The Day Jesus Silenced a Super Storm

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During the season of Lent, we prepare our hearts and our minds for the remembrance of Good Friday and the celebration of Easter. This Lent we're going to engage in a brief little series entitled A Day In the Life of Jesus. We're going to focus on brief but powerful vignettes in the gospels that provide us with a realistic, behind-the-scenes take on a typical day in the life of Jesus. What did the crowds see? What did the disciples observe? And what can we learn from this? As a congregation over the years, we have considered Jesus' words. We've looked at his teaching, his sayings, the stories that he told. Last Lent we addressed the emotional life of Jesus. But this Lent, I'd like us to focus on the dramatic, even supernatural actions of Jesus.

Today we come to the first of a series of miracles that Jesus performed in the Gospel of Mark, and Mark places these events right after Jesus gives a series of parables. Mark explains that when Jesus spoke to the crowds, he only addressed them in parables, but privately he explained everything to his disciples. These dramatic episodes following this collection of parables suggests that we're supposed to read these dramatic actions as acted out parables that reveal Jesus' true identity and mission, if we only have eyes to see.

So today what I'd like us to do is turn to Mark's account of the day that Jesus silenced a super storm. As we do, let's consider these three points. I think that this teaches us that: 1) a storm exposes vulnerability, 2) a storm reveals identity, and 3) a storm sets destiny.

³⁵On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸But he 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?” ³⁹And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Mark 4:35-41

A Storm Exposes Vulnerability

First, let's consider how a storm exposes vulnerability. Mark tells us that on one particular day, when evening had come, Jesus decides to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. So he gets in a boat just as he was, there were other boats with them, and they set out. He falls asleep, and then suddenly, in the middle of the night, a great windstorm arose, so intense that waves are breaking into the boat and the boat is already filling with water.

This must have been some storm. In fact, Mark literally calls it not just a storm, but in the Greek it says it was a “mega storm,” a super storm. What's impressive about this is that several of Jesus' disciples were professional fishermen. They would've endured plenty of rough weather, yet they are completely freaked out. These professional fishermen, these experienced sailors, are convinced that they are about to die. It would take a rather significant storm to rattle a professional and to make him fear for his life.

So what are we to make of this? Well, one of the little details that I love in the Gospels is that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke refer to the Sea of Galilee as a sea, but Luke, the beloved physician who had traveled the world, doesn't call it a sea, he calls it what it is: a lake. He calls it the Lake of Galilee. And yet, even so, lakes can experience fierce storms as well.

Now, let me make a little confession to you as your pastor. Having grown up on the East Coast as a young person, I didn't have a lot of respect for Lake Michigan because, as a body of water, it wasn't an ocean. And this created a little bit of an issue with my wife when we first started dating, because she was from Chicago. She thought I was perhaps being a little bit of an East Coast snob. But then we visited the eastern shore of Lake Michigan together, and I discovered for the first time that Lake Michigan is home to over 1,500 shipwrecks. I'm not talking about just little tiny sailboats; I'm talking about significant, sizable ships. Then I learned that 6,000 shipwrecks have taken place in the Great Lakes. So my estimation of Lake Michigan went way up, and it was very, very good for our burgeoning relationship.

The point is, even lakes can be the home of fierce storms. What you need to understand is that the Sea of Galilee, the Lake of Galilee, is located 700 feet below sea level, and it's surrounded by steep cliffs, especially on the eastern side. As a result of that, it is known for sudden violent storms. Violent storms can literally come out of nowhere and stir up the lake. This is how it often happens: Strong desert breezes will bring cool air down those cliffs to 700 feet below sea level, and when that cooler air meets the warm, hot air rising from the surface of the sea, it creates something like a mini hurricane. And this can be especially dangerous if it occurs at night, when no one's looking for it, no one's anticipating it. Within a matter of minutes, the surface of the water can turn into a seething cauldron.

This is why Mark describes this storm literally as a tempest or a windstorm. But I love Matthew's version of the gospel here, because Matthew doesn't call it a tempest or a windstorm; he uses the same word in Greek for an earthquake. He calls it a seismos — a quake on the water. So you can just imagine a relatively small, ancient wooden boat being buffeted by 30 to 40 mile per hour winds. It would've been strong enough to rip the sails, to perhaps break the mast. So it's no wonder that they were fearing for their lives. This kind of wind could have created powerful ten-foot waves that very well would've crashed over the side and swamped the boat, leading them to believe that they really were about to drown.

So the first point that I want to draw out is that storms, real storms, both literally and metaphorically expose vulnerability. You might be able to navigate the water as long as the weather is fair. If you've got a light breeze, calm sea, clear skies, no problem. But when a storm hits, that's when you discover how well prepared you are. That's when you discover how much damage you can withstand. That's when you discover how much water you can take on board. In a similar way, I would suggest that you do not know the true condition of your heart, you don't know the true condition of your life, you don't know the true condition of your faith, until a storm hits.

It may be that you're in the midst of a storm right now, or you may soon find yourself in the midst of a storm. You didn't plan for it, you didn't see it coming, but wham, here it is. For some of you, it could be a financial storm. You're experiencing economic hardship. Perhaps you're at risk of losing your job, or your business is just hanging on by a thread, and you lie awake at night doing the math, counting the numbers, trying to figure out how you can make ends meet. But the bills are piling up, you're falling more and more into debt, and you feel like you're losing control over your life. But even worse than the fear, underneath it all is the shame. You feel embarrassed. You're starting to wonder, well, maybe I should have handled things differently or better. And you don't really want others to know the full scope of the problem, but you don't know how much longer you'll be able to hold on, and you don't know who to turn to to actually help you.

For some it might be a health storm. A health storm has either hit you or someone very close to you, someone you love. Maybe it started with a particular pain that just wouldn't go away, or you received an unexpected test result or a diagnosis that just changed the trajectory of your life forever. Or perhaps even worse, you visit doctor after doctor after doctor, but no one can actually tell you what's wrong. All you know is that you no longer feel like yourself. You can't do the things that you used to do. Your familiar routines that provided stability and security have all been busted up. And now what are you facing? You're facing more doctor's visits, more treatments, perhaps a long recovery and the fear of the unknown. And now, perhaps for the first time, you're forced to come to grips with your own mortality.

But perhaps the storm you're in is not a financial storm or a health storm, it's a relational storm. Your whole world has been turned upside down, and now you no longer know which way is up and which way is down. You've been betrayed, you've been abandoned. Someone left you or let you down, and now you don't know who to believe or who to trust. And you replay the conversations back in your mind trying to figure out, well, how exactly did things first go wrong, and what can we do to put the pieces back together again? But all you know is that you've never felt more alone. Now you know who your real friends are, because the people that you thought were your friends left you to twist in the wind. And now all of a sudden you're feeling angry, depressed, shocked, helpless, isolated, and alone, all at the same time. You find yourself bracing for the next disappointment, and you just don't know how much more of this you can take.

You see, one way or the other, if it's not happening now, it might happen soon. We're all going to find ourselves in the midst of a ferocious, raging storm, and the storm exposes our vulnerabilities. We don't know how vulnerable we are until the storm hits. The problem is that it can sneak up on you. It can come out of nowhere and catch you by surprise.

A Storm Reveals Identity

But no matter what form that storm may take, the storm not only exposes vulnerability, it also reveals identity, meaning you don't really know who you are, you don't really know what you're capable of or what you're not capable of, until the storm hits. A storm will expose the true nature of your identity, the true nature of your character, the true nature of your faith. And that's what happens here in this episode. The storm reveals: 1) the true identity of the disciples, and 2) the true identity of Jesus. So let's take them both in turn.

The True Identity of the Disciples

First, the disciples. I mean, just imagine this ship being violently tossed back and forth by these massive waves as they're crashing over the side. You can just see the disciples, drenched with water, holding on to the mast for dear life. And they seem to have some faith; they have enough faith to believe that Jesus is actually capable of doing something to help them. That's why they turn to him. "Teacher!" So they have enough faith to believe that Jesus is capable of helping them, but not enough faith to believe that he actually will.

And so that's why they ask him in verse 38, "Don't you care that we're perishing?” Don't you care about the fact that we're about to die? And you see, in a similar way, we will face a storm — it could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be many years from now — and when we do, we may also wonder, well, where is Jesus in the midst of this storm? Why is he allowing this to happen to me? It might seem as if Jesus is asleep on the job, asleep through the very storm itself. And we too may find ourselves asking, "Don't you care? Don't you care about me? Don't you care about what's happening? Don't you care about what I'm going through? Don't you care that I'm perishing?"

But whenever and however it happens, the storm will expose our true identity. It'll show you who you are. You might think that you're the kind of person who would stand up in the storm — a person of integrity, character, grit, resilience, faith. But you don't really know who you are until the storm hits. The real you is not who you are on a warm, sunny day. You discover who you really are in the midst of the storm.

The True Identity of Jesus

We also discover Jesus' true identity. See, in the midst of the chaos and the confusion — the disciples are probably furiously trying to bail the water out of the boat, trying to keep the mast from snapping — there is Jesus, completely unperturbed, serenely sleeping in the stern on top of a cushion. But finally the disciples just can't take it anymore. And so they wake Jesus up and they rebuke him. They rebuke Jesus for falling asleep on the job. They ask, "Don't you care about us?" But in response, Jesus has some rebuking to do of his own.

In verse 39, Jesus awoke and he rebuked the wind and then said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" A more literal translation of those words might be that Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind, and then he said to the raging sea, "Silence! Shut up!" And with that, this raging sea becomes calm at the very word of Jesus. Mark draws out the contrast, because he uses the word “mega” again; the mega storm is now followed by a mega calm. Just picture the scene. Imagine you were there. What would've been more eerie: a sudden violent storm, or a sudden dead calm, as suddenly the wind ceases and the waves die down?

And so the disciples rightly ask, "Who is this? Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Throughout the Scriptures, the raging waters of the sea represent the forces of darkness and of chaos, of sin and of evil, that threaten human life. But now Jesus reveals his true identity. He is the Lord over all creation. He is the one whom the winds and the waves must obey at the mere word from his mouth. He is the Lord of creation who can subdue the forces of nature with just a word.

Now the only problem with the story, of course, is that many people struggle to believe it, and they assume that this must be some kind of fabricated legend about Jesus. But let me remind you that legends evolve over a long period of time, long after the events that they purport to record, because by then there's no one around left to refute the story. Take the example of the legend of King Arthur. King Arthur, if he actually existed, lived in the 400s, but the legends of King Arthur weren't written down until the 800s, 400 years later. See, legends take a long time to evolve because they're fabricated stories, and they don't really emerge until there's no one left to be able to refute what actually happened.

But that's not true when it comes to the Gospels, because even the most critical scholars will agree that the Gospel of Mark was the first gospel to be written, and all four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — were written within the lifetime of the original witnesses. That shows us something rather important, because this account of Jesus silencing a super storm bears all the marks of eyewitness testimony — most likely the testimony of Peter, because we know that Mark was an associate of Peter. If you look closely at the details, it seems that this must be based on Peter's report. It reveals Peter's personal reminiscences of this dramatic day.

Notice, first of all, the precise demarcation of time — "when evening had come" — and the unnecessary reference to the other boats. Why say that? They went across to the other side, “And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.” Observe the vivid detail in verse 37: the boat was already filling with water. And then notice the precise location of Jesus' position in verse 38: he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. Notice it doesn't say “asleep on a cushion” but asleep on the cushion — a particular cushion, the cushion that was often kept under the coxswain seat.

Why would Mark include little details like this in the story if it wasn't the personal reminiscences of Peter? Well, some might say, maybe Mark included these little details to make it sound less like a legend and more like a real story. But I'm sorry, that is an anachronism. You see, we're familiar with the literary genre of realistic fiction. What's realistic fiction? Well, it's a made-up story that is meant to sound real by including little details and specific dialogue. The only problem with that is that realistic fiction has only existed for the last 300 years or so. No one in the ancient world wrote realistic fiction. It didn't exist. Literary scholars will tell you that the first example of realistic fiction is probably “Robinson Crusoe,” which was published in 1719.

So C.S. Lewis, who was a fellow and tutor in English literature at Oxford with a specialty in medieval and Renaissance literature, once wrote about whether the gospels are legends based on the unnecessary details that we find in all four. Lewis writes,

I have been reading poems, romances, vision literature, legends, myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know none of them are like this. Of this text [the Gospel of John] there are only two possible views. Either this is reportage…Or else, some unknown [ancient] writer…without known predecessors or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern novelistic, realistic narrative…The reader who doesn’t see this has simply not learned to read.

No, the Gospels are not legends; the gospels are based on eyewitness reporting.

A Storm Sets Destiny

So this brings me to my third point. The storm exposes vulnerability, the storm reveals identity, and the storm sets destiny. How you respond in a storm will set your path. That’s true for the disciples, true for Jesus, and also true for us.

So again, let's consider the disciples first. Just as Jesus rebuked the storm, so he also has some words for the disciples. He in turn rebukes them for their lack of faith. He says in verse 40, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" In Matthew's account of the same event, Jesus says, "You are of little faith." And in Luke's account, Jesus asks, "Where is your faith?” You have some faith; where is it? Where did it go? You've got some faith, but you're not acting upon it, you're not relying upon it. Where's your faith? You’ve got to pull it out. You’ve got to put it to work. You’ve got to use it. Where is your faith? See, you may believe that certain things are true, but you don't really know if you believe it until you must put it into action. And that's what Jesus is revealing here: You don't know the true quality of your faith until it is tested. Untested faith is unreliable faith. You can't rely on it, you can't depend upon it, until it is tested.

But here's the irony. The irony is that the only way that your faith can be tested is by going through the storm, the very thing that we don't want to go through. The only way your faith can be tested is by going through the storm. You see, Jesus never promises to deliver us from the storm; no, Jesus promises to deliver us through the storm. Jesus never promises to take us around the storm; no, he promises to take us right through the storm. The London pastor Charles Spurgeon once said this about untested faith:

Untested faith may be true faith, but it is sure to be small faith, and it is likely to remain little as long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: Tempests are her trainers, and bolts of lightning are her illuminators.

Tested faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness if you had not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength if you had not been supported in the flood. Faith increases in quality, assurance, and intensity the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Let me ask you: What kind of faith do you have? Has your faith been tested through the storm? Have you come face to face with your own weakness? Have you discovered God's true strength in your life through the storm?

When I went through a fierce storm in my own life, it would've been very easy for me to also ask the question, well, where is Jesus in the midst of the storm? Is he asleep on the job? But I had a wise friend who encouraged me to see God's loving, providential care for me, even in the midst of the storm. Because, he said to me afterwards, "The Lord knew this would happen, the Lord let this happen, and he must have let it happen for a reason. And only time will tell what those reasons are.” Though I would never wish to relive that storm ever again, I can also say that Jesus has never felt closer to me than in the midst of the storm. He's not asleep, and he's not powerless.

You see, the kind of faith we need is the kind of faith that grows rather than fades under pressure. Think of a thermostat on a climate control system. The thermostat has sensors that detect the temperature, and so when a room heats up, when the temperature rises, the air conditioning system kicks on in order to cool the space. That's the kind of faith we need — we need the kind of faith that kicks on when the pressure's on, the kind of faith that kicks on when the temperature rises. That's when our faith kicks in rather than conks out. Rather than running away from the storm, in the midst of it we need to stop and ask ourselves, what is Jesus trying to teach me through the storm? And that's how we develop a tested (and therefore a reliable) faith.

So the disciples learn something about themselves on this day, but we also learn something about Jesus. See, how you react to the storm will set the direction for the rest of your life. That was true for the disciples, and it's also true for Jesus. The storm sets your destiny.

Now after this ordeal is all over, the disciples are understandably filled with great fear, but it's an altogether different kind of fear now. They're not afraid of the storm; now they're filled with great fear, and they rightly ask in verse 41, who is this? “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" You see, that question changes everything.

When Mark's original readers read this passage, "Who then is this?” they would've been reminded of that scene in Exodus chapter 14 when Moses lifts up his staff and stretches out his hand over the sea, and then the Lord drives back the Red Sea with a strong east wind so that his people can walk across on dry land. But someone greater than Moses is here.

And perhaps Mark's original readers would've heard an echo of the story of Jonah. You remember the story of Jonah. Jonah was called to be the prophet to Nineveh, but he didn't want to go, so he runs away from the Lord and he boards a ship heading in the exact opposite direction of Nineveh. But he can't run away from the Lord that easily. The Lord hurls a great wind upon the sea, which causes a massive storm so severe that the ship is likely to be destroyed. All the crew are crying out, each to their own god, that somehow someone might save them. But where is Jonah in the midst of the storm? Asleep in the inner part of the ship.

So the captain's forced to go below deck and wake him up and say, "What are you doing, you sleeper? Cry out to your God too, so that somehow we might be saved." But Jonah understands why this storm has hit. He knows that he's the cause. It's because he's fleeing from the presence of the Lord. And so he tells the crew, "Look, if you hurl me into the sea, the sea will become calm." And reluctantly they agree. They pick him up and they hurl him into the sea, and the waves become calm. But you see, someone greater than Jonah is here.

Years after this, the apostle Paul himself is caught in a nor'easter for two weeks as he's being transported as a prisoner to Rome. And even though everyone is fearing for their lives, Paul encourages the crew by saying not a single life will perish, though the ship will be lost, because the Lord has promised. And sure enough, all 276 people on board make it, but the ship is destroyed. But you see, someone greater than Paul is here.

See, Moses, Jonah, Paul, these were all servants of the Lord who spoke and acted on the Lord's behalf. But they're not the ones who stilled the storm. They're not the ones who brought the mega calm. You see, Jesus here is not merely a prophet, not a teacher, not even an apostle. He is the Lord of creation itself, and therefore he is the one who merely speaks the word and the mega storm is followed by the mega calm.

But this is not the only storm that Jesus will face. This is just the precursor, this is just the foretaste of the real storm that is to come, of which this storm is just a representation. Because one day Jesus will face the true, ultimate storm against the forces of sin, evil, death, and chaos. During his earthly ministry, people came up to Jesus and asked him for a sign, some kind of sign that would prove his identity and his mission, as if something like this weren't enough. Jesus says, no, I'm not going to give you a sign. The only sign you will receive is the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

And Jesus could see the storm clouds gathering. He knew that the forces of evil were marshaling against him, and all of those forces would come together at one particular place: the cross. But like Jonah, Jesus didn't run away from the storm; no, he ran into it. He willingly allowed himself to be cast into the deep. There, all the forces of evil and chaos came crashing down upon him. All the waves of God's justice against sin and evil broke over him. But he knew that he needed to give his life so all the others might be spared. And just as God in faithfulness plucked Jonah out of the belly of the fish, so our Lord God plucked Jesus out of the belly of the tomb — not even death could hold him down.

That is why, when it comes to the ultimate storm that all of us will face, we already know the answer. That mega storm will be followed by a mega calm, because Jesus from the cross now says to all those who might seek to speak a word of condemnation against us, "Silence. Shut up." No word against us can ever stand because of what he has accomplished for us through his life, his death, and his resurrection. He is the Lord of all creation. He is the one whom even the wind and the waves must obey.

And therefore the question for us is: Will you trust him? Are you of little faith? Are you of untested faith? Where is your faith? You’ve got to pull it out. You’ve got to put it to work. Do you yet have faith? You see, if Jesus is with us in the boat, then we have absolutely nothing to fear, no matter what storms we might face in life, because Jesus is the Lord of the storm itself.

Let me pray for us.

Father God, we pray that you might meet us at our point of need this morning, regardless of whatever storms we might face today or in the near future. Financial, health, relational — we know that you are the Lord over them all, and we know that you haven't abandoned us. You're not indifferent to us. No, you care for us, and you will never let us perish, because you're right there in the boat with us. So help us to cling to you in faith, to put our trust in you anew, knowing that you are the Lord over all creation who has faced the ultimate storm on our behalf so that we might experience the peace, the calm, that only you can bring. Help us to receive it and believe it. In Jesus' name, amen.

Sermons

A Day in the Life of Jesus: The Day Jesus Silenced a Super Storm

A Storm Exposes Vulnerability

A Storm Reveals Identity

A Storm Sets Destiny