41They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Mark 4:41
It is easy to imagine many things in this scene - the boat, the storm, the wind and waves. When Jenette and I took our then 1 year old Joel to California, we somehow ended up talking with a guy who volunteered to take us on his sailboat. We had never been on a sailboat before, and didn't quite know what we were getting into.
The first problem we experienced when we got to the marina was that the guy only had adult size horse collar life jackets. Being the safe and responsible parents that we were, we had but one choice - hold Joel down and put this gigantic thing around his neck. It truly was bigger than he was, and looking back now, I wonder if it would have helped at all if he went in the drink. Well, that put him in one of those screaming, pitching a fit, "I'm gonna die" moments that all little kids occasionally torture their parents with.
Once we got under way, we quickly realized that Joel had more reasons to scream, because the ocean was choppy and rough. The sailboat guy didn't seem to be too concerned, but we thought we were riding a wild horse instead of a sailboat. Joel was so completely and utterly freaked out that Jenette took him into the little cabin so at least the sailboat guy could concentrate on the rough waters without the toddler sonic blast. The sea became progressively more rough and the wind was amazing. I thought more than once that the whole boat was just going to be blown over into the waves. It was a perfectly miserable, frightening experience.
And it was the experience of the disciples. The Sea of Galilee is known for its fierce and fast approaching storms. They didn't know that on this particular day, a storm would come upon them quickly and without warning. But, its important to remember who commissioned this trip. Jesus was the one who said "let's go over to the other side." (Mark 4:35). I can't help but wonder if there was already a breeze in the air, or if the fisherman disciples cast nervous looks at each other.
These fishermen perhaps had seen these storms before and knew there wasn't much to do except to hold on and to pray. I think the interaction between the disciples and Jesus is really interesting here. First, they wake him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" or perhaps in other words, "quit sleeping because now is perfect time to panic!"
Jesus wakes up, speaks to the wind and waves "Quiet. Be still." And then to his disciples: "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Vs. 40)
Verse 41 says their response - "they were terrified!" Or as the KJV says so beautifully, "they feared exceedingly." Or how about the Young's Literal Translation that says "they feared a great fear."
How crazy is that? This story is a lesson in fear management. "Afraid" in verse 40 is about being timid or chicken. The "feared exceedingly" word in verse 41 is about sheer terror. One might say that these poor guys were more afraid after the storm was calmed than while it was raging! I studied the first Apologetics Press lesson (posted earlier in the blog) with the kids this week - it is about the "Cause and Effect" argument for the reality of God - that there has to be a cause for the universe to happen, and that cause has to be before and greater than the effect.
These guys saw this cause and effect thing first hand - and it literally put the fear of God in them. I think that is why Jesus had them make the trip, because they needed to fear God more than they needed anything else. And then to make the association of fearing Jesus as God himself - I'm just sure their mouths were left hanging open.
What about you - do you need to fear Jesus more? I think too often we think of Jesus only as the sweet hippie looking guy who carries lambs on his shoulders and plays with little children. He's more than that though - as gentle as a lamb, but as fierce as a lion.
Once we got under way, we quickly realized that Joel had more reasons to scream, because the ocean was choppy and rough. The sailboat guy didn't seem to be too concerned, but we thought we were riding a wild horse instead of a sailboat. Joel was so completely and utterly freaked out that Jenette took him into the little cabin so at least the sailboat guy could concentrate on the rough waters without the toddler sonic blast. The sea became progressively more rough and the wind was amazing. I thought more than once that the whole boat was just going to be blown over into the waves. It was a perfectly miserable, frightening experience.
And it was the experience of the disciples. The Sea of Galilee is known for its fierce and fast approaching storms. They didn't know that on this particular day, a storm would come upon them quickly and without warning. But, its important to remember who commissioned this trip. Jesus was the one who said "let's go over to the other side." (Mark 4:35). I can't help but wonder if there was already a breeze in the air, or if the fisherman disciples cast nervous looks at each other.
These fishermen perhaps had seen these storms before and knew there wasn't much to do except to hold on and to pray. I think the interaction between the disciples and Jesus is really interesting here. First, they wake him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" or perhaps in other words, "quit sleeping because now is perfect time to panic!"
Jesus wakes up, speaks to the wind and waves "Quiet. Be still." And then to his disciples: "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Vs. 40)
Verse 41 says their response - "they were terrified!" Or as the KJV says so beautifully, "they feared exceedingly." Or how about the Young's Literal Translation that says "they feared a great fear."
How crazy is that? This story is a lesson in fear management. "Afraid" in verse 40 is about being timid or chicken. The "feared exceedingly" word in verse 41 is about sheer terror. One might say that these poor guys were more afraid after the storm was calmed than while it was raging! I studied the first Apologetics Press lesson (posted earlier in the blog) with the kids this week - it is about the "Cause and Effect" argument for the reality of God - that there has to be a cause for the universe to happen, and that cause has to be before and greater than the effect.
These guys saw this cause and effect thing first hand - and it literally put the fear of God in them. I think that is why Jesus had them make the trip, because they needed to fear God more than they needed anything else. And then to make the association of fearing Jesus as God himself - I'm just sure their mouths were left hanging open.
What about you - do you need to fear Jesus more? I think too often we think of Jesus only as the sweet hippie looking guy who carries lambs on his shoulders and plays with little children. He's more than that though - as gentle as a lamb, but as fierce as a lion.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7
1 comment:
Excellent posts and so glad to see you back at it :-)
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