7
Calming the Storm
Mark 4:26-31
Mark 4:26 And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
27 “and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
28 “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
29 “But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
What a great picture of God's invisible work as He gives life, eternal life, and expands His kingdom. Without God's work in the background, all of our laboring (sowing, preparing soil etc.) would be in vain.
And to me, it is amazing that, in God's eternal plan, He would call us co-laborers with Him.
I Corinthians 3.9 For we are labourers together with God:
Could God do this without us? Of course. Then why doesn't He? Because He is giving us an opportunity to be rewarded by Him.
How humbling it is to know that God would actually work with me, a depraved human, broken by sin, doing things that I should not do, failing to do things that I should do, yet washed by the blood of Jesus.
The apostle Paul illustrates how this all works.
1Co 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
And, next is a parable that Jesus gives us regarding the growth of the Kingdom over the centuries and millennia.
30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?
31 “It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;
32 “but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
Jesus is equipping His apostles and disciples for the work of evangelism. As they heard each parable and worked at applying each truth, they were growing up spiritually. Our growth as disciples is almost as important today. Jesus is not here in person to ‘equip’ us for service, but the Holy Spirit it. Paul shows us this in his letter to the Ephesian church. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, Eph 4:11-12.
Paul shows us that God gifted certain ones for particular tasks in the church. The last ones in Paul’s list is the gifting of pastors and teachers. Their gifts will equip all of us ‘saints’ for the work of ministry. The ministry about which Paul is speaking, we say, is spelled with a small ‘m’. That is, all of us believers, have a part in ministering or serving and the bottom line is, in that sense we are all ministers having a part in the growth of the church. We are having a part in the spread of the branches of the mustard plant.
I cannot comment definitively about the birds who are nesting in the branches of the mustard tree, but to say, throughout the last centuries the church has benefited others in the world who are not actually a part of the tree. This has been both good and bad. Communities have been blessed in various ways. But
33 And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.
I find the word ‘many’ interesting. The ministry of Jesus covered a period of about three and a half years. The chapter we are studying takes place about half way through that time period. Mark uses the word ‘many’ to describe the number of times that Jesus would use a miracle in His teaching. The following verse adds this qualification.
34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
So the number of parables could easily be in the hundreds. And the vast majority of them we do not have included in scripture. Apostle John adds this statement at the end of his book
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John 21:25
And even though John is referring to miracles of Jesus, the same would hold true in the case of His use of parables.
34b And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
Jesus and the disciples put in some very long days. Is there a cost to being a disciple of Jesus? Yes there is. Jesus even said on one occasion, Matt 16. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Are you a follower of Jesus? Yes there is a cost in this life.
Now we come to a section where the information that Mark shares with us puts a ‘miracle’ that we all have likely heard more than one, into a fresh perspective.
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him! “
Jesus has just spent the greatest part of the day in this boat. By reading back a number of verses we get a detailed look at Jesus’ full schedule. So full in fact, that His own family were wondering if he was mentally ok. So now it is evening. For some reason Jesus wanted to go across the sea of Galilee.
And Jesus takes this time to get a bit of rest. He falls asleep in fact. A sudden storm comes up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Some have commented on the unpredictability of sudden storms on that sea. Others have said that evening storms are common there.
I don't know anything about that, but what I do know is that the Prince and power of the air is Satan. He has tried to kill the Messiah in the past. He had Herod murder all of the baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. That scheme did not work.
Is this Satan's chance to take another swing at Jesus and kill Him so that He cannot go to the cross and become our Saviour?
The apostles who were with Jesus are terrified as would be the people in the other boats that were making the same trip. Do they have reason to be terrified? Why does Jesus reprimand them for their insufficient faith? Were they supposed to be believing that their faith could quell the storm?
Faith, by the way, is the word, ‘pistos’ in the Greek scriptures. The Greek word for ‘believe’ is also ‘pistos’. English translators interchanged ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ at their own discretion, when, in their view, one word made better sense to them. But knowing that belief and faith are one and the same in the Greek scriptures is helpful to us. It makes more sense to ask, ‘What were the disciples supposed to believe?’.
The choices are …
Throughout scripture promises are made to believers. But it is up to us to ‘rightly divide the Word of Truth’ so that we can determine if a ‘promise’ was for that particular believer only (as in God promising Abraham a son) or whether the promise was clearly for national Israel (such as humbling ourselves and praying so that God would heal our land. That one was particularly for Israel and not for Canada) etc.
Only by a regular and careful reading of the Psalms in the Old Testament, only by understanding whether Jesus was giving particular promises to His apostles only or would they be promises to His whole church etc., only by a careful study should we claim the promise for ourselves.
Our faith must be based on what God in His word says He will do. Generic faith that everything will be ok is not all that effective.
Now, having said that, Jesus has commended a certain type of prayer that clearly is not based upon any promise at all. He gives us the example of the person we have come to call the Importunate Widow. In this account we learn that the widow was persistent in going before a judge to plead her case. She would not give up. When the judge realized the woman would not go away, he finally judged in her favor.
Luke 18:1 ¶ Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
3 “Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’
4 “And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
5 ‘yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
8 “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Jesus commends that kind of persistence. In our case it would be a matter of ‘believing’ that God CAN. But at the same time we have no assurance that He WILL. God looks at our desperate case and answers according to His mercy and His knowledge of what is best in the long run.
In some cases the Lord avenges speedily. In all cases His answer is right on time, even if, to us, He is four days late.
Re 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Do we have any ‘storms’ in our lives that have been raging? Only Jesus can say, Peace! Be still! And He will, based on His compassion, based on what is necessary for us, based on His eternal purposes that He is working out through our lives.
Here are some of God’s promises and responses to our pain and desperation and desires of our hearts.
Ps 126:5 Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.
What kinds of situations drive us to tears? The very most serious are those that affect eternity. An unsaved friend, sibling or child. God gives us this promise.
Ps 126:6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.
There will be situations where we do not get the answer that we want. David was experiencing that. His consolation had to be based on God’s justice, fairness and love. David said,
Psalm 56:8 ¶ You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?
And we have this final hope for the love and mercy of God in relation to all of our pain.
Re 7:17 “for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
27 “and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
28 “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
29 “But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
What a great picture of God's invisible work as He gives life, eternal life, and expands His kingdom. Without God's work in the background, all of our laboring (sowing, preparing soil etc.) would be in vain.
And to me, it is amazing that, in God's eternal plan, He would call us co-laborers with Him.
I Corinthians 3.9 For we are labourers together with God:
Could God do this without us? Of course. Then why doesn't He? Because He is giving us an opportunity to be rewarded by Him.
How humbling it is to know that God would actually work with me, a depraved human, broken by sin, doing things that I should not do, failing to do things that I should do, yet washed by the blood of Jesus.
The apostle Paul illustrates how this all works.
1Co 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
And, next is a parable that Jesus gives us regarding the growth of the Kingdom over the centuries and millennia.
30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?
31 “It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;
32 “but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
Jesus is equipping His apostles and disciples for the work of evangelism. As they heard each parable and worked at applying each truth, they were growing up spiritually. Our growth as disciples is almost as important today. Jesus is not here in person to ‘equip’ us for service, but the Holy Spirit it. Paul shows us this in his letter to the Ephesian church. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, Eph 4:11-12.
Paul shows us that God gifted certain ones for particular tasks in the church. The last ones in Paul’s list is the gifting of pastors and teachers. Their gifts will equip all of us ‘saints’ for the work of ministry. The ministry about which Paul is speaking, we say, is spelled with a small ‘m’. That is, all of us believers, have a part in ministering or serving and the bottom line is, in that sense we are all ministers having a part in the growth of the church. We are having a part in the spread of the branches of the mustard plant.
I cannot comment definitively about the birds who are nesting in the branches of the mustard tree, but to say, throughout the last centuries the church has benefited others in the world who are not actually a part of the tree. This has been both good and bad. Communities have been blessed in various ways. But
33 And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.
I find the word ‘many’ interesting. The ministry of Jesus covered a period of about three and a half years. The chapter we are studying takes place about half way through that time period. Mark uses the word ‘many’ to describe the number of times that Jesus would use a miracle in His teaching. The following verse adds this qualification.
34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
So the number of parables could easily be in the hundreds. And the vast majority of them we do not have included in scripture. Apostle John adds this statement at the end of his book
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John 21:25
And even though John is referring to miracles of Jesus, the same would hold true in the case of His use of parables.
34b And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
Jesus and the disciples put in some very long days. Is there a cost to being a disciple of Jesus? Yes there is. Jesus even said on one occasion, Matt 16. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Are you a follower of Jesus? Yes there is a cost in this life.
Now we come to a section where the information that Mark shares with us puts a ‘miracle’ that we all have likely heard more than one, into a fresh perspective.
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.
37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him! “
Jesus has just spent the greatest part of the day in this boat. By reading back a number of verses we get a detailed look at Jesus’ full schedule. So full in fact, that His own family were wondering if he was mentally ok. So now it is evening. For some reason Jesus wanted to go across the sea of Galilee.
And Jesus takes this time to get a bit of rest. He falls asleep in fact. A sudden storm comes up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Some have commented on the unpredictability of sudden storms on that sea. Others have said that evening storms are common there.
I don't know anything about that, but what I do know is that the Prince and power of the air is Satan. He has tried to kill the Messiah in the past. He had Herod murder all of the baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. That scheme did not work.
Is this Satan's chance to take another swing at Jesus and kill Him so that He cannot go to the cross and become our Saviour?
The apostles who were with Jesus are terrified as would be the people in the other boats that were making the same trip. Do they have reason to be terrified? Why does Jesus reprimand them for their insufficient faith? Were they supposed to be believing that their faith could quell the storm?
Faith, by the way, is the word, ‘pistos’ in the Greek scriptures. The Greek word for ‘believe’ is also ‘pistos’. English translators interchanged ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ at their own discretion, when, in their view, one word made better sense to them. But knowing that belief and faith are one and the same in the Greek scriptures is helpful to us. It makes more sense to ask, ‘What were the disciples supposed to believe?’.
The choices are …
- they were supposed to believe that everything was going to be ok.
- Or they were supposed to believe Jesus’ own words, “We are going to the other side."
Throughout scripture promises are made to believers. But it is up to us to ‘rightly divide the Word of Truth’ so that we can determine if a ‘promise’ was for that particular believer only (as in God promising Abraham a son) or whether the promise was clearly for national Israel (such as humbling ourselves and praying so that God would heal our land. That one was particularly for Israel and not for Canada) etc.
Only by a regular and careful reading of the Psalms in the Old Testament, only by understanding whether Jesus was giving particular promises to His apostles only or would they be promises to His whole church etc., only by a careful study should we claim the promise for ourselves.
Our faith must be based on what God in His word says He will do. Generic faith that everything will be ok is not all that effective.
Now, having said that, Jesus has commended a certain type of prayer that clearly is not based upon any promise at all. He gives us the example of the person we have come to call the Importunate Widow. In this account we learn that the widow was persistent in going before a judge to plead her case. She would not give up. When the judge realized the woman would not go away, he finally judged in her favor.
Luke 18:1 ¶ Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.
3 “Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’
4 “And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,
5 ‘yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.
7 “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
8 “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Jesus commends that kind of persistence. In our case it would be a matter of ‘believing’ that God CAN. But at the same time we have no assurance that He WILL. God looks at our desperate case and answers according to His mercy and His knowledge of what is best in the long run.
In some cases the Lord avenges speedily. In all cases His answer is right on time, even if, to us, He is four days late.
Re 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Do we have any ‘storms’ in our lives that have been raging? Only Jesus can say, Peace! Be still! And He will, based on His compassion, based on what is necessary for us, based on His eternal purposes that He is working out through our lives.
Here are some of God’s promises and responses to our pain and desperation and desires of our hearts.
Ps 126:5 Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.
What kinds of situations drive us to tears? The very most serious are those that affect eternity. An unsaved friend, sibling or child. God gives us this promise.
Ps 126:6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.
There will be situations where we do not get the answer that we want. David was experiencing that. His consolation had to be based on God’s justice, fairness and love. David said,
Psalm 56:8 ¶ You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?
And we have this final hope for the love and mercy of God in relation to all of our pain.
Re 7:17 “for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”