“Peace. Be Still.” The Miracle of Trust – Jesus Revealed Part II

Sermon Title: “Peace. Be Still”: The Miracle of Trust

Good News Statement: Jesus provides us with help when we trust Him

Preached: Sunday, January 15, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NIV): Mark 4:35-41 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Mark chapter four verses thirty-five thru forty-one. In this passage, Mark introduces us to a group of fearful disciples who wake Jesus up…

 

Jesus Calms the Storm

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

Introduction:

“A man was stuck on his rooftop in a flood and he was praying to God for help. Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, “Jump in, I can save you.” The stranded man shouted back, “No, it’s OK, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.” So the rowboat went on.

Then a motorboat came by. “The fellow in the motorboat shouted, “Jump in, I can save you!” To this the stranded man said, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and I have faith that he is going to save me.” So the motorboat went on.

Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, “Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety!” To this the stranded man again replied, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.” So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned and went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, “I had faith in you but you didn’t save me, you let me drown. I don’t understand why!” To this God replied, “I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”

Maybe you can relate to this story in your own life or maybe you know someone in your life that has been known to refuse to receive help. We often tell ourselves that we can handle it, we can do it, we don’t need help: we’ve got everything under control. But before the task is complete and before the struggle is overcome, we end up calling out for help.  We end up singing the words to the Beatles hit song from 1965, Help!, “I need somebody (help), not just anybody (help), you know I need someone, help.” But the problem is, is that when we call for help, we sometimes dismiss the help because it is not something we have in mind. God hears our call, provides us with what we need, but we want something else.

The disciples, from our Scripture reading, experienced fishermen who know the sea of Galilee like they know the back of their hand, who have likely encountered many storms while at sea, find themselves in fear of this particular  storm. As the dark clouds roll in, they start to get uneasy. As the sounds of thunder echo off the shore, they begin to panic. As lightning strikes the water, they become overwhelmed.  As the waves crashed against their twenty-foot boat, they are found in disbelief, at a loss of words, and struggling to combat the towering waves. As the water rushes over the sides and pours into their boat, they are crying out “Help, we need somebody, not just anybody. Help, we need Jesus.”

The disciples’ last resort is a man sleeping on a cushion in the stern of the boat. With Jesus in the boat, whether asleep or awake, there was help; but the disciples wanted more. How many of you are going through your own storm right now? Things don’t make sense, somebody doesn’t understand what you are trying to tell them, people are constantly bugging you, work is stressful and unfair, and life is leaving you overwhelmed? How many of you need to wake up Jesus? Jesus provides us with help when we learn to trust in his ways.

Body:

Last week, we read about the miracle of the paralyzed man from Mark 2. From this miracle, we learned the importance of caring. Caring is not just something we are told to do, it should be something that we want to do, that we need to do, and that we strive to do. Caring is about putting others first, about taking risks, about engaging in drastic actions at times, and about doing everything we can in the moment to bring peace and comfort to those around us.

Because four individuals—friends, strangers, slaves, servants, or family members—went out of their way to care for the paralyzed man, the paralyzed man’s identity was changed: he was brought to Jesus by caregivers, but leaves on his own; he came in through the roof, but walks out the door; the mat that held him up, is now the mat he holds; and he came in with sins of whatever sort, but is now forgiven. It’s amazing to think about how a simple act of care can change someone’s life and possibly save their life. Christ cares for us so that we know what it is like to care for others. And now Jesus shows, during a terrible storm, how caring for those around us can generate trust and build our faith.

Our miracle begins, “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side’” (Mark 4:35). Following a day of telling parables, Jesus decides it’s time to leave. (I wonder if Jesus asked his disciples “Why did the chicken cross the road?” while they were setting sail?!) According to Amy-Jill Levine, in her book Signs and Wonders: A Beginning Guide to the Miracles of Jesus, “The timing of this miracle invites us into the realm of mystery.” Evening had come, the sun is setting, it will be dark when they reach the “other side.” One studying scripture,  will be able to witness that Jesus’ life was shrouded in moments of darkness.

During Jesus’ ministry, he meets with Nicodemus at night to reveal that one must be born from above (John 3:2). Before Judas betrays Jesus, Scripture says “and it was night” (John 13:30). Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s Gospels tell us that when Jesus was crucified, the sky turned black for hours. Three days later, in John’s Gospel, Jesus was resurrected before the sun had risen and later that evening he appeared to the disciples. Setting sail in the evening, in the dark, was not a concern for Jesus—but maybe a worry for the disciples—as they traversed to the “other side.”

The “other side” is where the Decapolis was, a series of Ten Greek States with a broadly Gentile population. They are sailing into the unknown in the dark: into an unknown land with unknown people who have unknown problems. The “other side” in our life is the unknown: we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, we don’t know what kind of storms we may encounter, and we don’t know if tomorrow will even come. We are sailing in the darkness of life. But we must remember that Jesus is in the boat with us.

Mark continues, “Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him” (Mark 2:36). The disciples took Jesus with them, just as he was. The comment “as he was,” suggests that the disciples took Jesus, they acted for him, because he was too tired to do much more on his own. Jesus had spent the day teaching; he had done healings; he was engaged in controversy…he’s exhausted. The disciples are helping the one who will help them. And let’s not forget that there are others, there are other boats who are going to be experiencing the storm. In life, the storms we experience, although seem to be self-contained, actually affect those around us. Others need Jesus just as much or more then you do when a storm comes rolling in; and even in a state of exhaustion, Jesus will do everything to calm that storm; so don’t be afraid to wake him up.

The wind and the wave have put the ship in danger. Mark writes, “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped” (Mark 2:37). Other translations will read “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the beat, so that they were already filling the boat.” Based on the outlay of the Gospel of Mark, we know the disciples will not drown, since there are still more chapters to go! We also know, because Jesus is in the boat, that they will make it to the other side. The storm has consumed the attention of the disciples so much that they have forgotten who they took with them in the boat. They have Jesus. They have Jesus. Although they haven’t quite fully realized who Jesus is, they have seen his miracles, his healings, his ability to rebuke demons, and his willingness to forgive sins. They have Jesus: the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting God, the Wonderful Counselor, the Messiah.  They have Jesus in their corner. No matter how rough and dangerous our storms may get, we have Jesus with us.

In sheer panic, the disciples remember who is in the boat: “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’” (Mark 2:38).  The New Revised Standard Version says, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing,” implying total defeat, the end. The reference to sleeping leads us in numerous directions. The most immediate connection is to the book of Jonah. In the first chapter Jonah states, “Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.  All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, ‘How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish’” (Jonah 1:4-6).

Just like the sailors during Jonah’s time, the disciples are in fear of what is before them. They have witnessed many storms before, but no two storms are the same; and this one particular storm has them at a loss of words. The only words they can say are, “Help. Save me. I need someone.” Instead of praying the prayer of Psalm 4:8 (“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.”), they pray the words of Psalm 69, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me” (Psalm 69:1-2, NRSV). The person that the sailors need is the same person that the disciples wake up, who is the same person we call upon every day in our life when we come into deep waters. This person promises that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This person is Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and he is in the boat with us.

Out of sheer depression, the sailors wake up Jonah and he tells them “Pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will become calm” (Jonah 1:12). So they do so; and the sea becomes calm. The disciples wake up their teacher, who finally gets the downtime he needed after preaching to the multitude, and cry out for help: they are in over their heads, and they need help. Do you need help with anything in your life? Does anybody in your life need to wake up Jesus because things are perishing, their boat is sinking, and the waves are crashing over the sides, they are in deep waters? All we have to do is wake up Jesus and we, too, shall not perish but have everlasting life.

The disciples show no hesitation: they wake up Jesus. “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm” (Mark 2:39). Nobody was thrown overboard, nobody drowned, and nobody perished; but all were saved. In calming the storm for the disciples, Jesus also calms the storm for the other boats and for us today. Psalm 65:7 states, “[You]…stilled the roaring of the seas [and] the roaring of their waves…” Psalm 89:9 says, “You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.” And Psalm 107:29 asserts, “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.” All Jesus had to say was, “Peace. Be Still.” No matter what you are going through, let Jesus help you: let him bring peace into your life and say to you “Be still; and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

When you allow God to take control of your life, miracles will happen. When you listen to God and do as God says and choose not to argue with Him, miracles can happen. When you wake Jesus up during any storm, miracles can happen. And when these miracles happen, the words of Psalm 107:30 become a safe haven for peace: “They were glad when [the storm] grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.” All Jesus said was “Peace. Be still” and people were guided to safety.

Mark concludes this miracle in a perplexing fashion. Mark writes, “[Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ [The disciples] were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 2:40-41).  In Greek, the word pistis can mean both “faith” and “trust.” Therefore, the verse could also be read as Jesus asking, “Don’t you trust me yet?” Jesus knows the disciples have faith, but he also knows that they don’t understand what faith is. If the disciples knew what faith was, then just knowing that Jesus was with them should have been enough. If the disciples knew that faith is an act of trust, then just knowing Jesus was in the boat should have given them confidence that Jesus trusted them to get him to the other side; that nothing bad was going to happen, there was no reason to worry. But they didn’t. They kept crying out for help, and God sent them the help they needed, Jesus, but they wanted something more. They had faith, but they didn’t have true faith.

Martin Luther, the founder of Lutheranism, has this to say about true faith, “All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not in the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask. Yet they will obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask.” When we put our true faith in Jesus, we know that help is on the way, we know that storms will be calmed, and we know that lives will be changed. We may not be able to see the outcome right away, but because we have faith and believe and are willing to wake up Jesus, who is sleeping in the stern of our boat, we shall not perish but have everlasting life. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously stated, “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” Do you have faith, even in those moments when you can’t see what is before you, when it is too dark to see the sun behind the storm?

Conclusion:

The story of Jesus calming the storm is a miracle that teaches us to not live in fear but to have faith knowing that we can wake Jesus up whenever we need him more in our life. I don’t know if you are battling any storms in your life right now, I don’t know if there are people in your life that are experiencing storms of their own; but I do know that Jesus is with you and He is with them.

It’s okay to cry for help, “I need somebody (help), not just anybody (help), you know I need someone, help. Help me if you can, I’m feeling down, And I do appreciate you being ’round. Help me get my feet back on the ground, Won’t you please, please help me.” Because as you do so, as you cry for help, your faith will grow, your trust in Jesus will grow, and peace will calm any storm. And who knows, one day you might find yourself singing alone to that famous Beatles song, “now these days are gone.” We all have storms, and Jesus is waiting for you to wake him up so that he can simply say “Peace. Be Still.” Are you willing to wake Jesus up? Are you ready for your storms to be calmed? Are you ready to receive the help that he is sending you? Have faith, have trust, and Jesus will get you to the other side safely.

 

Closing Prayer:

            Let us Pray…Dear Jesus, we are leaning on your everlasting arms as we seek for peace to calm our storms. May we find peace in our current storms and the storms ahead; and when we get to the other side, may we shout with praise that there is victory in you. Amen.

 

Benediction:

The story of Jesus calming the storm reminds us that when we call for help, Jesus is listening. The story of Jesus calming the storm informs us that Jesus is always near, and knowing that he is near is all that is needed to experience peace.  May God bless you with peace and faith as you wake him up. Go, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as you become a helping miracle for many. And all God’s people said, “Amen.” Amen. Amen.