Mark 4: 35-41

The fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark gives us a record of Jesus’ teaching concerning the kingdom of God. After delivering two parables on the truths relating to this kingdom Jesus finishes an exhausting day and so thereafter He is taken by His Disciples to a boat and this we are told “just as He was”, designating that He was so tired that he didn’t bother about food or any other bodily pursuit; He just wanted to sleep. And so He did, on a pillow provided by his friends.

However, as the little fishing boat headed out into the lake a wind came rushing down the hills around the Sea of Galilee and stirred up a serious storm over its waters. The boat quickly took on water and the Disciples, who were seasoned fisherman, cried out to Jesus in a panic. They actually laid an accusation against Him because they said, “Don’t you care that we are perishing?” Jesus then, aroused from His sleep, stood and said to the surging waters and raging wind, “Peace, be still.” Immediately an amazing calm descended on the lake as the storm subsided. The Disciples, flabbergasted, responded by saying, “Who is this that even the wind and waves obey Him.”

The truth is the Disciples, at this point only saw Jesus as a mere man but with miracle making abilities. Hence they cried out to Him to do something about the dangerous circumstances they were in. The result was that when He did as they asked Him to do, by calming the sea and the wind, they were amazed and asked the question, “Who is this?”

This story challenges each and everyone of us in that it reminds us that Jesus cannot just be seen as a miracle worker and yet many Christians today see Him as just that because their preoccupation is with power, health, wealth and prosperity. For them being a Jesus follower means getting things! It also means acting like gods as they believe that they can change their environment by giving verbal commands and confessions. I was in a meeting recently where some leading it were commanding Angels to do all sorts of things! Angels are not sent forth by us to do our bidding; they are in fact sent forth by God to do His bidding. (Hebrews 1:7) No, we are not gods or kings but simply the followers of Jesus. Jesus has all power and authority and not us and He delegates some of it to us as we need it when we go into the world to preach His Gospel. (1Corinthians 4:8-9)

The truth is, Jesus is The Lord God of Israel and we would do well to ask the question, “Who is this?” This will remind us that we are to make Him Lord, pick up our cross daily and serve Him in love, humility and praise. We will change our world more by learning to pray as we should, by calling our communities to repentance, by caring for one another and by sharing the Gospel with our world. The early church did these simple things without a New Testament, without the endless Christian books, helps and Bible translations that we have today and they conquered their world for Christ. They knew who Christ was and that He could do more than just calm a storm because He alone can change a human heart and thus subdue the storm of sin that rages within it. This is the greatest miracle!

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries