Mark 4:34-41
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
The other night, I was woken up by a raging storm outside. The flashes of lightning and cracking of thunder were all around our house, lighting up the room. It was pouring rain. This is normal life near a mountain out in the desert. Monsoon season brings these intense storms. Still, I woke up and prayed that nothing near our home would be struck by the lightning. The rain was so heavy it made me think about being on a boat in a rainstorm and then I thought about how frightening that would be to experience. That thought, of course, led me to think about the disciples on the boat with Jesus. So then I prayed that not only would Jesus protect our house, but that He would calm the storm.
I think this event, recorded in Mark, is a familiar story to all of us. Matthew also includes it. Matthew 8:23-27 says:
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
At first reading, we might think there is not much difference between the two accounts, but if we read them carefully, we notice that both contain details the other omits. If we combine them together, we get a pretty vivid picture of this event. Using Mark’s account as the base, I added in Matthew’s words that differ, or are additional information, in blue.
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. They took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. Suddenly a furious squall came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. But Jesus was sleeping. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples went and woke him saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified [and] amazed, and asked each other, “Who is this? What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
The two accounts are pretty similar, but the main difference I noticed is that Matthew included that before Jesus calmed the storm, he asked the disciples a question. I like combining these two Gospel accounts, because by putting all the words they said together, we see a better picture of just how panicked the disciples were. They say to him, “Save us! We are going to drown! Don’t you care if we drown?!” They are not calm. They are distraught. Jesus is not concerned about the storm. He’s so unconcerned about it, he fell asleep and was able to keep sleeping through it, but he also seems unconcerned about it when he wakes up. He takes the time to ask them why they are afraid. The disciples were panicked and probably expected Jesus to jump up and be worried too. Or at least, leap immediately into action. But note the first thing Jesus said when they woke him up. He said, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Before he did anything about the storm, he spoke to them about their fear.
I wonder if we can apply that to our lives. When we face situations that cause us panic and fear, at least in my own life, it doesn’t seem like Jesus jumps up and immediately fixes the problem. I think He speaks to my fear and worry first before anything changes. Many times I will go to Jesus in prayer, and I will be like the disciples. I will be distraught and panicked. I will cry out to the Lord, asking Him to help me. I’ve brought my troubles to Him and I too have asked Him if He cares, just like the disciples. Usually, rather than “fixing” the problem, first He calms me down. He does that by bringing to my mind Bible verses that assure me of His love for me. He begins to fill me with peace and takes away the fear. As I think about Him and focus my thoughts on His love and care for me, then my faith begins to return. Only after that happens can I correctly deal with whatever problem or crisis I’m facing.
When troubles come, like they always do, I wonder if there is a simple formula we can apply. I wonder if the more we think God cares about us, the more peace we experience during storms. Or conversely, I wonder if the less we think God cares about our problems, the more worry and fear we experience. I think a big question we all should ask ourselves is this: do we think God cares about us?
Like we read last week, 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” We can cast away or let go of anxiety and give it to the Lord because He cares for us. But if we don’t think He cares for us, why would we think He wants to help us? When we doubt God cares about us or our problems, that increases our fear. When we know God loves us, we won’t worry so much. Knowing, or believing, are simply other words for describing faith. When we have faith in God, that means we know He is real. We believe in Him. I think the key to staying calm in the middle of life’s storms is having faith that God cares for us.
George Mueller’s quote on anxiety is worth saying again, because it’s just that good: “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.”
Think of this scene again of the disciples on the boat with Jesus. They are not on a little lake. This is the Sea of Galilee and it has a surface area of 64 square miles (https://www.britannica.com/place/Sea-of-Galilee). Suddenly, a huge storm swells up. They are panicking, but not without good reason. Water is coming into their boat! They are afraid they are going to sink and drown in the waves. They are so frustrated that Jesus was not helping them. He was taking a nap? How could He sleep during such a storm? They wake Him up by asking Him if He even cares at all that they are about to drown. They shout, “Lord, save us!” and He replies, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Did you notice His wording? He said, “You of little faith,” not, “You have no faith.” The beginning of their faith was when they approached Jesus and believed that He had the power to save them from the storm. When they decided He could help them, that was them beginning to have faith. It was only a little bit of faith, like Jesus said, but it was enough. It took them to Jesus.
If the disciples hadn’t woken Jesus up, what would have happened? We will never know. But do you think the boat would have sunk? Jesus wouldn’t have drowned, because He can walk on water. But what about the disciples? Would they have all drowned if they didn’t ask Jesus to save them? Applying the boat as a metaphor for our lives, we know from other scripture verses that until a person has faith in Jesus, their metaphorical boat is sunk. They are floating on an ever-sinking ship, so to speak. It is only when we have faith in Jesus that we are saved. It only requires a little bit of faith for Jesus to help us, too. To be saved, we don’t need to call out to Jesus with unshakable, rock-solid faith. The Bible is full of examples of people who Jesus helped, even though they had only a little bit of faith.
We see a good example of this in Matthew 17:14-20, which says:
14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
If we have faith that is as small as a mustard seed, we could move mountains? How miniscule was the disciples’ faith, if Jesus is saying that it’s smaller than a mustard seed? A mustard seed is the tiniest seed. Have you seen one before it? It’s hard to even hold in your hand because it’s so incredibly small it slips between fingers, and once dropped, simply disappears. Jesus was saying if the disciples had faith as small as that, they could literally move a mountain. Jesus’ scale for measuring a person’s faith must be able to see the microscopic levels of faith inside a person. He can detect the smallest hint of faith, and though it may frustrate Him, like we see in this account, He still responds.
He responds to our teeny-tiny cries of faith and He even responds to the person who says, “I want to believe, but I don’t really yet, but help me believe.” The Gospel of Mark also includes the healing of the boy who was demon possessed but includes this additional information: Mark 9:21-24 says, “Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’
‘From childhood,’ he answered. ‘It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’
‘If you can’?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’”
Jesus was still willing to heal the boy, even though the boy’s father had very little faith. The important thing was that the father took the step of bringing the boy to Jesus. When the father decided Jesus could help them, that was the beginning of his faith. Just like the disciples began to show faith when they decided to wake Jesus up. We, too, all have moments of decision to make. We will all face storms and problems. In those moments, what do we do? Do we try to weather the storm or problem by ourselves? Or do we take a step of faith and bring our problems to the Lord? When we remember Jesus cares for us, it is easier to take that step of faith and go to Him. The disciples hoped He cared for them, and so they woke Him up. But it doesn’t seem like they understood yet who Jesus really was.
Not only do we need to remember that Jesus cares for us, but the other thing that helps us to go to Him is when we know who He is. After Jesus calmed the storm, the Gospels say, “He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’
They were terrified [and] amazed, and asked each other, ‘Who is this? What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”
Jesus seems disappointed that even after He calmed the storm, they were still afraid. He says, “Do you still have no faith?” In other words, “even after my display of power, your faith didn’t grow?” I think they were still afraid and didn’t grow in their faith because they still didn’t understand who Jesus really was. That’s why they asked each other, “Who is this? What kind of man is this?”
To be fair to the disciples, this event took place toward the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The twelve disciples hadn’t been following Him all that long yet. Even though they had been witness to many miracles already, they were still confused about Him. It’s not until Mark 8 that Jesus asks the disciples who they think He is and Peter replies, “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29).
At this point on the boat, evidenced by the questions they ask each other, they are still unsure about Jesus’ ability to help them. They have doubt because they don’t know who He truly is. Had they known that Jesus, who was sleeping on their boat, was the very Messiah who was prophesied to come to save the world, do you think they would have still been afraid? Had they understood “what kind of man” this is, would they have had any fear? They didn’t know who He really was yet, and they didn’t know if He really cared for them and that’s why they panicked. They hoped he cared for them and they hoped He could save them and so they woke Him up. That hope propelled them to go to Jesus, and it was the beginning of their faith.
Who we think Jesus is, that determines whether or not we will put our faith in Him. We won't put our faith in Jesus if we don't know who he is. If we doubt His love and care for us, we won’t put our faith in Him. If we don’t think He is big enough to help us, we won’t put our faith in Him. Faith means knowing who Jesus is and believing that He loves us.
Let’s read the third recording of this event. This time in Luke 8:22-25. I saved this one for last because I think the question Jesus asks the disciples is a key question to always ask ourselves when problems or storms arise:
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
This question is so important. Where is your faith? When a storm kicks up, where is your faith? When something troubling happens, where is your faith? When money is tight, where is your faith? When facing sickness, where is your faith? In all things and all situations, what if we ask ourselves, where is my faith? Isn’t the answer to this question the solution to all of life’s problems? Where is your faith? Is it in Jesus or in something or someone else?
It’s easy to feel like our metaphorical boat is sinking. It might seem like our world is falling apart. The news is a constant reminder of all that is wrong in the world. There is war, disease, poverty, violence, mental illness and sin everywhere we look. As we come up against any or all of those things, we do not have to sink beneath the waves. We can have faith and hope in the Lord.
Where is your faith in the middle of storms? If you answer that question honestly and find that your faith is lacking, don’t give up. Just like Jesus still helped the disciples and healed the man’s son, Jesus is not limited by our small faith, as long as we go to Him and simply ask Him to help us. We can ask him to help us and we can ask Him to increase our faith. We can ask Him to remind us of His love for us and ask Him to fill us with His peace. Jesus promised to do those things for us in John 14: 26 -27, when He said, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
The Holy Spirit will remind us of who Jesus is and how He loves us and cares for us. When we remember and believe Him, then He fills us with His peace. We won’t be troubled or afraid when we place our trust in Jesus and have faith in what He has said. As He grows our faith, we will find out that our worry and panic is so unnecessary. We stress about things so needlessly, when all along Jesus is waiting to help us. He is right there with us in our boat, waiting for us to involve Him. He wants to help us, because He loves us and cares for us. All we have to do is ask Him.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us and caring for us so much that You sent Your son to die for us. When we remember what Jesus did for us, how could we doubt Your great love? Please help us, by Your Holy Spirit, to remember all that You have done for us. Please grow our faith in You. Help us to go to You when storms come. Please fill us with Your peace as we wait for Your help. We love You and in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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