Mark 4:35-41
The other day I heard a story, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard this story maybe 100 times by now, in this particular story, a young man of about 17 or 18 was driving his father’s vehicle, a nice vehicle. One that he wasn’t supposed to be driving at all. On top of this, he was drunk. Lo and behold he crashed and totalled his father’s car. The police informed his parents who were at home unaware of what their son was getting up to in the wee hours of the morning, and that same night his father came immediately to go and see him. And what struck the man who was telling this story to me, who’s about 75 years of age now, was not what his father said, so much as what he didn’t say. When he first saw his father he was terrified. But when his father begun to speak he was confused. His father was in tears, he was a mess – because he was worried for his son. And when his father finished speaking he was even more confused. There was no condemnation. There wasn’t even a lecture after his father had embraced him and made sure he was alright. Because his father had not come to scold him. He had not come to lecture him. He had simply come, in his sons time of need, of hurt, of fear, of shame, and of guilt, to comfort him.
So get this, Jesus and the disciples are on a boat. And there’s a storm. And water starts to get in the 0boat. And the disciples are thinking uh-oh we are going to sink and die. And they aren’t saying this to be melodramatic, these are the words of experienced fisherman who have lived a solid portion of their lives on the water. They are going to die. And all the while this is happening, Jesus is having a nap. This is almost identical to the text of Jonah chapter 6, where Jonah is on the boat sailing to Nineveh, and the boat starts to sink, and the sailors cry out Jonah, why are you sleeping, pray to your God that He might save us! This is so much closer to the text of Mark 4 than you might think it is, and it is for good reason that Jesus associates himself with the prophet Jonah more than any other. The sailors on the ship with Jonah said, Jonah why are you sleeping, do something, pray for salvation from God. The disciples however, at least in the account of Mark and of Luke, merely despair, in Mark we see that they say Teacher, don’t you care that we are going to die? And in Luke it’s even more direct, Master, we’re going to drown! That is to say, Jesus, why aren’t you freaking out with us?! Why are you sleeping? And some people come to this text & say, ah look, the disciples are example for us, a law for us, they went straight to the lord when they were in trouble. But not so fast – they didn’t go to Him for help. They Just asked why He was sleeping. They didn’t even call him to pray to God for salvation, as the pagan sailors did to Jonah in Jonah chapter 6.
So often we treat Jesus like this. As if He’s just another one of us being helplessly rocked around by the wind and waves in the sea of life. As if He too is fearful and without hope. And so we never go to Jesus for help, rescue, or salvation. No longer is Jesus for us, but we so often think that it is we, who serve Him! We think to ourselves, oh how can I make today better for Jesus, how can I please Him, by sinning less and doing more so that Jesus can be spared the storm of human messiness and sin. Rarely do we stop to think that He is there to serve, to save, and to help us – and almost never do we think that He came to take that messiness & sin upon Himself, to suffer it for us.
The disciples in Mark were simply wondering why Jesus wasn’t also freaking out. There is no request for help in the text before us this morning – and they certainty would have never thought that His very intention was to come & suffer through storms with us and for us.
Jesus’ reply & miracle has them shook. This is not just a philosophy teacher, a lifestyle guru, a moral guide, or another Rabbi. He commands the weather and it obeys. Who then is this? It is the God of Job! Who creates us, all sustains all, knows all, is present everywhere, master of the waves, king of the winds, God of the universe! But wait – He suffers with us, He doesn’t merely sit above us in heaven looking down on us as pawns in His betting games against Satan. Who then is this!?
Time and time again Jesus subverts our assumptions about Him. At first we think He’s just a man, a good teacher, an excellent Rabbi, a prophet even. But wait, He forgives sins, He heals diseases, casts out demons, even the wind and the waves obey Him! Who then is He?! But yet, how can He be God? He is a man, made of flesh and blood. He eats, sleeps, breathes, thinks feels, cries, learns, grows, becomes weary, suffers, bleeds, dies. Who then is He?! The key friends, is this; Jesus dies, because He gives Himself for us. That is who He is. He is God for us.
Where then is your faith?
If Jesus is just God, not God for us, then we ought to be terrified. And that’s why Jesus’ response and miracle to calm the wind and the waves causes not comfort, but fear for his disciples. I’m sure you can imagine how this went; Think of someone you’ve known for years, a friend, a co-worker, a family member… now imagine how you would feel if you found out that they were God. All they saw you do, what they heard you say, how you treated them, how you treated others in front of them. It’s not hard to figure out just why the disciples were filled with fear by this. But the root of this fear is thinking that it is we who serve God. Brothers and sisters, do not worry that you aren’t enough to please God, you aren’t. Do not worry if your works or your battle against sin is enough to please God, it isn’t. But have faith, because He is not here to be served by you, but to serve you. He is not here to find what pleases Him, but to create in you that which is pleasing to Him – salvation, redemption, faith, trust, rest, peace, love – these things please Him, and He gives them to you freely as gift.
We so often fear that which we don’t understand. That which is hidden, mysterious or unknown has this power, to make us greatly uneasy. But worse than this is something partially hidden. To know that it is God on that boat, the one you’ve sinned against. He knows what you’ve done. He knows who you’ve hurt, the suffering you’ve caused, the brokenness. He is the judge. The disciples knew this by reason. But what was hidden to them, was that this God was there to suffer under their sins for them, to forgive them, to redeem them, and to declare them just. There are so many stories like this in the bible, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, the prodigal son, and of course this one before us right now. A story where there is an individual who has wronged somebody terribly and then they are estranged. The guilty party leaves, or they chase the other party away, or send them away. And then finally when the guilty party sees the one whom they’ve offended they are at first struck with terror. Because they think that this party means to receive recompense, to get even, to bring justice, that they have lost their place with them. But in these stories time and time again, we see the gospel. That the offended party is there not to “get even,” but to simply be with and reconcile with the one who hurt them. My friends, the offended party is here among you. But do not be afraid, for He has come to forgive you. In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord who lives and reigns, I pronounce to you the forgiveness of all your sins. Amen.
