Mark 4: 35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Jesus wore himself out as the Son of Man. It wasn’t for him but for us. He gave it all for us—for you and me. He is still that Savior now. Having been the Son of Man he knows exactly how our life is. He understands conditions of life and circumstances. He’s aware of us at all times. You may think “where is the Lord? Does he care?” You see what he does for others and wonder why not you.
In this scripture, Jesus was tired so he went to sleep. He was not in the front of the boat but the back. Why was he not out front where they wanted him so the boat would sail safely? They sailed many times, and I’m sure there were times Jesus was at the front. Jesus gets in the boat with us even in the risky times. Weather forecasters do a pretty good job of predicting the weather, but God is in control of it just as he is our lives. We may think he’s not around or isn’t awake. He doesn’t have to appear to be anything in our eyes. As the Son of Man he slept but as the Son of God he never sleeps. Don’t go by what you see. We walk by faith not be sight.
The disciples were seasoned fishermen. They could handle a boat. They could swim if they fell overboard. They could handle more than they thought. You can too. Jesus may not take away the storm. You may look at others who appear to have no suffering. You see the wicked seemingly smiling and happy. Take a look under all the makeup. You can see through the smiles. The Bible says the way of the transgressor is hard, not better. Don’t envy them.
The Sea of Galilee is 7 miles wide and 11 miles long. During the day it would be fairly easy to see the other side. At night it’s not. It’s easy to sail through life when everything around you is good and looks as it should. Never think you’re alone. The Master is in your boat. Did the disciples’ boat sink? We don’t need more of Jesus to go around. He fills heaven and earth. No matter how little we feel or how weak we feel, Jesus knows how big your boat is. The size doesn’t matter. What matters is how big Jesus is. If you’re coming out of a storm, that’s great. Another one will come soon. Don’t jump overboard. Don’t get mad at God.
The disciples woke Jesus and asked Master, carest thou not that we perish? He didn’t thank them for waking him. He calmed the storm and rebuked the wind. It was no effort for him. He then looked at the disciples and they got a scolding. Jesus said why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? Why were they afraid? Jesus was with them! He was on board. I can hear him say to them ‘if I thought I needed to be awake to help you I would have been awake.’ Jesus can do the same thing when he appears to be asleep as he can when he’s awake. We can’t lasso the weather but Jesus can. That means he can take care of whatever it is we’re going through.
Sometimes it may be that he calmed the storm before so why isn’t he now? The disciples wondered how Jesus could sleep when they were going to die. The ship was on course even in the storm—while Jesus was asleep. Before he went to sleep he didn’t tell them it would be smooth sailing. He didn’t tell us that. Why did he sleep? Well, he was still in charge even though asleep.
Let’s do everything on our part we should do. The Bible says they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Even if the Lord doesn’t respond when we think he should doesn’t mean he’s not in command of the situation. Sometimes we get a little water in our boat and it rocks. God wants us to exercise our faith. The way to do it is through the storms of life. Just trust the Lord. Believe him. He’s calm about things. Why are we frantic and down? Do you think the disciples would have perished if they had not awakened Jesus? No. He was the Son of God and the same asleep as awake. With their faith in him they would have made it through to the other side.
We’re deliberately told there were other little ships. Jesus was only on one boat, yet all the ships made it through. Sometimes Jesus is in front plowing the way; sometimes he’s in the back steering the boat. Don’t worry about where he is in the boat. Don’t worry that he seems to be asleep. Never say that he doesn’t care that you’re about to perish. Don’t accuse the Lord of not caring.
Jesus asked them questions. (1) Why are you fearful? Jesus can control all things at all times. (2) How is it that you have no faith? We’re lazy at exercising our faith. We want Jesus visible and audible all the time. Put faith in Jesus. We don’t trust self and Jesus; it has to be Jesus all the way. Luke showed us another question in his narrative. (3) Where is your faith? Where is yours? Are you trusting men? The preacher? Trust the Master and put your faith in him.
How would you answer these questions? Is it time to wake the Master or just trust him?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 