"Boat Trip" 1-30-22
Overview
The Storm, the Sleeper, and the Savior in Your Boat
The Sea of Galilee sits nearly 700 feet below sea level, ringed by hills and cliffs and within thirty air miles of a 9,200-foot mountain. That geography produces sudden, violent storms—10-foot waves are not unheard of, even in modern times. Into this setting Mark 4:35-41 places Jesus and his disciples after a long day of teaching from a boat by the shore. The Greek word translated "windstorm" in verse 37 is rare, picturing something cyclonic—wind funneling down off the heights into the basin below. Archaeologists have recovered a first-century fishing vessel about 27 feet long, likely the kind of boat that was now being swamped beneath the disciples' feet.
And where was Jesus? Asleep in the stern on a cushion. This is the only time Scripture records Jesus sleeping. The disciples wake him with an accusation dressed as a question: "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He rebukes the wind, speaks peace to the sea, and there is a dead calm. Then comes the surprising turn: the text says they "feared a great fear." Their terror of the storm is now eclipsed by a deeper terror—the dawning awareness of who is actually in their boat. "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Anyone who knew the Psalms knew the answer. Psalm 65, Psalm 89, and Psalm 107 all declare that only God stills the raging sea. God was in their boat.
That kind of fear—the holy fear of being in God's presence—runs through Scripture. Abraham confesses he is "dust and ashes" Genesis 18:27. Manoah cries, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God" Judges 13:22. Isaiah cries, "Woe is me!" Isaiah 6:5. Peter pleads, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" Luke 5:8. John falls at the risen Christ's feet "as though dead" Revelation 1:17. To stand before God's perfection and power is to be confronted with our own sin—and to be undone.
But the gospel is that this same God climbs into the boat with us. The waters of baptism look deceptively calm, but when the Word of God is added to them, everything changes: Christ crucified for the sin of the world, the empty tomb, God for us and not against us. In baptism we are drowned and raised, washed and claimed, made his own. So whatever sea you find yourself on, hear this: he is in your boat. He loves you, forgives you, and has called you by name. Fear not.
Transcript
Would you open your Bibles, please, with me, to the Gospel of Mark the 4th chapter. 2s
If you're using a few edition of Holy Scripture, you're going to find that in the New Testament 8s
on page 33, Mark the 4th chapter for our study this morning. 12s
It is a rather large body of fresh water. 18s
It's nestled, 600 and 90 feet below sea level. 24s
That makes it the largest body of fresh water that sits that low in the entire world. 32s
Next to it and around it are hills and cliffs. 44s
But 30 air miles away is a mountain that is 92 hundred feet tall. 50s
With those unique circumstances, there can be winds that come down off of that mountain, 61s
and off of the cliffs and off of the hills into that fresh water, 68s
690 feet below sea level. 74s
This fresh water in the shape of a heart. 78s
And winds can come down and create quite a storm. 83s
In fact, in 1992, one of those storms occurred. 89s
10 foot waves were created. 94s
The sea of Galilee. 99s
And our text this morning tells us of one of those storms. 105s
Look with me, please. 114s
At verse 35 of chapter 4, 116s
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, 119s
let us go across to the other side. 122s
And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. 124s
Now the context here, it has been a full day of preaching for our Lord. 133s
Look over at chapter 4, verse 1. 138s
Again, he began to teach beside the sea, such a large crowd gathered around him 141s
that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there. 147s
While the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 150s
So after a full day of preaching, when evening had come, 156s
Jesus had decided to go to the eastern shore. 159s
The eastern shore was much less populated. 162s
The eastern shore would provide him with some time of rest. 166s
So off to the east side, they go. 172s
Then, verse 37, 179s
A great windstorm arose. 184s
The word there for windstorm in the Greek, it's a very rare word. 191s
The image is a cyclone type of storm. 196s
And notice the qualifier before that rare word. 200s
It is a great cyclone of wind, shooting down from the mountain and the cliffs and the hills 204s
into that body of water net nestled below. 214s
Going on at a verse 37, it says, and the waves beat into the boat so that the boat was already being swamped. 220s
Archaeologists discovered in a dig, an intact fishing vessel. 232s
They carbon-dated it turned out to be from the first century time of Jesus. 239s
It was 27 feet long. 244s
Most likely then, that's the type of boat that Jesus was in. 249s
Probably 27 foot long vessel. 254s
So it's not terribly large here. 258s
It's also not a rowboat, either. 261s
So we see the scene, right? 267s
Body of fresh water, the hills, the cliffs, the mountain, 30 air miles away. 270s
The wind coming down, creating one of those storms. 274s
The waves beating against the boat and swamping the boat. 280s
And where is Jesus? 289s
Verse 38. 294s
But he was in the stern asleep on the question. 297s
This is the only time in Holy Scripture that it refers to Jesus sleeping. 306s
Only time. 318s
Be here again in the parallel accounts in Matthew and Luke of the same story. 320s
Did Jesus sleep? 324s
Of course he did. 325s
Was it an interesting? 327s
At the only time, they reference him sleeping. 330s
Is a midst this type of storm. 333s
So let's break it down even further. 342s
We have the picture, right? 346s
Jesus, this leap, and the disciples. 349s
A freight. 357s
So at the only time, the disciples are going to be afraid. 362s
You know how that pops up in Scripture? 366s
Mark the 9th chapter. 370s
After Jesus had given his passion, prediction. 372s
After he's telling them, that which is going to occur that the cross is ahead. 375s
The Scripture says, but they did not understand what he was saying. 380s
And we're afraid to ask him. 384s
In Mark 14, different account than this when Peter is walking on the water. 389s
The Scripture says, but when he noticed the strong wind he became frightened and began to sink. 396s
He cried out, Lord, save me. 403s
Mark the 6th chapter. 406s
The story of the transfiguration where Jesus shows his post-easter glory before the cross. 407s
And before the resurrection, there's the inner circle there with him. 414s
Peter, James, and John, Moses and Elijah appear, communicating the law on the prophets pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, the anticipated one. 419s
And there's Peter with his mouth just running off. 432s
And the Scripture says, he did not know what to say for they were terrified. 435s
John, the 20th chapter, after the cross. 442s
When it was evening on that day the first day of the week and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews. 447s
We see example after example of times in Scripture where the disciples are just afraid. 458s
They're just afraid, but the fear here that's being experienced. 465s
The fear here in Mark 4th chapter, there's a twist to this fear. 472s
There's a twist to it. 481s
Conversation was really first level type of things. 488s
You know, whether sports that type of stuff. 494s
The conversation changed and the levels became deeper. 501s
And the question was posed. 511s
Do you ever get afraid? 515s
Are you over afraid? 519s
Before the answer could be given, the source of the question was revealed. 523s
But then even before a response could be given to that, there was a layering of what was communicated in terms of that which was 533s
causing fear. 543s
Leading up to that which then consumed all of the other fears. 547s
You have experienced that? 555s
Were you afraid of something or maybe multiple things? 558s
And then something else comes along and that fear is the fear that just just pushes the fear. 563s
This is everything out to where the fear that remains is this fear. 572s
You ever experienced that? 584s
Look, please, at verse 38. 589s
He was in the stern asleep on the cushion. 594s
They woke him up and said to him, 598s
teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? 602s
He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 607s
peace be still, then the wind ceased and there was a dead calm. 611s
He said to them, why are you afraid? 620s
And they were filled with great awe. 627s
To be honest with you, I'm not crazy about the translation here in the NRSV where it says, 637s
and they were filled with great awe and it's not really crazy about it. 644s
Because the literal Greek here says, they became very much afraid. 649s
See what the Greek shows is that there's a comparison between the fear that they were having with regard to the storm. 662s
And now this fear, which is now a greater fear, they were very much afraid all of a sudden. 671s
It had become calm, but now there even more afraid. 689s
And the rest of the verse says, and they were very much afraid and said to one another, 698s
who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? 706s
They look at Jesus and now they're more afraid. 718s
Did they know their scripture? 732s
Because in Psalm 65, it says, of God, you silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves. 736s
Did they know their scripture? 750s
Because in Psalm 89, it says, of God, you rule the raging of the sea when its waves rise, you still them. 752s
Did they know their scripture? 762s
Because in Psalm 107, it says, of God, he made the storm, it be still, and the waves, and the sea were hushed. 765s
The second part of verse 41 of our text, they said to one another, who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? 777s
Because there's only one that the wind and the sea obey, and it is God. 791s
It is the dawning awareness that God is in their boat, and they are more afraid. 802s
Of that than the storm that had threatened to drown them. 828s
You know when you look at scripture, that is a response that we hear and we see when people are in the presence of God. 847s
In Genesis, the 18th chapter, Abraham says, I'm dust and ashes. 860s
In Genesis, the 13th chapter, the father of Samson says, we shall surely die for we have seen God. 871s
When Isaiah receives the vision of the throne room of God recorded in Isaiah the 6th chapter, Isaiah says, 883s
Whoa is me, I am lost for I'm a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips. 890s
Yet my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. 899s
When Peter witnesses the whole of fish born out of the act of the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 5th chapter, 906s
Peter says, go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man. 917s
When John receiving the vision of Christ records in Revelation 1st chapter, when I saw him, I fell at his feet though dead. 922s
The dawning awareness that God was in there boat and in the presence of God in the presence of his perfection and his omnipotence 936s
and his power, all they had to put on display was their sinfulness and they were terrified. 963s
The day had finally come, the little one had gotten tall enough. 990s
I wonder if it was something that this little one would think about for a while. 1006s
When he thought that nobody else was looking, he took that new growth spurt and reached up with his hand over the lip of the baptismal font. 1012s
Now his hand could get in the water. 1030s
When he didn't think anybody else was looking, he splashed and splashed and splashed. 1039s
And the water went all over the place and he was filled with joy. 1055s
When you look at the waters of baptism, you look at the water in the font. 1070s
It is deceptively calm, isn't it? 1076s
But when the word of God is added to the water, that stirs things up, doesn't it? 1085s
The word of the gospel, that the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and bore the sin of the world. 1095s
The word of the gospel, that the tomb of Christ is empty. 1105s
The word of the gospel that God is not against us, but that God is for us. 1111s
And we are splashed in the promises of God in our baptism. 1120s
We're drowned in our baptism and raised to newness of life. 1128s
We are washed and made clean and we are claimed. 1134s
We are made as a people in Christ. 1140s
The dawning awareness of the one in their boat. 1148s
That awareness of who he is is revealed throughout Scripture clearly. 1161s
The one who dies and rises for us. 1167s
The one who claims us with a splash and wave of his grace. 1179s
Beloved, he is in your boat. 1195s
He's in your boat. 1207s
Whatever the sea may be that you are on, he's in your boat. 1211s
And he loves you and forgives you and has called you his own. 1220s
He's in your boat. 1239s
Fear not. 1245s
Fear not. 1257s