Impact Week Five

Review

Last time we talked about Moses’ brother, Aaron, who was left in charge of the people while Moses went up on the mountain to talk with God. Moses was gone for forty (40) days, and the people got restless and unsure of what was happening. As a result, they made a god in the form of a golden calf. When questioned, Aaron made the situation worse by lying about it and placed the blame on the Israelites. Aaron was just as much at fault as the people, possibly more so, since he was left to watch over the people. Just like a baby sitter, he was supposed to keep them out of trouble. When you’re caught in your sin, own up to it, take responsibility. Don’t pass it on to someone else.

Background

We’re back in the New Testament this week, with Jesus and his band of followers. Mark doesn’t give a very clear picture of when this is took place, as we usually figure out the time and place according to what miracles have taken place. But as far I can gather, Jesus has just finished speaking to a rather large crowd, large enough to make Jesus sit in a boat out on the lake to teach them so they wouldn’t overwhelm him.

At any rate, this appears to be fairly early on in his ministry, about 30 A.D. Jesus and his twelve (12) are crossing the Sea of Galilee to go into a region called Gerasenes. Jesus has gotten comfy in the stern of the boat while the disciples do the sailing.

Reading: Mark 4:35-41

End

The disciples faced a physical, real, life-threatening storm for which Jesus would have slept through, if the disciples hadn’t have woken Him. One version says “Master, care you not that we perish?” Your typical fisherman is a weathered, tested, and tried professional. They aren’t wimps. The wimps find another career. For a bunch of fisherman, it’s unlikely that they were blowing things out proportion. And the account informs us that the boat was about swamped, in other words, it was going down if something didn’t drastically change. This was no minor squall.

There aren’t many of us who can say we’ve been out on the sea in a boat during a storm that could have killed us. I’ve been on a boat a few times, and left the coast once for some whale watching. There may have been some clouds, but it wasn’t raining, and the waves were about as calm as you could ask for. And the boat I was on was made of some sort of composite alloy – sturdy stuff. It wasn’t about to toss and turn in the waves.

In the most literal sense, you and I don’t typically face sea storms. But if you haven’t noticed by now, you will at some point: we face issues in our lives that are comparable to a storm, sometimes even life-threatening. Fact is, God isn’t always apparent or present during these storms. It may seem like He’s asleep in the back of the boat, or even further off.

Jesus bailed the disciples out of this storm. And a lot of times, God bails us out too. But as you walk with Jesus, and your faith is strengthened, you will find yourself going through storms, not averting them altogether. You don’t learn or gain much from escaping storms. You grow through experience even if you feel you’ve lost. If you falter, you get back up, take what you’ve learned, and make adjustments. Three steps forward, two steps backward. Keep pressing on.

Picture this: you’re five (5) or six (6) years old, and you’re heading to the playground with your dad. Some of you don’t have good images of your dad, so perhaps put your mom in that slot. You want to go on the slide but you’re afraid to climb the ladder to get up there. It’s daunting for any child. So dad or mom helps you up there the first couple of times. By the third time, they take a step back. They haven’t left, they’re still there, they’re just letting you tackle the ladder. See where I’m going with this? You may falter, but they haven’t left you to fall and hit your head. There are few things that bring more enjoyment to a parent than watching their child grow through experiences. God is the same way, or so I've gathered.

Return to the boat with the disciples. I’m convinced they hadn’t yet realized who they were with. Look at verse forty one (41): “They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Haven’t they heard about God? Don’t they know what He did a couple thousand years back at the hands of Moses? God parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could make safe passage to the other side. Of course He has command over nature! When they said "Who is this?", one wonders if they knew He was God.

To keep a normal amount of perspective, Isaiah chapter 53 tells us that there was nothing remarkable about Jesus' appearance. Despite the way paintings typically depict Jesus, He wasn't particularity attractive. And Jesus didn't have a sign with an arrow pointing to Him saying "This is the Son of God". He was fully God, but he was also fully man.

It’s clear that Jesus is frustrated with their lack of belief. “Do you still have no faith?” It's difficult to discern exactly what had taken place at this point, but at least by this account, Jesus had performed a few miracles in their presence.

At this point in your life, and even in my life, we haven't experienced much. So remember what God has done throughout history. We will cover quite a few stories over the year, and there's a lot to take to heart. If you have had life experiences, draw faith from what God did in those situations when you face new ones. And remember that Jesus is around. He’s fully awake, fully aware of your storm, and fully capable to handle it.