Jesus Is Our Storm-Stiller

Sermon on Mark 4:35-41

Text: That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 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?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

In 480 B.C., King Xerxes of Persia wanted to invade Greece. He amassed an army and marched toward Greece, until he came to the Hellespont River. He ordered that a bridge be constructed so that his army could cross. However, before the army could cross, there was a violent storm, which destroyed the bridges. When Xerxes heard of the disaster, he ordered that the Hellespont be lashed 300 times, making the lashers recite words condemning what had been done to the bridge by the Hellespont. He was trying to control nature, by showing the Hellespont what happens when you dare to cross him. This account seems silly to us. However, it is true that mankind has tried to control nature and the weather for centuries. This morning, we are reminded that there is but one who controls, not only nature, but all of creation, as well. How thankful we are that JESUS IS OUR STORM-STILLER. 1. He Still The Storms Of Our Lives. 2. He Stills The Storms Of Our Faith.

Jesus had just finished preaching and teaching the crowd. He wanted some rest and quiet away from the crowds. So he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Verse 35) They were on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, where there were many people. He wanted to go over to the other side where there were less people. And so, the disciples, “Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.” (Verse 36) They set off for the eastern shore.

However, as they were sailing along, something happened. “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.” (Verse 37) The Sea of Galilee is a small lake. It is 13 miles long and 7 ½ miles at its widest. It is surrounded by steep hills and cliffs. Because of its shape and size, storms come up quite often on this lake. The wind comes over the hills and cliffs and quickly stirs up the water. It is like when you blow into a teacup. It didn’t take much to get the Sea of Galilee stirred up.

As I said, storms come up quite often on the Sea of Galilee. However, the storm that came up that day must have been quite strong. At least 4 of Jesus’ disciples were former fishermen who had earned their living fishing this body of water. Yet, when this storm came up, it threw the disciples into a panic, and they rushed to get Jesus. Where was he? “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.” (Verse 37) The disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Verse 37) Note the hint of rebuke in their question: “Don’t you care?” Here Jesus was, sleeping, and they were about to drown. They showed their impatience and weakness of faith when they asked the question.

Do we, at times, exhibit the same sort of attitude with God? We face various storms in our lives. It might be a physical aliment. It might be financial difficulties. It might be family problems. We expect that there will be some resolution. We expect that we should not be going through these issues. To us, it may seem like God is still sleeping on the cushion. We come to him, and we say, “Don’t you care if we drown?” “Don’t you care that I am hurting?” “Don’t you care it is so difficult for me?” We get to the point of feeling like Job. So often, when we think of Job, we think of his patience in the face of trials. We often forget that Job also reached a breaking point, and he began to question God’s motives in all that was happening to him. “Don’t you care?”

We need to be very careful about this attitude. In many ways, we are placing ourselves over God and telling him what to do and when to do it. God is not our servant. Nor does God owe us any explanations of why certain things enter our lives. He is the Creator. We are his creation. How thankful we are that our God is also a loving God, and we have his assurance that everything that happens to us is for our benefit. He uses the storms that enter our lives for his purpose. He allows the storm, and he will take care of it, as well.

Jesus did help his disciples. “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” (Verse 39) Jesus showed that he is the almighty Son of God. He told the winds to stop, and they were still. He commanded the waves to be still and suddenly the Sea of Galilee was as smooth as the surface of a mirror. The storm was gone. Jesus showed his power over the things of this earth.

This helps to remind us who is ultimately in control of all things. Yes, we may have those storms that blow and beat against us. It may look as though they will overwhelm us. Yet, we have the assurance that he, who calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, is also able to calm the storms that brew in my life. God gives us so many beautiful promises about this in his word. For example, in 1 Peter 5:7, we find this invitation, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Those storms that you are facing are not more than God can handle and he will help you. We also find this comfort in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The one that you are calling upon for help is no one less than God himself and, as Paul reminds us in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Jesus, our Savior, stills the storms of our lives with his almighty power. May God remind us of this when we face those storms in our lives.

In the meanwhile, another storm was brewing. It was not upon the surface of the Sea of Galilee, but in the hearts of the disciples. After the storm that had riled the water was stilled, Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Verse 40) Here Jesus wasn’t talking about the fear that had gripped the hearts of the disciples during the storm that caused them to run to him for help. He is talking about a fear that they had right then. He didn’t ask, “Why were you so afraid?” Rather, he asked, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” He is speaking about the fear and the unbelief that were still in their hearts. By means of this question, Jesus is calling them to repentance. This is similar to the look that Jesus gave to Peter after he denied him those three times in the courtyard of the high priest or the time that the Lord asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Jesus wasn’t rebuking them so much as he was calling them to repentance.

How many times haven’t we needed a similar question posed to us? Our Lord delivers us from a difficulty. He calms a storm in our lives. Then, we sit and wait for something else bad to happen to us. We act as though God got us out of that last difficulty, but can he do it again? Or, to take it to a spiritual level, we may think about the sins that we have committed in our lives. We catalogue them all, and there may be some of them that stick out in our minds more than others. We know that we have broken God’s will for our lives. We have made ourselves to be bigger than God, by telling him what to do. We have had those moments of weakness and doubt. We know what the Bible says about those who break his law even once. If we were to sit and dwell on these sins, we might well be trembling with fear to stand in the presence of an almighty and holy God, just like those disciples did that day.

It’s at those times when Jesus comes to us and asks us, “Why are you so afraid?” ‘Look at everything I have done to rescue you from your sins. I came to earth and lived a perfect life because you couldn’t. To pay your debt of sin to my Father, I willingly went to the cross. I laid down my life for you. To show you that my Father accepted my payment for your sins, I rose from the dead. In addition, I sent the Holy Spirit into your heart to create that faith, which makes my work for you your own.’ It is such a blessing from God how he reminds us again and again of our forgiveness. For example, we find in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” We read in 1 John 1:9, “He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When we find ourselves doubting God’s forgiveness, with this question, “Why are you so afraid?” Jesus reminds us of the fact that, as we read in 1 John 1:7, “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

Being assured of that, we also have confidence in the other storms of our faith, as well. He reminds us that he continues to care for us. He continues to provide for us. He continues to protect us. There is no reason to doubt his love for us or his continued presence. He, who has been with us in the past, is with us today, and will be with us in the future. When we have those doubts, and Jesus raises this question, “Why are you so afraid?” may we be reminded that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Jesus, our Savior, is there to still all of the storms in our faith, as well.

Art of the early Christian church would often depict the church as a boat being driven on a perilous sea. Jesus was depicted as the pilot or the one at the tiller. This was of great comfort to the early church as they faced persecution, which threatened to overwhelm it. It may have looked to the human eye as though all was lost. Surely the church could not stand up to this. This art reminded its viewers that there was nothing to fear. Jesus was in control. He was piloting this vessel to the safety of the shore. May this also be our confidence when we face both storms in our lives and storms in our faith. We are reminded of the hymn: “Jesus, Savior, pilot me.” There in the third verse, we find a prayer of the confidence that we can have because our Savior Jesus is piloting our lives, “When at last I near the shore And the fearful breakers roar ‘Twixt me and the peaceful rest, Then, while leaning on thy breast, May I hear thee say to me, ‘Fear not! I will pilot thee.’” Amen.