Mark 4:35-41 - Hush! Be Still!
- Chad Werkhoven
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Jesus calls you to a theologically guided faith.
Gospels: Week 5 - Jesus' power over creation, demons, hunger and unbelief
Mark 4:35–41 (NASB95)
35 On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”
36 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.
37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.
38 Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
40 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”
41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Heidelberg Catechism
Q&A 28
Q. How does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us?
A. We can be patient when things go against us,
thankful when things go well,
and for the future we can have
good confidence in our faithful God and Father
that nothing will separate us from his love.
All creatures are so completely in his hand
that without his will
they can neither move nor be moved.
Summary
It had already been a long day filled with hours of Jesus teaching His disciples and the crowds that showed up everywhere that they did, when Jesus, for reasons Mark doesn't explain, gives orders to go over to the other side. This would have been a night journey of at least 5-7 miles across a lake - fairly described as a sea by the locals - known for its unpredictable squalls.
Mark frames the crossing in an interesting way, writing that as they left the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat. This they, of course, were the disciples, and Jesus was on the their 'turf' now. Several of them had run commercial fishing operations before Jesus called them and knew this sea like the back of their own hands. They had everything under control, so much so that there was nothing for Jesus to do except move to the stern and fall asleep on a cushion.
But as a fierce gale of wind arose, the confidence of these experienced sailors quickly sank, as did their boat that was already filling up from the waves breaking over it. The ensuing chaos quickly gave way to panic and fear, even as Jesus continued sleeping in the stern, culminating in their waking Him with a question they likely regretted for a long time afterwards: Teacher, don't you care?!?
Jesus, who at this point says not a word to His terrified crew, got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And instantly the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. The roaring of the wind and waves dissipated, but all that could be heard on the boat was the sound of silence from the stunned disciples.
Dig Deeper
The disciples - men who'd spent most of their life on this sea - had good reason to be afraid. They'd fought storms and won before. But as the boat filled up, they knew that they'd lose against this one. So why, then, does Jesus treat them so harshly? His first words to them - why are you so afraid? - seems as ridiculous as their accusation of not caring was to Him.
What Jesus can't understand is why they have no faith. But they had lots of faith! After all, they'd left everything to follow their miracle working teacher, and they'd sailed off into the darkness that night, demonstrating faith in their equipment and skills.
What Jesus meant was that these men - boys, really - were not assessing their dire situation theologically. That is, they weren't applying the truth of scripture (which they were witnessing unfold in real time) to the trials of life. They'd seen Jesus heal various ailments and cast out demons, but when they saw that even the wind and the sea obeyed Him, they became very much afraid. In their minds, they had limited Jesus' power to what they'd seen Him do before, rather than theologically extrapolate that if Jesus had power over some things, He must have power over all things.
That was the element of faith they were missing, which they discovered there on a sea which had just become eerily calm. They learned in a very glorious fashion that Jesus was more than their teacher or friend. It was there that they began to realize that He is the Son of God.
Anybody can have faith in what they've seen happen before. Is this what your faith in Christ is limited to - the little bit that you've personally experienced Him do for you before or heard about Him doing in the lives of others? If so, hear Jesus calling out to you from today's passage, how is it that you have no faith?
The Gospels tell of all sorts of things that Jesus did do, but obviously they don't list out everything that Jesus can do. This is why your faith needs to be theologically rooted, applying what the Bible teaches about God’s sovereignty over all things to the chaotic storms of life, so that you will not be afraid. For whether Jesus calms your storm or your boat sinks, you can know that you are always firmly held in the sovereign hands of the one who fully cares for you.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has promised that nothing will separate us from His love;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your faith will be theologically guided by scripture;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
