Who is This Man?
Mark 4: 35-41
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Back to Basics The
New Testament Witness of the Apostle
Peter |
Max
A Forsythe | |
Years ago when my oldest son was newly born I had to work four nights a week at the grocery. I would get home about seven in the morning and Sherry would leave for her job.
Some of the time, we had a local girl come in from the church and spend five hours with the baby on those days until I could get my necessary five hours sleep. That worked for a few months until we realized that the government taxes on her labor were more than we could afford.
So I was left with the responsibility of supervising a baby while I tried to get some rest. We selected a room where the little one could not get into any trouble and he and I both made a bed on the floor.
Since, he was sleeping a lot in those first few months, things worked out quite well. But whenever he got lonely, wet or hungry he would cry and I would wake up and give him the attention he needed.
It was rugged going that first summer but Joey never lacked for his necessities. By the time we moved out of the Manse and I went back to school we found a regular sitter to solve our problems.
Now I don't think that I ever developed that sixth sense that mothers seem to have when the little ones are in need. But I know that I did not sleep as soundly as I wanted.
And like every parent knows, the first born usually receives more attention than all of the younger siblings ever do!
Now this is a poor example to lead into this section of Mark's fourth chapter, but in a certain sense, the disciples were in the near presence of our Lord. After all, the boats on the Lake in question were large enough for Jesus to have been out of sight.
It was indeed providential that the disciples had a boat nearby, so that after a long afternoon of ministry Jesus could rest from His labors while the disciples rowed and sailed across the lake.
Ministry can indeed be exhausting - especially when we sense the crowds who follow Jesus around the lake from place to place never giving Him enough time for an adequate rest.
So far, in the context of Mark's Gospel, the disciples understand that Jesus is unique as a teacher of the Law and that by some charisma, natural or unnatural, He speaks with Divine authority.
But their understanding of His authority is somewhat limited to the area of Theology and even while certain evidences should have clicked into place, the disciples were not yet spiritually astute enough to connect the obvious dots!
While we are better prepared with hindsight to see obviously what they missed at the time, we are still childish enough in our spiritual relationships to need a greater understanding of this revelation history here recorded by Mark from the disciples observations.
We may also understand from the text that there were others along for the afternoon's sailing who also could see and verify the miraculous nature of what was about to happen.
As was and is common on Lake Galilee such weather conditions could be created by "the wind funneling through the surrounding hills and through" the southern valley of the lake, which "can whip the lake into sudden violent storms".
Of course, like the commentators we can sense the providential wisdom of our Creator God in using this moment to challenge the human understanding of the disciples for who His son really was?
Even though, these disciples were seasoned sailors, the violence of the storm tested their abilities beyond the ordinary and they suddenly despaired of surviving the wind and the waves which were spilling into their little boat.
Perhaps their awakening of the Master was rudely spoken. I remember awakening several times to a wailing youngster, whose gentle cooing, bubbling and whimpering were not sufficient to arouse me from my slumber!
Yet, we may understand that Jesus the Man needed daily rest not unlike ourselves. Certainly, there were divine reserves about which we know little, yet still - His life was entirely like our own so that by His example of perfection He could satisfy the perfect expectations of His Father in heaven.
Now, I do not mean to be sidetracked here into the nature of the Man-God revealed to us in Jesus the Christ. Very simply I want to repeat what the text clearly tells us, Jesus was sleeping soundly content in His faith that the Father was always near, watching, guiding and protecting.
Here were the disciples, daily in contact with our Lord, knowing His thoughts, His words, His actions, while we by contrast must depend upon their revelation records for everything we may know.
May we learn from the scene before us that even while we may not have the close personal relationship that the disciples had with our Savior, we like them may know the reality of His life and witness from them.
In addition, we may learn from this scene that where we are seemingly working apart from the sensed presence of our Lord, He is still there on the throne, praying for us as we go about our daily duties.
And even if storms assail us, either physical, emotional or spiritual - He is still the King of Creation and every event must work for the good of those who follow His Gospel and obey His righteous commands.
So Jesus is awakened suddenly to find the disciples in emotional and physical need. He quickly assesses the situation and commands the sea, "Peace, be still!" And amazingly to the disciples, the wind and the waves obey Him.
I remember an evangelist who came to Logan County a long time ago. He was the second evangelist within five years, come to assist the area evangelical churches in their work and witness before the Lord.
This second evangelist was an interesting person. Another pastor that I knew had worked in a church next to this man's "international" headquarters. He knew, and I learned as well as a relative of mine who worked in the hotel where he stayed that this Man of God had a drinking problem.
Since none of the leading evangelicals were really open to learning this truth, I went ahead to the first evening's Crusade. As a token Presbyterian I was to give the opening prayer, so I was allowed up on the stage.
Things went very well for the first hour or so, and then the skies darkened and the breeze began to pick up steam. Some in the crowd began to get restless and the evangelist would not be hurried.
About the time that I was thinking it was past time to close and let the people go to their cars, he stopped cold and shouted to the winds to be quiet and then assured the people that it wouldn't rain until he was finished.
That did it, I climbed down off the stage in front of fifteen hundred people and walked out, to be joined by everyone else with an ounce of common sense. We had barely cleared the gate to the stadium when enough wind and rain to frighten Noah poured down on the silly evangelist who didn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain!
Like me, a lot of people did not go back for the second, third or any of the nights. And since so little money was coming in, the evangelist cut his visit to the county short by several days.
One of his staff remained in town to remind the local churches that a debt had been run up for which they were morally obligated. That sincere gentleman came to visit me since our church was the only "liberal" church by definition that had participated in the crusade.
It was an interesting meeting, without compromising any of my reliable sources I was able to persuade the agent that he was serving a very compromised minister and that he should apologize to those churches who were being encouraged to raise three thousand dollars!
A few months later I learned that the honest assistant was no longer employed with that tawdry excuse for a minister of the Gospel.
Even the disciples, who well understood the nature of the environment quickly understood that what they had seen happen was not something that any mortal man could accomplish on His own.
Here at least was a Man of God like Noah, Moses and Elijah who had followed the Lord's Spirit in using the weather conditions being manipulated by a power greater than themselves.
From the text we do not get an indication that the disciples saw any further than this! So Jesus rebuked them as well as the wind.
"Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"
Ah, in those words there is much in the way of condemnation for any and all who name the Name of Christ minimally. There are of course the liberal churches who deny the reality of any miracles as well as the very word and revealed wisdom of our Lord.
In doing so, they, we and every Christian at some time in their life and in some corner of their understanding - would prefer a humanistic Jesus rather than the all too Divine Son of God.
After all a comfortable Jesus - sitting on the mountain espousing beatitudes that tickle our fancy in believing that we can fulfill those loving requirements is more preferable than the all too real Son of God who can command the wind, the waves and even the end of time.
I am reminded of a liberal professor who rather nonchalantly explained away the whole second coming in the appearance of the Holy Spirit. He went on to encourage us to live life to the fullest so that we could realize the godlike power already present within us.
For Him there was no afterlife, no second coming, no revealed God in Christ, but only a very natural man, whose disciples conjured up deistic tales to feather the religion they established after His untimely death on the cross!
Such new-age tall tales are all too readily accepted. We well know the reaction of John the Beloved the prophet Isaiah and even Moses in the very presence of the Triune Creator God.
Could they even live in His presence? We see here in the disciples a hint of that holy fear - "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"
And yet, much to our discredit, our inquiring minds want to know more that who He is - How can this be? After all, ours is a very naturalistic world today, and we are wont to accept any divine thing of any kind.
Like the disciples here, we are probably more afraid of the real answer that we would be of the storm at sea! Martin Luther was almost scared senseless by a lightning bolt. Sgt York of Tennessee became a pacifist in a like encounter
A man I know was hit twice by lightning before he got religion as he described it. I asked him why it took twice, he admitted that he was a slow leaner, the first time he had discounted as mere coincidence.
The second time, the Lord got his attention! I don't know about you, but it wouldn't take a second bolt of lightning to get my attention. This fall and winter, I have sensed the gentle but firm hand of the Lord directing me in specific directions that I am not yet certain yet where they lead.
I am being very careful to pay attention - since I know the truth in this story when I read it and I know that the Lord has a providential plan that He has in mind. And like the disciples here He has my attention.
And if I may be so bold to suggest, He would have your attention day by day as well! You all know that we have had more sickness in and around this congregation than we are used to!
I think we should all be putting more time into prayer so that we can find out why His hand is so far gently calling us closer and closer in our relationship with Him day by day!
Or are we too much like the disciples in this scene - they would rather not rock the boat and find out too much about the Son of Man? Would they rather have tried harder to save themselves, or as we all know at an intellectual level would we be all too content with a minimalist religion where the god whom we would rather worship never ever awakens?
What would our lives really be like if we knew more profoundly that our God is One who never sleeps? After all, the true implication of this revelation report is not that Christ sleeps, but He would rather waken the disciples from their comfortable dreams!
May the Spirit awaken all of those who would rather slumber and point us to the other shore where He would take us to do His will! Amen.
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Resources Used | |
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Cole, Alan. |
Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries: |
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Keener, Craig S. |
The IVP Bible Background Commentary:
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Pringle, William. |
Calvin's New Testament
Commentaries: |
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The
New Geneva Study Bible
(NKJV) | |
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B2b24 |
12 March 00 |