- The Crisis – Mark 4:35–38a
Mark 4:35-41 (AMP) 35 On that [same] day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let
us go over to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee].” 36 So leaving the crowd, they took Him
with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him. 37 And a fierce
windstorm began to blow, and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already
being swamped. 38 But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor’s
leather] cushion.
1a. When evening had come
The Night is coming. Night meaning – A night represents sadness, depression, problems,
end of the day and unhappiness
John 21:3 (ESV) 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will
go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.
Job 7:4 (VOICE) When I lie down at the end of day, I wonder, “How soon till morning so I
can arise?” But the night stretches on, and I toss and turn until sunrise.
Psalm 30:5 (NKJV) 5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for life; Weeping may
endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
God is not only God of the day, but also of the night.
Psalm 74:16 (NKJV) 16 The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light
and the sun.
Psalm 139:11-12 (ESV) 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about
me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for
darkness is as light with you.
2 Samuel 22:29 (ESV) 29 For you are my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness.
Psalm 18:28 (NLT) You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
Isaiah 42:7 (NLT) You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison,
releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
1b And other boats were with Him.
Mark 4: 36 “So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And
other boats were with Him. “
Those boats were on the same stormy sea as the Lord’s boat. Those boats were being
tossed to and from the same storm. Those boats were being filled with water from the wind
and high waves just as the boat Jesus was in. Those in those boats were likewise in grave
danger of perishing, too. Those boats were sailing in the same darkness and danger as the
boat Jesus was in.
We become so preoccupied with what’s going on in our own little boat that we hardly
recognize that there are other boats in the sea of life until someone like Mark comes along
to remind us.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV) “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good
works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Philippians 2:4 ESV “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others.”
1c. A Fierce Storm
Mark 4:37 (AMP) 37 And a fierce windstorm began to blow, and waves were breaking over
the boat, so that it was already being swamped.
Job 38:1-6 (MSG) And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He
said: “Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking
about? Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for
you, and I want some straight answers. Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me,
since you know so much! Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that! Who came up
with the blueprints and measurements? How was its foundation poured, and who set the
cornerstone,
Nahum 1:3 (ESV) 3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no
means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his
feet.
1d. Jesus was asleep
Mark 4: 38 But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor’s leather]
cushion.
Where is Jesus? Why would He leave me to suffer like this? The trials and struggles in our
lives have a way of making us desperate. Desperate for relief. We want Jesus to take it all
away. We want Jesus to calm the storm.
- The Cry – Mark 4:38b
Mark 4:35-41 (AMP) “And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that
we are about to die?”
Jesus never left them. He was always there. He was asleep, but the Bible says that God
doesn’t slumber nor sleep. Do we really think that Jesus didn’t know what was happening
as He dozed in the back of the boat? Of course not. He knows everything. And He is always
there. We may feel that He is absent or sleeping, but He is not.
Psalm 121:3-4 (MSG) “He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep. Not
on your life! Israel’s Guardian will never doze or sleep.
Psalm 50:15 Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify
me”
Jeremiah 33:3 (AMP) ‘Call to Me and I will answer you”
Nehemiah 9:9 (VOICE) “When our ancestors suffered in Egypt, You saw their misery. When
they were trapped at the edge of the Red Sea, You heard their cries for help.”
Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving
me, from the words of my groaning?
Isaiah 43.2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers,
they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the
flame shall not consume you.”
- The Calm
Mark 4:39-41 Amplified Bible (AMP) 39 And He got up and [sternly] rebuked the wind and
said to the sea, “Hush, be still (muzzled)!” And the wind died down [as if it had grown
weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness]. 40 Jesus said to
them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith and confidence [in Me]?” 41 They
were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and
the sea obey Him?”
Mark 4:38 (VOICE) “38 Jesus was back in the stern of the boat, sound asleep on a cushion,
when the disciples shook Him awake. Disciples (shouting over the storm): Jesus, Master,
don’t You care that we’re going to die? 39 He got up, shouted words into the wind, and
commanded the waves. Jesus: That’s enough! Be still! And immediately the wind died down
to nothing, the waves stopped. Jesus: 40 How can you be so afraid? After all you’ve
seen, where is your faith? 41 The disciples were still afraid, slowly coming to grips with what
they had seen. Disciples (to one another): Who is this Jesus? How can it be that He has
power over even the wind and the waves?”
Psalm 56:3–4 (ESV) 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I
praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
David begins by saying, “When I am afraid ” He acknowledges that the danger, the trial,
the fear is real. He does not deny being afraid in Philistine confines. Or in hiding from Saul.
“I am afraid,” he confesses.
But for not long. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. . . . in God I trust; I shall not be
afraid.” I am afraid for the moment, but I know where to turn when I am afraid. And when I
cast my fears on him, he casts away all my fears. “I shall not be afraid.”
What happened for David between “I am afraid” and “I shall not be afraid”? He put his trust
in God. So, put your trust in God when you are afraid? Yes, but does David say more about
what it looked like to trust in God in the caves, in captivity, running for his life?
Psalm 56:3–4 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I
trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”
Psalm 56:9–11 (ESV) “Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know,
that God is for me.10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, 11 in
God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”