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?
The Bible tells us to redeem the time because the days are evil. Jesus Christ spent approximately three and a half years of public ministry. He did all that was needed during those few years.
John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
The Pharisees and their team had spent many years corrupting the Word of God. They had painted a picture of a Messiah to their liking. Many people had been persuaded to buy into the lies they were fed. Jesus Christ obliterated that false teaching in the short time He spent on this earth. That did not stop the false teaching from continuing on, but it clearly exposed it as false teaching.
Today, there is a massive amount of false teaching. Whether in print or via media such as the internet, there is far more false teaching than there is truth. In the Bible God warned of those who were willfully ignorant of the Biblical facts. That is still true today. People choose whether they will take the Word of God or a perversion. People choose whether they will accept the lies of the false teachers regarding the origins and preservation of God’s Word.
When I was in Bible school there were charts that suggested that the King James Version was one of many acceptable versions. They suggested that it was an older version and better ones were now available. I had to take that information and check it out to see if it was actually true. Those years were before the time of the internet. All the research that I did was from books. The basic question that I needed to answer for myself was: did God lie when He declared that He would preserve His Word for ever? Is God trustworthy? That is still the question that people need to answer today. Most professing Christians have decided that God is not trustworthy. They take the position of a very popular Creation Scientist, who claims that his organization is doing the best they can with the many perversions out there. That man has demonstrated his lack of faith in the true God. He has proved that not just with his unwillingness to accept God’s promise of preservation, but also with his position on what makes for Godly music, as well as other doctrines.
In our text, Jesus had finished another busy day. At the end of that day, He told His disciples that they should pass over to the other side. He was not looking for a place to rest for the night. He wanted to get to the other side for the morning. Jesus did not just walk away from the multitude that had gathered that day. He sent them away. He made sure they all got on their way home. Then He and His disciples got into the ship. We read there were also other small ships that sailed with Him.
In verse 37 we read that a great storm arose on the sea. The wind was beating the waves into the ship. The ship was full of water. They did not have bilge pumps or any other means to keep that water from filling the ship.
We read that Jesus was tired. After He got into that ship, He went to the hinder part of the ship and went to sleep on a pillow. He had such a close and real relationship with His Father, that He could go to sleep without any care of what might happen. He was where He needed to be and that was good enough. That is the key for us as well. We need to be sure we are where we need to be in God’s plan. We can know that if we are walking with Him. Having said that, there are many deceived people who assume they are where God wants them to be, but they are obviously out of God’s will. We have a Bible. If we humbly submit to God’s Word, we can know what God wants of His children. It is essential to be one of His children.
In verse 38 we see the difference between Jesus’ attitude and that of His disciples. They came to Him with an accusation. They called Him Master, but they wondered if He cared about them. They did not fully grasp the fact that He was right there in the ship with them. If that ship would go down, He would go down with the ship.
Jesus was just awakened out of sleep. He arose, and rebuked the wind. He commanded the sea to be still. He could do that because He is the Creator of all things. We read that the wind ceased and there was a great calm. This was a shocking result the disciples had not expected. They had much to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they called “Master”.
In verse 40 Jesus then turned to His disciples and asked them about their faith. Why were they so fearful. He was right there with them. On other occasions He would send them in a ship ahead of Him, but this time He was right there with them. On all occasions, if He sent them, He would see to it they would accomplish what was needed.
The disciples needed to learn the importance of resting in their Master. We need to learn this today as well. We have been tested over the past few years. In fact we have been tested for a long time. We know that Jesus declared that He would build His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Yet for many years too many churches have bowed to ungodly governments and they have become registered, in essence asking the government for permission to operate as a church. Churches have done this in part so that they can get more money from people. They can issue tax receipts and that is an incentive for people to give more because they will get something back from the government. People have trusted in the government for their increase rather than in God.
God has been gracious to us and He has allowed people to perceive that this is good stewardship. I used to believe that as well. Through Bible study and observation, I have come to see that this has been a subtle way that the devil has weakened the faith of many Christians. The past four years has demonstrated just how powerful the government has become over the will of God. It is not that God is weak. It is that most people have pushed Him aside in favour of lesser powers like the government. Money is a powerful tool. We need it but we need God more.
In verse 41 we see that the disciples were caught off guard. They did not really know much about Jesus at this time. He had already cast out devils. They had witnessed that. However, here He showed them He had power over the wind and the waves. He calmed the sea. Those waves were not just around their ship. They were over the entire sea. The sea was calm when Jesus commanded peace over it. Who can do this?
Obviously Jesus could and He did it. What else could He do? As we have already noted, it is important for a person to be saved first of all. The lost need to know that Jesus can calm their troubled soul. We talked of the modern day teaching on “backsliding” in our zoom meeting last night. What is being taught today regarding backsliding is far from what the Bible teaches on the matter. We have decided that God’s salvation is actually quite weak. The result is that many lost people have been deceived into believing they are saved, but just cannot gain victory over sin. In their souls they still know this is not true, but the power of man’s words have quite the hold on the unbelieving. No one will stand before God and be able to blame Him for their unbelief. It is important for those who teach others to be sure they are teaching properly.
James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
We, those who are saved, need to be careful in what we are believing. God is not telling us not to teach. He is warning us to teach the truth. Jesus is the true Saviour. He is God. He can do what seems impossible to man. The disciples were learning that. They were not following the charismatic heresies. They were being led by the Lord Jesus Christ. They were learning important lessons of true Biblical faith. We need to learn that as well.
Pastor Bartel
