A Blossom Bible Podcast
A Blossom Bible Podcast
Mark 4:35-41 Jesus in the Storms: Finding Faith and Resilience Amidst Life's Turbulence
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Can a storm on the Sea of Galilee offer more than just a lesson in weather? Join us as we uncover the profound teachings hidden within the biblical storms, beginning with the vivid account in Mark 4:35 where Jesus calms the turbulent seas. We don’t stop there; we journey through other monumental storms in the Bible, such as Noah’s flood signifying divine judgment, Jonah’s struggle with rebellion, and Paul’s shipwreck, which becomes a powerful moment of witness and ministry. Through these narratives, we reflect on how storms in the Bible echo the trials and tribulations we face in life, teaching us about judgment, correction, and divine purpose.
Feeling overwhelmed and unsure, just like the disciples during a tempest? We explore the very human side of Jesus—His moments of exhaustion and need, which made Him relatable to His followers. Drawing from Nehemiah's advice to remember God's greatness amidst challenges, we find comfort in knowing that God’s perspective is eternal and His control absolute. Analyzing the story where Jesus calms the storm, we gain insights into overcoming our own fears and uncertainties, trusting in God’s unwavering power and plan when everything seems chaotic.
Our journey through the storms culminates in a reflection on the boundless love of God and His salvation plan through Jesus Christ. Key scriptures like Romans 5:8 and John 3:16-17 illuminate how profound and purposeful God’s love is, even amidst life’s fiercest storms. We emphasize that faith in this love provides strength and reassurance, guiding us safely to our eternal destination. This episode invites you to embrace faith, find resilience, and feel the ever-present divine support, no matter how tumultuous your journey may be.
All right, we are in Mark, chapter 4, verse 35, right, and Jesus has been educating his disciples. He's pulled away from some of the crowds and really focused on teaching his disciples. He's done it through parables, illustrations, earthly illustrations of heavenly truths. It really required his disciples to come to him afterward and ask for some clarification. Very personal things, those parables. Jesus is going to continue the education, but here we're going to see it's a little field trip out onto the Sea of Galilee. He's still teaching them, he's still instructing them, but it's through different means, it's hands-on education.
Speaker 1:Here it's a lesson through the storm. Right, we're familiar with these passages, storms in the Bible. Storms we just by default can understand are illustrative of trials or difficulties in our life. So we're looking at a storm and in it we're applying to our own lives. So there are storms in life, but let's consider before we jump into it. Let's consider some storms through the Bible, because there's probably more than we really even think about Storms.
Speaker 1:Genesis, chapter 6. You don't have to turn there, but Genesis, chapter 6, we meet Noah and we understand Noah went through a storm, right, the granddaddy of all storms, the flood. You know, and there's no question in that point, that that storm was a real storm. That happened, a real flood that happened. But the storm represented judgment. Right, god told Noah, I'm going to judge this place. The world was filled with violence and every thought and intent A man's heart was wickedness. Right, god told Noah, I'm going to judge this place. The world was filled with violence and every thought and intent A man's heart was wickedness Always. There was some weird spiritual stuff going on in Genesis, chapter six as well. And God tells Noah I'm destroying this place. I want you to build a boat to see you through, and God, in his mercy and his grace, gives the planet 120 years. People lived a lot longer, but that was the time. It seems that Noah building the ark was a preacher of righteousness in his world. 120 years, god gave the heads up, turn from your sin and your violence and turn back to me. And he gave him a chance. Everybody had as much chance as everybody else, and yet only Noah and his family listened to God Only really Noah, it seems, feared God and the storm of judgment came and the world was judged. One storm we see. Another storm we see is a little further on in the book. It's Jonah.
Speaker 1:Right, jonah had his share of storms and it's a little different variety. We could say that storms are difficulties and trials in life. But if we look at Jonah, difficulties and trials in life. But if we look at Jonah, he went through a storm unnecessarily. Right, if he had gone to Nineveh, as God had told him to, no boat would be involved in that trip. It was a land trip. So it wasn't just that he, you know, could have got on the boat and gone anywhere. He went the opposite direction, to Tarshish, and in his stubbornness and rebellion to what God wanted for him, he finds himself in a storm. Right, so some storms are just sheer judgment. Other storms are correction, right, jonah's a good example of that. Needlessly went through that storm, needlessly, swallowed by the big fish, you know, needlessly through that difficult thing. But God was stubborn enough to get stubborn Jonah to go the right direction. Now you read the book and he never quite recovers from his stubbornness. Right, he's the end of the book. He's still stubborn, with his arms crossed, it seems. But sometimes storms in our life, difficulties in our life, our own doing, we had no reason to go there. And yet we said God, you know what, this is where I'm going and this is what I'm doing. And the storm comes and God in his goodness wants to bring us back to the right place, the correct place in our life. So storms can sometimes be because of our own stubbornness and rebellion, and God sends us through them.
Speaker 1:But Acts, chapter 27, one more variety of storm before we get to our passage. Acts, chapter 27, we see Paul and, as far as we can tell, paul does all the things that God wanted him to do. His conscience is clear. He's gone to Jerusalem. There in Jerusalem, he's been arrested. There he contests to Caesar and he finds himself on a boat going to Rome. On that trip to Rome it seems to be this is God's purpose On that trip to Rome, paul finds himself in a storm there off the coast of Malta, and the boat is totally destroyed.
Speaker 1:The people head into the shore, everybody survives that shipwreck. But the storm brings them to this island of Malta and their terrifying situation. Right, paul, trying to be a servant on that cold night, he's grabbing firewood. As he grabs firewood and throws it on the fire a viper you never know when they're sneaking up on you say their name. Right, a viper attaches to his arm and God preserves him through that and the people on Malta, there, they say, wow, this guy must have been well initially. They say, wow, this guy must have been oh. Well, initially they say he must have been an evil person because the gods are judging him. Then he survives and they go, wow, he's like, he's like one of the gods or something, and they, they worship him almost, and paul sets him straight. And here's the thing that storm was an opportunity, an opportunity to show a witness to those people. I mean, it was a sidetrack, of course, to the island of Malta, but those people got to hear the truth and God used the storm to bring Paul where he was supposed to be. Well, this is a different kind of storm.
Speaker 1:Here In Mark, chapter 4, verse 35, as Jesus has been teaching and healing and working with people, verse 35 says this On the same day, when evening had come, jesus said to them Let us cross over to the other side, the other side of the Sea of Galilee, kind of like a big lake, the Sea of Galilee. Now, when they had left the multitude, they took him that's Jesus, along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him. Picture that, if you want. And a great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But Jesus 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? So Jesus, here, after teaching, he tells his disciples Next lesson, let's go over to the other side of this lake, the Sea of Galilee, and you know the story there A storm just rises up.
Speaker 1:Jesus is asleep on a pillow because he's just exhausted. That's the humanity of Jesus there, god in flesh, the humanity of Jesus, exhausted, he's asleep, and a storm comes out of nowhere. Now you can YouTube this and see storms come out of nowhere on the Sea of Galilee. The geography makes it very possible 10-foot waves and of course you know, over the centuries we probably had a chance for bigger waves than that. 10-foot waves that were enough to make a team of mostly fishermen scared to death. Right, and they say very honestly they say do you not care that we are perishing? We're about ready to be destroyed is what that word is. Don't you care? But they were really scared. Let's just give them that. They thought they were going to die. They thought it was sure they were going to die and these are some salty fishermen, right, you know. And they were scared to death and this is where we find them in this storm there on the Sea of Galilee.
Speaker 1:Jesus kind of reiterates how scared they really were in verse 40. He said why are you so fearful? How is it you have no faith? Fearful, cowardly, is what that word means. Jesus is able to tell them you guys are a bunch of cowards. You're crying like babies. And they were. And Jesus asked them why do you fear through the storm? And we could say, well, they thought they were. And Jesus asked them why do you fear through the storm? And we could say, well, they thought they were going to die.
Speaker 1:But we can have a lot of good reasons in this. As we kind of picture it, what would make you scared in any kind of storm? The storms of life, even right. Check this out A couple of reasons. The storms of life, even right. Check this out a couple reasons. The uncertainty of the situation, right, uncertainty, a certain dread of what might happen to them they didn't know. That's why you get scared in a movie. Right, you're watching a movie, which I'm not advocating that you watch a scary movie, but we've watched them right and the music starts to get all tense or, even worse, there is no music, right. That's even worse, you know, and the person is walking down the dark hallway and the uncertainty of what might pop out of the side there and get them.
Speaker 1:I like predictability in life. I am as conservative in that sense as you can imagine. I like predictability in life. I am as conservative in that sense as you can imagine. I like predictability. I'm okay with schedules in my week. I know what to expect, because that's the way it always looks.
Speaker 1:Uncertainty in life, the fact that we have no idea what this week might look like, that can scare us. And when the storms come down, that's what makes them terrifying is that we did not expect it to be like that. There's a certain fear in storms when things seem out of control. Right, you know, I'm kind of resigned in life to pay bills. That's part of life. But when I get more than I expected, you know, and there's this, this, you know, out of control, feeling for things, that's when life gets terrifying. You know, I can, you know, do the predictable work in my life, but when that changes it's terrifying. I'm okay driving down a mountain. I don't have too many of those here. When I go back to California I usually realize how much slope there is. You know, this is crazy and it's just a little bit of slope and I'm like look at these mountains, you know. But you know I'm okay driving down mountains. If you've ever come back from the mountains, you know. And you're driving down the mountains. But when the brakes stop working like they should, that's terrifying, right. When you're out of control, it gets really freaky, and that's the nature of storms.
Speaker 1:When things seem out of control, and storms can logically bring us to the same question that the disciples asked in verse 38. Teacher, do you not care that we're perishing? Don't you care God? Don't you see me here going through what I'm going through? Do you not care? And I love that because that's a pretty risky question to ask God. It feels like at least Don't you care God? Now, that's how the disciples felt and I really do think Jesus was not offended by that question. You know, if it were me right, it wasn't. But you know God in flesh. And somebody said don't you even care about me? I go yep, I'll show you. Don't care, you know whatever. Tip the boat over or something you know. It's like how dare you say that to me? You know, but God doesn't get offended by our questions. You know. You really can, in the middle of the storm, yell like these guys say God, don't you even care that I'm dying here, I'm going to be destroyed, the water's up to here. You know, and, and God is okay with that kind of statement, that kind of question, that kind of question, don't you even care. And, and you know, there's Jesus.
Speaker 1:Though this is what they perceive, there's Jesus asleep, right, and again we see the humanity of Jesus. He wasn't faking it. I don't think you know what I mean. It wasn't like he was just, like you know, one eye open. Like you know, he really was asleep because he was exhausted in his flesh. We read other points in the gospels where it says that Jesus was hungry. Those are real things in a human life and Jesus was right there.
Speaker 1:And so, picture it, there's Jesus. Did he snore? I don't think it's wrong to say he might have snored, but picture the way I am. So many times my kids catch me sleeping. All the time I have become my father when it comes to watching movies. I really intended to watch the movie.
Speaker 1:But before long, jesus fell asleep, and we can get the idea that a person doesn't care when they fall asleep during times like that, and maybe it's just because we're tired, right. But anyways, the disciples see it and they feel it and they say it Don't you even care what we're going through? And again, jesus is not offended. But these are all things that are part of the storm, right, we can feel uncertainty in the storm. We can feel like we're out of control. We can feel like God doesn't even care about what we're going through. It's at that point where we have to really remember who God is and how he feels about us. Let's well, you read it on your own in the future, but Nehemiah is a great book.
Speaker 1:Nehemiah comes back to me all the time through my life, because Nehemiah was doing a good work and times got hard for Nehemiah and the people there in Jerusalem as they were rebuilding the city and attack came and ridicule came from the enemies of God and all these different things, and the people got really frustrated. And Nehemiah says something a verse again, that's been part of my life for a while now Nehemiah, chapter 4, verse 14. He says this and I looked and I rose and I said to the nobles, to the leaders and the rest of the people they were frustrated. Right, do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome. And this is good advice from Nehemiah. They were scared, right? You don't tell somebody, don't be afraid if they're not afraid, right. And Nehemiah says don't be afraid, remember the Lord. That's the problem that you're having right now. You've forgotten God and through storms we easily lose sight of God's heart towards us. I think we all do, and it's important that we take time to remember who God is Great and awesome. Nehemiah says through the uncertainty, right, remember that God is eternal. That's one of those key attributes of God he's eternal.
Speaker 1:Now, check it out. Come back here for a second. Check it out as we read through this. You know we look at our bible in in our bible not in the original text, but it says there. In mine, it says wind and wave obey jesus. So even before we jump into this story, this account, we know how it's going to end. If you've been in church for a while, you know how this story is going to end. Jesus is going to calm everything. Now, check it out. This is God's perspective on life. We actually have an eternal perspective of what it's like for God as we read this. Because as I head into this, I could skip down to verse 39 and I could see there. Then Jesus arose, rebuked the wind and the sea and said peace be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Even before I jump into the storm, I could skip down and, in God's perception of things, I could say I know what he's going to do. He's going to calm the storm. I could look on and say you know, I know that these guys are going to make it through this storm. I know that that's God's eternal perspective on life.
Speaker 1:As you look through the Bible, you get to the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is not something that we hope is going to happen. This is something that will happen. In the eternal mind of God. We could say it already has happened. It's that certain right. So God knows how the story is going to end. I am very uncertain in my life, but God, he knows. He's eternal, he knows all the ins and outs. A story is already written, the ins and outs. The story is already written.
Speaker 1:Ephesians 2, verse 6, says this about us as believers and he raised us together and made us sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. I think that that means that if you're a believer, you're in Christ, you're already there, you're ready to the finish line in one sense. Now, of course, you still got choices to make and a life to live, don't worry. But in God's mind we've already made it to the finish line. I don't know how it works, I'm not eternal, but I mean this is the certainty of God and what's going to happen. There's no questions in his mind what he's going to do. His plan is to bring us through, to get us through. So remembering God's eternal nature helps us with uncertainty.
Speaker 1:In storms we feel out of control. Right, things come into my life that are beyond my control. Well, god is all powerful. I love it used to be said if you can believe Genesis, chapter one, verse one, you won't have any problem with the rest of the Bible. Genesis one one in the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth. So you look at that in that real simple verse there and you say, well, is there anything too hard for God? No, if he created the heavens and the earth with a word, there's nothing that can come into my life that he can't handle Now. It doesn't mean that he always does things our way. In fact, most of the time it seems he doesn't. He has something else in mind.
Speaker 1:But that's where we come to this last question about the storm, verse 38, don't you care, god, don't you care that we're perishing, we're being destroyed, it's all falling apart, and whether we feel it or not, the truth of the Bible is that God absolutely cares. I mean, for reals, if you look at it, we got ourselves into all the trouble. We ran to sin. Adam sinned, creation fell, death entered the world, and God would have been totally just to just say, well, take two, let's find another one, you know they're done for. And God would have been totally just to just say, well, take two, let's find another one, you know they're done for. And we would have deserved it.
Speaker 1:But yet God, from before time began, had a plan to save us. Because he had to, no, but because he wanted to and because he loved us for no good reason. Romans 5, 8,. God demonstrates his own love towards us, that, while we were yet sinners, christ died for us, and we can read that, we can memorize that, but to really realize God loves you and you know you like. I know me right. I'm not that lovable, I don't have a very true heart to God. And yet God, in spite of how evil and wicked we all can be selfish we can all be God loves us and he saved us, not when we were good, but when we were dead Dead in sin and trespasses. God loves us. Now, this is a good one to turn to, because you know it.
Speaker 1:Let's turn to John, chapter 3. You can see it coming now. John, chapter 3, verse 16. John 3, 16. And you're all flashing back to Sunday school when you memorize this verse John 3.16. This is a verse that you've probably heard, might have memorized, but we have to remember this truth, write it in our hearts. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Speaker 1:Now check out verse 17, just as powerful. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through him, might be saved. And so in these two verses, in basic terms, we see the heart of God. God loved the world. But that's not really what it says, right? Look down at verse 16. God so loved I mean the word, so doesn't have to be there. Love, I mean the word, so doesn't have to be there. Right, god loved the world, true God so loved, so much loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. He came and saved us. Notice verse 17. This is God's heart. God didn't send his son in the world to condemn the world.
Speaker 1:The reason why Jesus came wasn't to point fingers at us when we're wrong. Because we're wrong, we're all wrong, we're all messed up, no matter where we come from or what we've done. We're all messed up. The Bible says but Jesus didn't come to condemn us. He didn't just come here to say you guys are wrong and you know what Judgment's coming. He came notice that the world through him might be saved, provided a way for us to be saved. But he didn't have to. But it was his love that brought him to that.
Speaker 1:And if God loves us enough this is Bible truth, right If God loves us enough to take care of our salvation, he loves us enough through the storms, even if we don't feel it or know it or think it. We have to trust. God loves me, jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me. So right, sing the song, it's fine. God loves us, does he care? He cares. Now we ought to know that God doesn't always do things our way, but he will get us to the other side. Uh, notice back in Mark, chapter four. Mark, chapter four. This is what Jesus says in verse 35. Let us cross over to the other side. That was Jesus' plan and intention, that they get to the other side. And they did get to the other side.
Speaker 1:Now, again, just to prove the point that God doesn't always do things our way, I want to just sort of spoil next week's study and look at chapter five. You know, if we're thinking that. You know, the other side of the lake was an all-inclusive resort, it wasn't Verse one. Then they came to the other side oh, just like Jesus said, of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes Is that a nice place?
Speaker 1:And when they had come out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling with the tombs and no one could bind him, or not even with chains, because he'd up and bound with shackles and chains and the chains been pulled apart by him, the shackles broken in pieces. Neither could anyone tame him, and day or night he was in the mountains on tombs crying and cutting himself with stones. And the guy is demon possessed. We know him as the man with the legion of demons. It's freaky, right, but this is the other side. Oh, that's encouraging, right Through the storm, to the demonessed people on the other side.
Speaker 1:Well, god knows what our education is meant to be right, and this is their education, as much as the parables, you know, god knows what the next step in our education is. It's not to destroy us, but it's to teach us. And through the storm the disciples will learn one thing. Through the demons, they'll learn another thing about Jesus. But the deal is that God will get us to the other side. Now again, considering where they went, that's not necessarily encouraging, but one day all of us will get to the other side, heaven. Right, all of us will get to heaven. If we trusted in Jesus, we put all of our chips on Jesus, so to speak, our whole life on him, trusted him for our salvation, you will make it to heaven, we'll make it to the other side, and there's no question about it, and that's good, good news. God will see us through, but in the meantime he allows us to go through storms, and we don't like it. It's not the trip we would have chosen for ourselves, but through it we get to learn things that we never knew before.
Speaker 1:Look at it again how Jesus resolves this in verse 39. Jesus arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea peace be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. So Jesus silences the wind and the sea. I like how it's stated here. Jesus spoke to the waves and to the wind right, kind of strange. Now notice he says peace be still. So you know the way I used to put this out when I was reading the story to my kids early on in their life. I said we would shake, right, you know, the storm would come. And the wind came, and the storm came, and I have him on my lap and I'd be shaking him back and forth and then I'd say and then Jesus said peace be still. And that's how the story went every single time through the book. But that's not exactly true. I'm a liar.
Speaker 1:Jesus' words here are actually a little harsher. He tells the wind and the waves be muzzled, hush or other things that we may not want our kids to say like, shut up, right. That's essentially what Jesus tells the wind and the waves, and I guess you can do that. He does that with the demons earlier on in our story, the book of Mark. He does that with the waves here. I guess demons and waves you can be harsh like that, but that's what Jesus says and they listen and it's so crazy. Notice it says there was a great calm and the word great there is the same word that's used for a great storm A mega storm came, a mega calm came. What was that like when the mega calm comes into your life, man, it'd be nice, right, the mega calm.
Speaker 1:There was this painting. There was this painting at Calvary Vista that we had in our office and it was of the storm and I actually love that painting. It was really cool. It was a storm and half of the storm, and I actually love that painting. It was really cool. It was a storm and half of the half of the painting was calm and the other half was still getting there.
Speaker 1:Right, the waves were kind of dying down and the disciples are like at the oars and they got these crazy looks on their faces. You know, they're like ah, you know, it's kind of like the old Rembrandt painting and stuff like their faces are all distorted. And then the guy in the front of the boat, you know, it's kind of like the old Rembrandt painting and stuff like their faces are all distorted. And then the guy in the front of the boat, you know, as the waves just come down and the wind stops and it's like clear skies over, he's got these crazy eyes, you know, and he's looking out and he's almost more amazed at the calm than the storm. Right, and it's a really cool picture there.
Speaker 1:Can you imagine, as they're like we're gonna die, they're yelling we're gonna die. And then all at once it gets quiet. They're like we're gonna, we didn't die, you know. And it's a surprise, and there's a great calm, an abnormal, supernatural calm on the sea. Boy, that sounds nice, doesn't it? And then verse 40, jesus kind of rebukes them a little bit. Why are you so fearful? Why have you no faith? Good question, verse 41,. And they feared exceedingly and said to one another who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? So they were scared that they were going to die in the storm. But then they got a little freaked out when they saw that Jesus just told the waves to be quiet. And they did. And they go whoa, he is not just a teacher, he's, you know, not just a philosopher or a rabbi. He's something else, man who can tell the waves to be quiet. And they do. And they were even more scared at that point than they were in the storm because they knew Jesus for who he was.
Speaker 1:But this is our education, right? God allows us to go through storms in life and we don't like them. Various storms. I think chapter five is a storm as well. It's, you know, spiritual storm there. But through. That is the only way we really get to know Jesus. You can know Jesus through facts. Right, if you pulled up some facts on Wikipedia, they might be true. You know, you can get some facts about who Jesus is. But check it out. When you really experience him in your life, you go. I know who Jesus is. He's kind to me. Oh man, he saved me when I thought I was going to die. Man, he was with me when I thought everybody else was against me. I know Jesus and that's where his disciples are and of course, that's where God wants to bring us to through the difficulties and the storms of life is that we know him better. Continued education.
Speaker 1:God, none of us look forward to storms in life, but they do come. It's the nature of this place. And there's uncertainty and, god, we feel like things are out of control and, god, sometimes we even doubt that you really do care about us. And yet, god, you prove Yourself. I just pray that you would strengthen our faith in these things. God, that prove yourself. I just pray that you would strengthen our faith in these things, god, that we would know you more. God, I pray that you prepare us for the good that you have for us in our life, the good that you have for us in this coming week. God, if there are storms, I pray that we turn to you quickly, god, but we would trust you through the good and the bad, through all the different things of our life. God, our life would be yours. Thank you so much for being with us. You never leave us and you never forsake us, even in these things. Help us know you're mine In Jesus' name, amen, amen.