World English Bible translation
Today's Scripture
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let's go over to the other side." 4:36 Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him. 4:37 There arose a great wind storm, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled. 4:38 He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, "Teacher, don't you care that we are dying?" He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 4:40 He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?" They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"Today's Lesson
In this gospel we have had the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ and the calling of the disciples. We have seen a few miracles being performed and had a section that contained some of the early parables. Today's Scripture begins a section in the Gospel of Mark that concentrates more heavily on miracles that are manifested during the middle part of the ministry of Jesus Christ in Galilee.
Jesus and His disciples go in boats to get away from the multitude for a while. As they are going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus crawled up into the front of the boat and went to sleep. As the boat continued to cross the lake, a storm brewed up. The seas began to toss and the waves began to spill over the sides of the boat. Even though many of His disciples were fishermen and familiar with the seas, they became frightened. They thought that they were going to die on the water that night.
One of the amazing things about this story is that in the middle of a storm, Jesus was still asleep in the bow of the boat. He must have been exhausted from dealing with the multitude. The disciples came to Him and said, "Teacher, don't you care that we are dying?"
Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and it immediately died down. He commanded the sea and the wind to be calm and it was immediately calm. Then, to their amazement, Jesus asked them why they were so afraid. "How is it that you have no faith?" Jesus had complete faith and confidence that He would not die on the sea that night. He also knew that none of His disciples would die before Him. So, in His mind, to be concerned about even a fierce storm was unwarranted. God had set a plan in motion and it would be fulfilled. Not even the forces of nature could stand against what God had started.
The result of this incident was that the disciples were more afraid of what Jesus had done than they were of the storm. They had seen a demonstration of the complete authority of the Son of God and it scared them. If we are not awed, and a little afraid, by the power of Jesus Christ it is because we have not come to a complete understanding of who He is. God is without bounds and goes beyond all of our known limits. His power is beyond anything that we can imagine. There must always be a place for awe in our comprehension of God.
Does God still inspire a sense of awe in your life? Who is this man, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?
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