THESIS:
Our right response to the sovereign God is to fear him. Christ is our suffering servant –
even when weary he is the only one to save us from certain death.
Introduction
The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
(Pro. 1:7a) This evening we look at a miraculous account recorded in all three
gospels. A remarkable miracle which presents our Lord Jesus as Lord of all
creation. There is nothing as astounding as a powerful summer storm. We in the
Midwest don’t fear hurricanes like those on the coastlands, but we do have
storms, and tornados have their way with us even in this northern region. I was
once standing outside under an awning when we lived in Chicago, enjoying the
power of the storm and chatting with Augie our landlord and neighbor. Suddenly
lightning struck about 75 feet away. I jumped like a frightened rabbit! You
know that was the right response – even if it makes you chuckle. It was a
terrible storm and lightning which gave Martin Luther the fright. He made a
promise to St. Anne, “Help me and I will become a monk!” Though we don’t hold
any credence to ‘patron saints’ Luther wasn’t yet converted and this was his
cry. He was as frightened as anyone could be.
Scripture
reading:
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross
over to the other side.” 36 Now
when they had left the multitude, they took Him
along in the boat as He was. And other little
boats were also with Him. 37 And
a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into
the boat, so that it was already filling.
38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they
awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace,
be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a
great calm. 40 But He said to
them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and
said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (Mark 4:35-41)
This event teaches us
something of our total hopelessness without Christ. There are three accounts, and
surprisingly Mark has the most content.
A.
Overview of the account
1.
Distinct with Mark
- Mark gives
context. The fact that this event is tied to a day of teaching the
multitudes from the seaside in a boat.
- The fact that other little boats were also with him.
- The facts of what Christ actually said to calm the storm.
2.
Common to all accounts
- The Windstorm:
Luke tells us the windstorm ‘came down’ on the
lake. This is why most commentators say this storm is common to the lake.
Surrounded by mountains - when the sun sets, cool air travels down the valleys
onto the lake. The cool mountain air hits the moist warm air on the lake and violent
storms arise even today.
- Christ was asleep.
In the midst of this tempest he was able to sleep – doesn’t that strike you
as strange?
- Fear and amazement
– The result of this was a change in attitude of the disciples toward
Christ. This is the focus of our message today.
B.
The disciple’s response – misplaced fear.
-
They were all fearful - to their
very lives of the storm. In all
three accounts we read the same phrase, we
are perishing. The Greek for
perishing is ἀπολλύμεθα. It means lost
or even destroyed. Though all three accounts reference different statements by
the disciples – they all agree in that these men thought their lives were not
in peril of getting wet or falling overboard – but of certain death! They all
characterized their future as destroyed
or lost.
- Christ referenced
their faith, or lack of it as the reason for their fear. They should have
feared him who can cast body and soul into hell! (Matt. 10:28; Luke 12:5)
1.
God’s providence – my devotional epiphany
“Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah,
saying, ‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes
and see not, And who have ears and hear not: Do you not fear Me?’ says
the Lord. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand
as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they
roar, yet they cannot pass over it. But this people has a defiant and
rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed. They do not say in their
heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our God” (Jer. 5:20–24)
2.
Other verses on fearing God rightly
When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. (Mt. 9:8.)
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor with God.” (Lk. 1:30.)
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying,
“Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other
rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you
are under the same sentence of condemnation? (Lk. 23:39–40.)
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself,
and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
(Eph. 5:33.)
As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that
the rest may stand in fear. (1 Tim. 5:20.)
- They wondered, Who is this man?!
· The
wind and sea obey him. (Mark 4:41)
· He
forgives sin – which only God can do. (Luke 5:21, 7:49)
· He
heals multitudes of even the most challenging diseases. (Luke 9:9)
· In
the triumphal entry his arrival on a donkey stirred up the crowds - they asked,
‘Who is this?’ (Matt. 21:10)
- Consider the beauty of the three accounts in the final
verse of each. Matthew says in 8:27, "So the men
marveled and said, 'Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him'"
Mark frames it this way in verse 41, "And they
feared exceedingly, and said to one another, 'Who can this be, that even the
wind and the sea obey Him!'" Luke combines the two in his own
rendition in verse 25b, "And they were afraid, and
they marveled, saying to one another, 'Who then is this, that he commands even
winds and water, and they obey him?'"
C.
How does this account inform us today – What is
our take away?
- Mark writes to remind us that Christ tirelessly cares for
his own. Even in great weariness, he is the only one who is able to calm the
storm. Our right response to the
sovereign God is to fear him!
- All three accounts record the statement, we are perishing!
And we indeed are! Apart from Christ – his sinless life and suffering death, we
have no hope. We are lost – destroyed but he is our help and our salvation – not from the storms of life
necessarily but from the penalty of our sins. We are drowning in sin. Our sin
threatens to do us in. And it will – but for his ceaseless love and care! The
disciples trouble was they feared the storm more than the Lord.
- All
three accounts point to our faith as part of the remedy. No faith, little
faith. We must have faith! But our faith cannot be randomly held. We must look
to the only one who is able and cares for us – Jesus Christ, our suffering
servant. The days’ work of teaching by the sea was exhausting. Christ needed to
rest. And think about what he was teaching them. That day was about the Kingdom
of God. And yet they still had way too small a view of the Kingdom.
Conclusion
Don’t you have too small a view of the kingdom? Aren’t we
all like the disciples? We have no faith, or misplaced faith. We need to look
at this Anointed One again. He crushed the serpents head. Don’t you think he
can handle the little troubles of your life? Do you somehow think your problems
aren’t worth bothering the Savior over?
So faith is defined as ‘the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.’ What is the object of your faith? The Bible points us
to Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. He was asleep in the boat –
and yet the wind and the sea was no threat to him. No one comes to the Father,
but by him.
Are you afraid to die? The disciples were – to a man. And
if you do not trust Christ, you ought to be gravely afraid. The antidote to
fear is faith in Christ. I think there are two verses in the Psalms that
perfectly sum up todays message, “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?”
(Psa. 56:3-4)
Amen.
