Yesterday we began to look at Mark 4:35-41, one of my favorite lessons in the lives of the disciples – the calming of the storm. In their obedience to follow Jesus’ command to “go over to the other side,” they had ended up in a great storm, one described by Matthew with the word, “seismos,” an earthquake on the sea.
While the disciples were fighting the elements, Jesus, exhausted, was asleep in the stern, resting on a pillow. Finally, when it appeared they were about to sink, they woke Him up, chastising Him for His seeming lack of care. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?“ [v 38 NIV]
I love the people of the Bible, they are so real! Under the same circumstances, I would have done the same thing. And bless our sweet Jesus, He calms the storm. But then He does something else, He asks them where their faith was. They had heard Him teach many times, seen miracle after miracle, and even seen Him raise the dead. Did they think He was now going to let them drown?
Faith will always be tested. It’s not enough to merely hear a teaching, learn it intellectually, or even be able to repeat it. The lessons of God must be put into practical experience. What we hear from God’s Word must govern our daily walk with Him.
Jesus knew the storm was coming that night. It was part of that day’s lesson. The disciples had listened to His teachings, but had they learned them? The storm provided that opportunity.
Tomorrow – the greatest danger was not the storm.
