Flashback Episode — Peace in the Storm: Mark 4:35-41

Of all the events in the gospels, one event rises to the top when we look for miraculous events where Jesus displays an amazing level of trust. If you have ever wondered if Jesus lived out His faith, the passage we are focusing in on in this episode is a perfect example – and one that left a deep impression on all of Jesus’ disciples for the rest of their lives.

In the event we are focusing on in this episode, Jesus has just finished preaching, and He and the disciples decide to cross over the lake. This lake crossing is included in three of the four gospels, because something significant happens during it. Let’s read about this event from the gospel of Mark, chapter four, using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 35, Mark tells us:

³⁵ That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side.”

³⁶ Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus along in a boat just as he was. Other boats were with him.

³⁷ A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. ³⁸ But he was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat.

So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

³⁹ Then he got up, ordered the wind to stop, and said to the sea, “Be still, absolutely still!” The wind stopped blowing, and the sea became very calm.

⁴⁰ He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”

⁴¹ They were overcome with fear and asked each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

Every time I read this event, I am amazed at Jesus. The boat they were in was not big, nor was it all that stable, and Jesus is able to sleep through a storm that the expert-fishermen-disciples believe they will die in. During the worst storm these disciples had ever experienced, Jesus is at the back of the boat, sleeping – even though the fierce wind was blowing on Him, and wave after wave of water was splashing over the side of the boat onto Him.

Not only does this tell you Jesus could at times be a deep, deep sleeper, it tells us something else that is amazing about Jesus’ faith in God.

Jesus had complete trust in God and His protection for His life. Jesus knew the prophecies, and He knew the path that God had placed in front of Him to walk down. This path led to death on the cross. Jesus knew that until facing the arrest in Jerusalem on that future Passover weekend, His life was protected – which means that regardless of what happened, His life was secure.

This complete faith in God allowed Him to sleep while everyone who was with Him was in a panic.

The storm got so bad, and the disciples began to realize that Jesus wasn’t waking up to help, so they make their way to the back of the boat to wake Him up saying, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?” (v. 38b)

The disciples probably expected Jesus to help them pitch water out of the boat or give them some reassurance that they would survive this storm, but instead, Jesus does something they did not expect: He addresses the storm itself.

What at first was a desperate cry for help from Jesus because they were scared of the storm became a fear of Jesus after they realized that even the weather obeyed Him. Without even breaking a syllable, following commanding the storm to cease, Jesus turned to His disciples with the questions, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”

Some translations choose not to call the disciples cowards but translate Jesus’ first question as simply “Why are you afraid?” Perhaps His question was aimed at their new fear in what Jesus just did, or perhaps it was aimed the disciples fear of the storm.

In either case, we learn something amazing about God. In the storms that life brings our way, they have had to pass through God’s filter of protection. This means that any- and every-thing that happens has been passed through a God-filter. God doesn’t filter all bad things from happening, because it is when we face challenges that our faith, trust, and character grow, but He does filter the senseless and meaningless bad from occurring.

In other words, if something happens to us in this life, God has an idea for how we can turn the pain into a stepping stone. Perhaps it is something that opens up a connection with someone God wants to reach, or maybe it gives us a shared experience that we can use when talking with someone God loves who has drifted away, or even maybe it is something that is intended to knock us out of our rut of complacency. If we become too comfortable and cease fulfilling our mission, God seems to send us things in order to wake us up.

I don’t claim to have all the answers for why bad things happen to us, except to say that we live in a world full of free choice and evil actions. What we see happening around us doesn’t always make sense, because we are only seeing it from half a perspective.

The event we just read teaches us about how God works through the storms of life. God didn’t keep the storm from happening to Jesus and the disciples, but He protected them all through it. Perhaps the disciples waited longer than they should have to ask Jesus for help, but they ultimately realized they needed Him. When the disciples finally asked for help, Jesus helps in a way that they were not expecting.

However, the big truths I see displayed in Jesus actions are a complete trust in God’s protection, and an extraordinary example of the power of faith.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open these challenges by saying, intentionally seek God first in your life. When storms happen in our lives, keep your faith and trust in God’s protection, and turn to Him first for help leading you through it. Sometimes God will silence the storm, whereas other times He will walk with you through it.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do in one way or another, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn how God always protects His people through the trials and challenges they face. In the events of the Bible, sometimes God protects us from the bad that could happen, sometimes God walks with us through it, and sometimes God uses it to wake us up from our spiritual sleep. From the events of the Bible, discover that everything happening today, regardless of its level of good or evil, has a purpose and plan from God’s perspective, even if we cannot see it from our perspective. Trust that God knows what He is doing and that He wants to use whatever happens for His glory in order to save as many people as He can for eternity!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!