Authority over Sea and Storm

Despite his miracle of calming a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Christ’s disciples still could not recognize who he was – Mark 4:35-41.

After teaching the multitude, Jesus left the area to cross the Sea of Galilee, but a violent storm descended suddenly on the lake, frightening the disciples. Storms were common enough on that body of water, and several of the men with Jesus were fishermen familiar with the region’s weather. Their terror indicates this was an especially severe storm.

[After the Storm - Photo by Caleb Woods (Bay Area) on Unsplash]

At the end of the story, the dumbfounded disciples ask the question: “Who is this man?” What precipitated the crossing of the Sea of Galilee and subsequent storm was the statement by Jesus, “Let us go over to the other side”:

• “And on that day, when evening came, he says to them, Let us go over to the other side. And leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. And there arises a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was filling up. And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they awake him, and say to him, Teacher, do you not care that we perish? And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said to them, Why are you afraid? Have you no faith yet? And they were afraid exceedingly, and they said one to another, Who, then, is this man, that even the wind and the sea obey him? And they came to the other side of the sea to the country of the Gerasenes” - (Mark 4:35-5:1).

The disciples addressed Jesus as “teacher.” This suggests they did not yet understand who he was, the Messiah of Israel. Or at least he did not conform to their concept of who and what the Messiah should be. It seems they viewed Jesus as little more than another rabbi.

In the reaction of the disciples to the storm, in their great fear, they awakened Jesus. Rather than share their concern about their safety, he charged his disciples with having no faith, though he did save them all the same.

Ironically, the disciples became even more fearful after he calmed the storm because it left them confused about Christ’s identity.

OVERCOMING STORMS

A passage from the Book of Jonah is echoed in the story. When Jesus “rebuked” the storm and commanded the wind to desist, he used the same language that he employed previously when casting out demons:

• “And immediately, there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus the Nazarene? Are you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God! And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace, and come out of him” - (Mark 1:23-25).

Unlike the disciples who accompanied Jesus in the boat, the demons recognized who and what he was, the Messiah sent by God to save His people. In the present story, Jesus is sound asleep during the storm, just as Jonah was in his day:

• “But Yahweh sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he was fast asleep” - (Jonah 1:4-17).

Christ’s words and actions also reflect a passage from the eighty-ninth Psalm. The fact that Jesus was authorized to exercise the power of God over natural forces should have clarified to his disciples exactly who he was, and therefore, reassured them. As the “chosen one” of Yahweh, he and his disciples were perfectly safe despite the storm raging about their boat:

• “I have solemnized a covenant for my chosen one. I have sworn to David, my servant. To times everlasting will I establish your seed. <…> O, Yahweh, God of hosts, who is mighty like you. <…> You rule over the swelling sea. When its rolling waves lift themselves, you summon them to be still” - (Psalm 89:3-9).

• “Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still” - (Psalm 107:28-29).

From the religious perspective of ancient men, the sea was associated with the forces of chaos and destruction. However, no opposition to Jesus could succeed until his mission was completed, not even the forces of nature. He was the anointed Son of God, destined to rule over the entire Earth on behalf of his Father:

• “Yahweh said to me, You are my son. This day, I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron. You will dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel” – (Psalm 2:7-9).

The opposition from the storm began after Jesus instructed his disciples to proceed to the other side of the lake. The storm’s “reaction” to his determination to reach the other side was virtually instantaneous.

Not only did the wind cease at Christ’s command, but the sea also became calm, almost instantly. This demonstrated the miraculous nature of his act. Winds may suddenly subside, but a body of water with its surface stirred by a storm takes time to return to a peaceful state.

Jesus then questioned his disciples: “How is it that you have no faith.” By this time, he expected them to have acquired at least some faith, however limited, yet even this tremendous miracle and Christ’s demonstrated authority over the elements failed to produce real faith. Instead, it caused his closest associates to ask the question - “Who is this man?”

As powerful as this miracle was, by itself, it did not answer their question. It would take something radically different and unexpected to convince them (Mark 15:39 – “When the centurion saw that he breathed his last, he said, Truly, this man was the Son of God”), for he was the unexpected and, it turned out, the Unwanted Messiah.

Nevertheless, even though the disciples requested Christ’s help from fear rather than faith, he delivered them from the wrath of the storm.

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SEE ALSO:

• Who is this Man? - (In Mark’s Gospel, no one recognizes who Jesus is except demons. Only in his death on a Roman cross was his identity understood by men)

• The Royal Servant - (Following his baptism in the Jordan River, the Voice from Heaven identified Jesus as the Son of God and the Servant of the LORD)

• The Unwanted Messiah - (Jesus is revealed as the Savior of Mankind in his sufferings and self-sacrificial death for others, including his enemies)

• The Suffering Servant - (Paul summoned believers to adopt the same mind that Jesus had when he poured out his life “unto death” for others – Philippians 2:5-11)