Jesus Son Of The Most High God
1 Timothy 3:16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith : Christ was revealed in a human body
Mark 4:40 He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
Mark 4:41 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
It had been a very long day of preaching, teaching, and miraculous healings. Likely Jesus was very exhausted, and together with his disciples and other boats carrying other followers, he heads off sailing along to the other side of the lake. The sun is setting and Jesus falls asleep with his head on a pillow.
In these boats are many confused people, they'd just received a great deal of profound and sometimes confusing messages about faith, the Holy Spirit, God's word, and the Kingdom. No doubt some in the boats were still puzzling about those lessons and stories. Likely some were quietly meditating on these things during the evening boat ride. And others no doubt were arguing about the meaning of this and the importance of that. They were doing what people do.
Earlier in the day they learned about the work of the Holy Spirit in the parable of the sower. Probably some in the boats were living on rocky soil, and others among the thorns of cares and concerns about the world. Jesus had tried to teach them about how God accomplishes his work in the spreading of the good news. He describes a sower sowing everywhere, in all sorts of conditions. And the sower waits for the seed to do what seed does. And but does. So the lesson in part is about the unseen works of the Holy Spirit seed of truth among the various soil conditions. That's the faith lesson. The sower has faith in the power of the seed. He sows. He does his work and trusts in the power of the seed to germinate and begin to grow. But the other lesson is about the people represented by the soil and cultivation, or lack thereof.
I imagine somewhere in those boats was someone who was absolutely never going to take his candle of sharing the gospel out from under his bushel. In him the word was going to remain hidden because he's afraid of what others might think. No doubt there are still others who really weren't at all interested in any deep self reflection and examination of their spiritual wellbeing. Many were there just for the ride. They can't see the value of the word day by day. They've got things to do and plans to make, no time for spiritual growth, especially in that invisible light. For them the word is dead, it has no life for them beyond the pages. For them the prophets do not live for ever; but for others who have spiritual eyes and ears, the prophets word which they preached, is doing its work still, even when they are in their graves. That prophetic seed is still producing fruit for many. So, of course many in these boats are going to eventually get a grip on their faith and become what God intends for them. But in this moment they all struggle with who this Jesus really is.
Just as elsewhere when we see Jesus rebuke and silence evil spirits, now he wakes up from his much needed rest, and he rebukes the wind and the waves. He's displaying his supernatural authority over nature and over the demonic spirits of Satan at work in the storm. And still many of the disciples fail to perceive Jesus' true identity. They cannot see the Son of God through the storm until the storm is calmed. They needed to see Jesus hold the storm in his hand, but also they needed to see it in the context of all those earlier parables and miraculous moments. Timing is everything, and the Holy Spirit stops all the pondering and debates about the larger meaning in what Jesus said about discipleship. He brings the storm and with it he injects extreme anxiety and fear into their paths. The storm was quickly swamping their boats, filling them with water. Meanwhile Jesus is asleep. And their faith is tested.
They go from contemplating philosophical differences and spiritual beliefs, and now the story becomes all about survival and the God who seems to be asleep at the wheel.
Where is God?
Why is God allowing this to happen?
If he is God why doesn't he do something?
No doubt some are regretting having gotten into the boat. Others are doubting they'll live through this. Some pray. And some turn to Jesus for their help. And Jesus, arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased...
He silenced the wind, and the storm seas, and he silenced the disciples.
Imagine the moments that followed. You can hear a pin drop. All you hear is the slight gentle sound of the water up against the boat. And the creaking of the timbers and the flapping of the sails as the settle down. And the labored breathing and beating hearts. And there he is, Jesus. He's looking at you, and then over at another-and then another-and back again to you.
No one says a word.
Jesus proves himself to be God.
And no one says a word.
What are they thinking about now
Parables?
Miraculous healings, and feeding thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread? Profound moments in the temple, challenging the Pharisees and the teachers of the law? Water being made into wine? People being raised from disease and death? Time after time meeting people where they live and giving them the things they need to help them understand the kingdom?
No, none of those things.
Jesus calls it out.
"Why are you so fearful?"
"How is it that you have no faith?”
How can it be, after all this time, and all these evidences, that they still "you have no faith"?
Take a moment and look at Jesus' words, "you have no faith".
Imagine those words echoing over the water at them.
NO FAITH!
NO FAITH!
No faith...
And as it fades off, it continues to ring in their minds, echoing there.
You gonna put that on a T-shirt and wear it? You should because it's probably true.
Friends,
It's really easy to believe. Anybody can do it. You just believe and you're done.
C.S. Lewis said it like this -
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
But when your faith is tested?
Where are you then?
Even after Jesus calms the sea, and they all awkwardly look around at each other in the silence on the water, and Jesus calls them out for having NO FAITH!
What do they do? What do they say?
Mark 4:41
they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
What's it going to take for these clowns? I mean come on, seriously. 😒
They're asking this, "Who can this be", because they're looking through their thoughts for all the knowledge they have about all the prophets in the scriptures.
Is this Elijah returned? Maybe 🤔
Is he Enoch? No that doesn't make sense.
Moses? No no...
Who? Who is this person who can do so many miraculous things like no other?
Where's that one guy? You know that one guy who's thinking in his mind, [he's the Son of God]. Where's the guy that pipes up and says, "he's the ancient of days".
Just earlier in the day, the crowds were in awe of Jesus’ teaching because he taught differently than the religious leaders. Until then it was believed and taught by many Rabbinical leaders that if bad things happened to you it was because of some sin in your life or someone's life that caused these things to happen. However, this storm comes, and it wasn’t because of anyone’s sin. Jesus told them to go out on the water. He led them here. They were doing his will. They were acting in obedience to their teacher. They weren't Jonah running from God.
The apostle Paul had a similar experience even though he was a man of great faith, only no Jesus calming the seas for Paul. Paul tried to warn the sailors but they didn't listen to his advice. And so as Paul faces shipwreck. He turns that experience into a revival of faith and hope and he wins over many others to faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ.
The fact of the matter is, storms are often a part of God’s plan. But whichever the case God strengthens and matures us through it. Faith didn't calm the seas, Jesus did it, they had "NO FAITH!" The disciples needed to learn about trusting in Him. Not the belief aspect of faith, but the trust aspect. For the most part the disciples still regarded Jesus as simply a godly man, a prophet. They could only trust him as much as they could trust any man. Even though he could perform miracles, he was still just a man. After all, Elijah did many miracles and healings and Moses parted the Red Sea among other things. These were men of God, but men just the same.
This storm was a faith pop-quiz and they failed miserably.
Why?
Because they had Jesus with them, but they didn't "know" him. They said as much, “Who is this?" [Even the wind and the waves obey him!].
Only God can command the winds and the waves.
Psalm 89:8-9
“Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.”
Only God can command the wind and the waves and here is Jesus. Faith doesn't calm the storm, Jesus did it. So what's really happening here?
What's happening is people are being taught to know Jesus and understand what fear and faith is really all about. Fear is false evidence that looks real to us. Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from praying. Fear lies to us trying to make us believe that we're going to fail. While faith "is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Were the disciples confident?
No.
Why?
Because they have yet to learn that Jesus is much more than a godly prophet as the Muslims believe. They still need to have confidence in "Jesus, Son of the Most High God". And that lesson comes next when they get to the other side of the lake where a demon possessed man calls Jesus exactly that. Almost is if Jesus planned it that way.
On "the other side" there is absolute faith. The demons know Jesus. They hate him, but they know him.
Is your faith at least as strong as the demons?
Where is your faith?