't have life jackets. There was no Coast Guard, no life rafts, and no safety beacons or radios with which to call for help. The disciplesweremoments away from certain drowning, with their boats nearly swamped. The disciples believed that death was imminent. This storm is not a metaphor. They are in real physical danger here.
One moment they were spectators, watching the Savior, and listening to his teachings just like we are doing now at Lakeside. The next moment they are clinging to the boats for dear life. What are we to take from this?
For all of us, there will come a time when our faith will be tested.
For all of us, there will come a time when our faith will be tested. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in this season of your life or the next, but soon enough. There will come a time when you’ll no longer be afforded the luxury of being the spectator or a passive listener of Christ’s words. There will come a time when instead, you'll be thrust into the danger of the storm. In that moment you will be confronted with a clear and compelling choice: to believe on Jesus or to succumb to fear.
And your storm, when it comes (if it hasn’t already) will no more be a metaphor than the storm these disciples faced. There will be real pain in your life, real anguish, real distress, and real circumstances of which you’ll have no control. Your first impulse will be to tremble in fear, to cling to your boat for security, or to fight against the wind and waves. And after you have exhausted all of your efforts and your boat is nearly swamped, you’ll have no other recourse but to believe on Jesus.
There will be no counselor wise enough to save your marriage or family, no treatment powerful enough to extend your life, no amount of money large enough to solve your crisis, no amount of jockeying that willavoid the fallout of your sin. At that time, you've reached the end of yourself— the end of your wisdom, the end of your resources, your time, and your options. And it’s in that moment, while you're grasping for any kind of hope, that you will remember what you saw and heard atLakeside.
Jesus is calm during the storm.
In Mark 4:37 the mighty waves are breaking over the boat. Mark 4:38 (NIV) says,"Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?' "
The storm shook the disciples to the core. The storm shook them from their spiritual complacency and comfort. ButJesus? He's sound asleep on a cushion. So let’s do a show of hands. How many of you believe Jesus was sound asleep? How many of you believe Jesus was sleeping with one eye open-- watching to see how his disciples would respond?
Be careful not to read too much into Mark 4:38. The disciples aren’t waking Jesus up so that Jesus would save them. What they are thinking here is, "We're all about to drown. Somebody wake Jesus up!He’s a heavy sleeper and we wouldn’t want him to drown to death in his sleep."
The disciples couldn’t imagine, not in their wildest dreams, that Jesus had the power to save them also. And it's like that with us too. We so quickly succumb to fear, that we forget that the King of kings, and Lord of lords, the creator of the universe, the giver and sustainer of life, the very Son of God, is in our midst.
Mark 4:39-41 (NIV) says, "He (Jesus) got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?' They were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!' "
Jesus has authority over the storms in our lives.
This morning, most of us find ourselves in the middle of a storm. You sense real danger in your life, your marriage, your family, your finances, your career, your health, or the health of loved one. Some of you sense real danger as you face the consequences of sinful choices you’ve made in your life.
What we know is that Jesus has sovereign authority over the storms in our lives, no matter how deadly or ferocious they may seem. In an instant, Jesus has the power to rebuke the wind, quiet the waves, and restore calm!
But what we also know is that more often than not, Jesus allows these storms to rock our boats, so that our faith in him might be perfected, and so that we too might marvel at his power and authority.
Jesus doesn’t call us at Lakeside to be mere spectators and listeners. He calls upon us to believe on him for everlasting life. We learn about Jesus from the comfort of these cushioned chairs, but we believe on him in the face of real danger. Do you believe? Do you have faith? Even the wind and waves obey Jesus. He is King.