Jesus calms the storm - Mark 4: 35-41
(Mr 4: 35-41) Jesus calms the storm and reveals himself as the Lord of Creation.
(Mr 5: 1-20) His encounter with the Gadarene demoniac shows his power over the fiercest satellites of the devil.
(Mr 5: 25-34) He heals a woman with a flow of blood, thus demonstrating her power over those rooted diseases that resist any human remedy.
(Mr 5: 21-24,35-43) He resurrects the daughter of Jairus, showing himself the winner over the same death.
The circumstances
In previous incidents we have had occasion to see the effects that popularity had on the ministry of Jesus. Constantly, wherever he went, he was surrounded by the crowds that came from all parts of the country seeking to be cured of their diseases (Mark 3: 7-12). Such was the situation that they had no time or time to eat (Mark 3:20). To which we must add the long teaching sessions along with the subsequent explanations in the house. It is not surprising, therefore, that Jesus was really exhausted, physically surrendered, so, his disciples "took him as he was" to go to the other side of the lake of the Sea of Galilee in order to rest from the bustle of the crowds .
"Let's go to the other side"
Although it was surely the disciples who were in charge of dismissing the crowd, it was the Lord himself who gave the order to go to the other side. This detail is very important in view of what happened later. We must realize that the disciples were fully immersed in the will of God: they had just finished a series of studies on the Kingdom of God with the same Lord as Master, and now they were preparing to go to the western coast of the Sea of Galilee following his indications and it was in this context of obedience to Christ that the storm took place.
And here we have a very important lesson to learn: the fact of walking faithfully in the ways of the Lord will not save us from going through the storms and storms of life. The Lord does not promise continuous times of bonanza to his people, nor that we are always freed from bitter experiences or danger.
But what we can have security in these circumstances, is two things: That the Lord will be with us all the way. And that nothing can prevent us from reaching "the other side".
"A great wind storm arose"
The situation faithfully reflects what often happens in the life of the believer: times of spiritual refreshment in the presence of the Lord are alternated with periods of trial ... and as we see in this passage, all this is prepared and directed by the Lord same.
We can be sure that Christ knew that a terrible tempest was going to rise, but nevertheless, he made them cross the sea at that moment. Why did he do it? Because practical situations are the only adequate way to complete theoretical teaching. Undoubtedly, it had been very interesting to listen to the Lord preaching about the importance of faith, and what he would do with those who had faith even if it was as small as a mustard seed. Now it was time to put the teaching into practice: would the disciples have faith in this new situation to which the Lord was leading them?
We can say that it was a kind of "surprise test", and that if the Lord planned it that way, it was because they were prepared for it. Remember that at the end of our previous study we considered the way the Lord had to teach and we saw that "He spoke the word to them, according to what they could hear" (Mark 4:33). We can be sure, therefore, that the Lord believed that they were prepared to face such a situation. He would never place us in a situation for which he knows we are not prepared and will never leave us alone to get out of it.
(1 Cor 10:13) "No temptation has overtaken you that is not human, but God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you can resist, but will also give temptation with the way out, so that you can resist. "
"Jesus was in the stern, sleeping"
It is interesting to note that during the storm, Jesus was deeply asleep in the boat. From this detail we learn several things:
The first thing that is appreciated is the humanity of Jesus. After the great efforts of those days, I was tired, exhausted, in need of rest and sleep. So, neither the roaring of the winds, nor the onslaught of the waves, nor the turning and descending of the boat, which was quickly flooded, were able to awaken him.
We must also learn from their trust in the heavenly Father. His peaceful sleep in the middle of the rough sea gives us to understand his full trust in God his Father, sure that he can never fail. It also reminds us of Peter's deep sleep the night before he was executed (Acts 12: 6).
"Teacher, are you not careful that we perish?"
When the storm was unleashed with all its fury, those men became anguished; they felt like storm toys and in serious danger of drowning.
Remember that at least four of the apostles who were in that boat were fishermen who knew from their youth the Sea of Galilee and its storms. This teaches us several things:
The Lord put his faith to the test in the realm of his daily life.
The tribulations and trials of life show us our uselessness and incapacity even in what we think we "master" well.
Finally, these situations take away all pride and self-sufficiency and serve to draw us to the throne of grace.
On the other hand, while they were struggling with the storm to control the boat, the Lord was sleeping. To them this seemed a somewhat irresponsible attitude, so they woke him up abruptly in the midst of accusations. They had to be thinking: "How can you be sleeping so calm in the middle of the storm? Wake up and help us."
Sometimes we also go through difficult situations and we have the impression that God is not interested in our difficulties, that he does not answer our prayers. And we are almost tempted to think as Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "will not your god be asleep?" (1 Kings 18:27)
But it is interesting how Peter understood and taught what he learned on this and many other occasions: "Casting all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you" (1 Pet. 5: 7).
"Rebuked the wind"
The Lord did not appear like the other prophets who prayed to God to deign to dominate the adverse elements, but he intervened as if he were God.
Some have noticed that the words he used in this case were exactly the same as those he rebuked the demon that had interrupted him in the synagogue of Capernaum (Mark 1:25). Should we understand, therefore, that this storm had been caused by the devil? It is not easy to answer this question. On the one hand, it is quite true that we live in a fallen world and that, according to the Scriptures, the whole world is under the evil one. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to say that behind the natural disasters of which we often hear (earthquakes, hunger, drought, tornadoes, hurricanes, sunamis ...) we must perceive the evil attack of Satan on humanity. Others see in this way of speaking about the Lord that it is simply a figurative and poetic way of speaking (Ps 19: 5) (Ps 98: 8) (Is 55:12).
Final reflection
We live in a world that is lethally hostile to human life because of the fall, and only the fact that Christ is its sustainer (He 1: 3) makes its survival possible.
Our planet is constantly the scene of hurricanes, storms, earthquakes, sunamis, drought, avalanches, lightning, volcanoes, fire, cold, epidemics, viruses ... and all of them from time to time threaten and destroy life. But the gospel of Jesus Christ is the announcement of the liberation of everything that threatens human existence.
Questions
Why did the Lord want to go with his disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee if he knew that there was going to be a terrible tempest?
What was the main problem of the disciples?
What was the main lesson that the Lord wanted to teach them? Explain your answer
What do we learn in this passage from the trials we go through as believers?
How is the humanity and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ manifested in this passage? Reason your response