Mark 4:37-38 NIV
[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?”
Several years ago, we were flying back to the UK from the Philippines. The route was very straightforward: Cebu to Dubai, Dubai to Glasgow. One stop. Done.
It was winter time in Scotland, so we were prepared for some weather-related issues, but perhaps not the issues we encountered.
We didn’t have a long connection time in Dubai, so we did what every experienced long-haul traveller knows to do: we located our gate as soon as we could and settled in there. As we arrived, we could see our next plane, parked at the gate, through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Or, to be more accurate, we could see the nose cone of the plane.
A thick fog had descended, in Dubai, of all places. In Scotland, we would call it a ‘pea-souper’. It wasn’t safe for anyone to be manoeuvring around an airport apron in that kind of weather.
So we were stuck. Until it cleared. Three hours later.
In all that time, we had boarding passes for our flight – boarding passes that promised that our airline would take us to Glasgow. So we had to trust them. Even if their airline staff were not always around. We had no choice.
In these verses, we see a different form of weather. Unlike fog in Dubai, it wasn’t at all unusual. The geography of the Sea of Galilee means that sudden squalls can strike without warning and can, on occasion, be violent or even life-threatening.
But what happens here is quite exceptional.
You see a bunch of hardened, experienced fishermen, in conditions that they must have been used to. However, this storm must have been bigger and more violent. They reach their wits end. Their frantic bailing of water from the fishing boat is not working. The boat is filling up fast. The conditions are so dangerous that they know they would not be able to swim to shore.
They are terrified.
And yet, in the middle of all the chaos, Jesus is sleeping.
Now, I have met some heavy sleepers in my time. I have slept through storms at home. But not at sea. Not like this.
So how is this possible?
And why?
There are many times in life when we feel like we are in deep water, when we feel like we are in over our heads, when life is more than a little stormy and it feels like we are drowning.
Those are the times when we might wonder what Jesus is doing.
The idea He could be sleeping never crosses our mind.
Why?
Because the Bible says this:
Psalms 121:2-4 NIV
[2] My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. [3] He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; [4] indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
And yet He doesn’t seem to be active and involved in our situation.
So what is going on?
When we have experiences like this – and, in all likelihood, we will – there are three things we need to cling onto with all we have, but which the disciples seem to have forgotten.
The first of these is His Purpose
His Purpose
At first glance, this seems to be quite a simple ask. Jesus had ministered very successfully in Galilee. He now wanted to go to the other side of the Lake. That may have seemed strange to the disciples, but they would likely have assumed that He’d meant the cities of the Decapolis (the Ten Cities), mostly to the south east of the lake – where, in fact, according to Luke, they ended up. These were Greek-speaking cities where Gentiles were in the majority, but there would have also been a strong Jewish community there.
For the disciples, mostly made up as they were of fishermen, this was a relatively easy journey across the lake: almost north to south across its longest length.
However, as I noted earlier, a sudden storm like this was not unheard of.
But it’s plain from the passage that it’s not the storm on the lake that scared them the most, it’s the storm in the boat.
As Mark stated:
Mark 4:37 NIV
[37] A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
And Luke is even more lucid:
Luke 8:23 NIV
[23] As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
They could handle being tossed around by the waves, provided the waves stayed out of the boat. As soon as they got into the boat, and they couldn’t keep them out, they were in deep trouble.
Isn’t that just the way it is?
It's like being in a well-constructed home when a storm comes. The storm holds no threat: it might be outside, but you are inside.
The problems begin when the storm comes inside too.
Often we pass through times when even close to us there is turmoil and fear and despair. But we can manage that without any problems provided we are safe in our homes and unaffected by it.
But when it affects us directly, then it really is a problem.
That is what worried these experienced fishermen.
But they lost sight of something really important: Jesus’ purpose.
There was a reason Jesus was in that boat, and it wasn’t for a nice night’s fishing:
Mark 4:35 NIV
[35] That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”
Did it ever cross their mind that they might not make it?
Probably, I would imagine, given the circumstances.
Should it have?
No.
Jesus had a purpose. His purpose was to get to the other side of the lake. They were going to make it.
This reminds me of an incident in Acts. Paul has been arrested (Acts 21:20-40, 22:1-29). He has been put on trial (Acts 22:30, 23, 24, 25, 26). During this trial, he blocked an attempt to have him killed by appealing to Caesar (Acts 25:10-12). He is then put on a vessel to sail to Rome during autumn, when the Mediterranean Sea can be quite rough (Acts 27:1-2). The ship hit some unfavourable conditions (Acts 27:4-8). Paul advised those who were taking him to Rome that they were likely to hit severe weather (Acts 27:9-10).
But why would experienced sailors listen to a Jewish tentmaker turned itinerate preacher?
They ignored him and sailed on, and were caught in a fierce storm (Acts 27:13-20).
While the sailors around him were clearly panicked (see Acts 27:30-32), Paul remained calm.
Why?
Because, despite the storm, he understood that it was God’s purpose for him to testify to the Gospel in Rome (Acts 27:23-24). Not even a storm – even a deadly, hurricane-force storm – could stand in God’s way.
Could it even be that it was God’s purpose for the disciples to pass through the storm, so they could learn important lessons that could not be learned in a time of flat calm?
Either way, however we see it, God’s purpose could not be stopped. Understanding that ought to have reassured the disciples and act as an antidote to their fear.
But they forgot it.
They also forgot about His Presence.
His Presence
Mark 4:38 NIV
[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?”
Now, you might reply to this and say, ‘But Paul, they knew about Jesus’ presence. They knew He was sleeping on a cushion. How can you say that they forgot about it?’
It was not that they forgot He was physically there, it was just that they forgot what this meant.
Let me explain.
When we go through troubles, often we feel like Job, when he went through his (which were, by the way, infinitely worse than anything we will ever go through):
Job 23:8-9 NIV
[8] “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. [9] When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
In other words, we don’t see God, we don’t feel God, we don’t hear from God, so we assume that He is not there.
We feel like we lack His presence.
But that is wrong. Fundamentally wrong.
Jeremiah 23:23-24 NIV
[23] “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? [24] Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
Psalms 139:7-12 NIV
[7] Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? [8] If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. [9] If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, [10] even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. [11] If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” [12] even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
So yes, God is with us. Jesus is with us. That is always true. Wherever we are. Whatever we are doing. Whatever we are going through.
But like the disciples, we don’t always understand what this means.
The reality is that the presence of Jesus Christ on that boat did not protect it from the storm.
That is a fact.
Perhaps there was an expectation that it would. We can’t say. What we can say is that it didn’t.
It also didn’t protect Jesus’ followers when they faced a whirlwind of persecution under Nero:
2 Corinthians 4:6-11 NIV
[6] For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. [7] But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. [8] We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; [9] persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. [10] We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. [11] For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.
There is an old chorus that says ‘With Christ in my vessel I can smile at the storm’. It sounds a little trite, but understand this: to smile at a storm, you must face it. When you face it, you must endure it. Having Christ in your vessel won’t save you from the storm, it will bring you through the storm.
But having Christ in their vessel ought to have reassured the disciples that they would make it through the storm.
Even Moses knew how important it was.
Despite the Israelites’ sin against God, Moses did not want to continue their journey towards the Promise Land unless God was with them (Exodus 33:12-14).
The reality of the situation was that the storm had to be faced. They had to go to the other side. Having Jesus with them – even asleep – ought to have been an encouragement to the disciples that they would make it to the other side.
But it wasn’t. It was almost an encumbrance, because Jesus was not helping. Instead, He was sleeping.
Perhaps that’s how you feel in your storm.
Perhaps you wonder if it would be better if Jesus was not with you, because then you could somehow find your own way out of the storm, and you’d honestly rather He didn’t know about what you want to do.
Perhaps you feel like Jesus isn’t helping – He’s just getting in the way.
If that’s how you feel, then, like these disciples, you have forgotten what Jesus’ presence in you is for.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV
[21] Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, [22] set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV
[13] And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Jesus’ presence in us through the Holy Spirit provides us with a small deposit of eternal glory. It is a down-payment on the splendour that is to come.
It is a one hundred percent, no backsies, iron-clad guarantee that you and I will get out of this storm, no matter how big it is, no matter how close it gets to us, no matter what happens to us.
And that ought to give us the courage to face it head on, without fear.
But it wasn’t just Jesus’ purpose and presence they had forgotten, it was also His Power.
His Power
Mark 4:37-41 NIV
[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 early December 2000 I was in the Philippines to get engaged to my future wife. I had no idea about typhoon season. I met her first in Cebu. We were out and about when Tropical Storm Rumbia struck. It didn’t affect Cebu too badly. In fact, I underestimated it entirely. It felt to me just like a rainy day in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.
The fact that it caused landslides in the nearby islands of Bohol and Leyte which cost the lives of forty-eight people completely passed me by.
Still unsure of what all the fuss was about, I travelled to my wife’s family’s home on the island of Leyte, around twenty-five minutes drive from Ormoc City.
We were in Ormoc when Tropical Depression Ulpiang struck. It dumped so much rain so quickly that the streets turned into fast-flowing rivers. I had never seen weather quite like it. I have to admit, I was terrified. We fled the city in a jeepney and honestly wondered if we would get out alive.
Since that moment, I have not underestimated the force of tropical weather during typhoon season again.
I fully appreciate their power.
The disciples were in a storm. It’s power had thoroughly intimidated them.
Jesus was asleep. So they woke Him. Rather frantically too.
However, these verses indicate that they had no thought of just what He could do. It seems that they only wanted Him to help bail them out – quite literally.
But Jesus had other ideas. He dealt with three factors that shaped the situation.
The first was the storm.
Towards the end of the rather dramatic Psalm 46 (I thoroughly recommend you read it all), we see these oft-quoted words:
Psalms 46:10 NIV
[10] He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
It appears that here, faced with the destructive impertinence of the storm, Jesus lets it know who is truly in charge.
But – and it is very important to say this – the storm that was not the only factor. The other factor was the fear.
To explain how this works, I think it’s helpful to take you back to the playground of my primary school in the early 1980s. When I was small, your value and influence in the playground was evaluated in accordance with the size and strength of your close relatives. You would often hear little kids taunting each other by saying, ‘My big brother’s bigger than yours’ or ‘My daddy’s bigger than yours’.
Here we see the storm. And the reason why the storm intimidated the disciples is because they see the storm as being more powerful than them. That we can understand.
But they also see it as being more powerful than Jesus.
When we allow our situation to intimidate us, we are saying that we see it as being bigger than Jesus.
And that is wrong. Absolutely wrong.
What we ought to be able to do is stand in the face of the most vicious storm that life can throw at is and yell at it in determined defiance, like those little kids in 1980s Scotland ‘My Father is bigger than you!’
Because He is.
But the disciples didn’t. Because they were afraid.
David did it to Goliath (1 Samuel 17:45-47).
The disciples didn’t.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did it to the all-conquering king of Babylon (Daniel 3:16-18).
The disciples didn’t.
Why?
Because they saw storm as being bigger than Jesus.
Let me tell you: even the impetuous Peter didn’t learn from this. In a later event on the same lake, the Bible tells us this:
Matthew 14:28, 30-31 NIV
[28] “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
[30] But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” [31] Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Jesus was walking in that same wind. He was walking on those same waves. He saw them. He felt them. He was unafraid.
But Peter saw them and was afraid.
Brothers and sisters, if we are to truly experience the power of God, our fear has to make us run towards Him, not make us sink beneath the waves.
The last factor we see is faith.
And this is critical.
Part of my job is to look at Major Incident Reports when something has gone badly wrong and ensure that these are properly investigated. One of the most important things in any Major Incident Report is a good understanding of what actually happened – the root cause.
Here Jesus identified the root cause. And it isn’t an easy message to hear.
Maybe we might refer to the geography of the Sea of Galilee and talk about how cold air rushing down from the hills surrounding the lake hits warm air rising up from it, and this causes strong winds which causes squalls that strike without warning.
Yes, that is right. That is the root cause of the storm, from a naturalistic point of view.
But that is not what Jesus is referring to.
He is not talking about the storm.
He is referring to what caused them to be so afraid of the storm.
He is saying that what caused them to react with extreme panic and question His very nature was not the storm, but their faith in Him – or rather, their lack of it.
At first reading, that might seem quite harsh and uncompassionate.
But that doesn’t stop it being true.
And let me tell you, I can confirm this.
Many years ago, I was having a tough time at work. I was bearing deep scars from something that had gone wrong over a year previously. It had severely dented my self-confidence. I was a bag of nerves. Nothing seemed to be going right.
My boss pulled me into a meeting room to scold me for my reactions. He told me, ‘But Paul, you are a Christian. You should be better than this.’
At first, I was furious. I wanted to report him to HR.
But only because deep down I knew he was right.
I was afraid. I was afraid because I saw my problems as being bigger than me, and bigger even than Jesus. It had badly damaged my faith in Him.
That was why I was so afraid.
It took a while in prayer, but that was something I had to put right.
Let me tell you something: the issue is not the storm in the sea or the storm in our boat, the issue is the storm in our heart. If we allow that storm to overwhelm us, then it will sink us.
But if we reach out in faith to Jesus, ask for His help and fully realise, to the depths of our soul, that He is bigger than the storm and He can rescue us from it, that is when we become strong and resilient and able to stand.
A Short Aside
Before I move on to conclude this post, I wanted to show you something pretty special: what happened next.
The purpose of this sailing was to take Jesus across Lake Galilee to the ‘other side’, namely the region of the Decapolis on the south-east side of the lake.
Now, if Jesus was a celebrity and you were His agent, you would see this as a brilliantly clever move. Ten Greek-speaking cities. A Jewish presence, but mostly Gentile and pagan. An opportunity to spread His message to a much wider, more cosmopolitan audience.
Jesus was now on tour.
But something we might find a little unusual took place, which we can see in Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39.
They were met on the shore by a dangerous, despised demoniac. Jesus heals him by permitting the demons to go into some pigs, which promptly stampede into the lake and are drowned (which illustrates clearly the destructive tendencies that the devil brings). The people of Gerasa are so unnerved by Jesus’ power that they ask Him to leave.
Think about that for a minute: all that way and all that stress and Jesus didn’t even get to preach in one city – He only changed the life of one man.
Just one man.
If you were Jesus’ agent, would you think it was worthwhile?
There is a clear message here. The journey was for the demoniac; the storm was for the disciples.
Jesus set out on this journey to save that man.
The storm on the way was to provide a very important lesson for the disciples in faith and trusting Jesus, no matter what was happening.
In 1994 I went on my first mission trip to Romania. It was a very testing time for me. I learned more than I could ever imagine.
On that trip, two thousand miles from home, on the beach at Costinești, I led a fellow student to Christ. Who knows if God had led me, a man broken by his first missions experience, all that way to be used to save just one soul?
Jesus has a purpose in every storm. We might always know what it is. We might not always understand it. But if we seek it, we may find it, and others may benefit.
Conclusion
A few years ago, we saw an absolute bargain of a late break to Tunisia just before Christmas and felt this was too good to miss. So we headed down to Manchester Airport and then flew out to Monastir, through Enfidha Airport.
It was a really nice break. We had a great time.
However, on our last full day, we began to receive reports of a big storm affecting Manchester and other towns in the north of England. We started to see pictures of planes struggling to land at Manchester Airport, and a few that were diverted elsewhere or even cancelled.
The next day, we set out for our flight from Enfidha with a little trepidation.
Our flight left on time and was relatively smooth.
Until it crossed into England and began heading north.
The worst of the storm was over now, but it felt like someone had forgotten to tell the weather. The turbulence was pretty bad. As our plane was on its approach, it was chucked up and down, and rocked from side to side.
It was the worst approach we have ever experienced.
It was also the only time we have ever applauded the pilot on a quite brilliant landing.
Some storms in life are our own making.
Others, however, are not.
Some are utterly unavoidable. We have to fly into them. We have no choice.
It’s then that our only option is to trust the Pilot.
It’s then that we need to trust Jesus’ purpose, presence with us, and His power, which is always greater than that of the storm.
When we have to go through life’s storms, we have two choices. We either surrender to doubt, fear and anxiety, or we surrender to faith, peace and the power of God. There is no other choice.
So tell me, Christian, in whatever storm you find yourself, what will you choose?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I am facing a storm right now which is much more powerful than I am, but it is not more powerful than You. I will not give in to doubt, fear and anxiety. I have faith in Your purpose, presence and power. Bring me through it, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Questions
Why were the disciples so afraid? What had they stopped believing in?
Why did Jesus scold them for their lack of faith? What had it caused?
Where is the storm at its worst? How can we bring it under control? Do you need to do this in your life?
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