These are Jesus' words to his disciples in one of my favorite narratives from the New Testament. Let's take a closer look:
Mark 4:35-41 NIV
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 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?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
There's so much to love in this short snapshot of one of Jesus' interactions with his disciples. I love how Jesus is often just leaving crowds behind. He does not seek crowds. Sometimes it seems he is running away from crowds, haha. He definitely understood the need for getting away and getting some rest. Jesus was human. He needed balance and rest just like us. His humanity gives us permission to also be fully human. We don't need to apologize for getting hungry, needing sleep, finding solitude, getting frustrated with religious people, and every other emotion and feeling that comes with being human.
I think my absolute favorite sentence in this passage was this; "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion." Have you ever been in the middle of a storm? We had a tornado watch last night here in Nashville. The rain was blowing sideways, coming down like an almighty bucket had been poured over the earth. It wasn't really "sleeping weather". My assumption is that the boat didn't have a cover or a top. So here is Jesus, soaked by the rain and the waves, and not so gently rocked by the same; sleeping. I'm a light sleeper. I have to wear ear plugs or the littlest noise will wake me. Either Jesus was a very heavy sleeper or he was literally exhausted, because a storm like that would be very difficult to sleep through. But there he was, sleeping while the disciples are literally freaking out. Ok get this..."the disciples woke him." They had to wake him up! Haha. They must have been totally shocked that their master had no qualm about this squall! Ok my last point on this but it says he was "sleeping on a cushion." He didn't just roll up a coat or a tunic and catch a quick nap, he had a cushion. Sometimes the details that the Bible chooses to include are quite curious. lol.
"His humanity gives us permission to also be fully human."
So what's going on with the disciples right now?
Here is Jesus totally chillin and the disciples are in a complete panic. They are scared of losing their lives to the point that they actually accuse Jesus! "Don't you care if we drown?" Really? Fear has complete control of their emotions at this point. They have lost all sense of reality. Of course God cares if you live or die! Jesus has been teaching them that God counts every hair on your head. That you are worth far more than many sparrows, etc. Regardless, all of their learning suddenly vanishes and they are left with pure raw fear. The kind of fear that makes you doubt your lifelong spouse or accuse your best friend. That accusing voice of fear can creep into any situation and its goal is to take over all rational thought.
The world has been in a pandemic since early last year. While there are vaccines promised, there is still a lot of fear dominating the culture, the news, families and individuals. What is Jesus saying? What would Jesus' response be if he were here today?
Would he encourage you to stay home in lock down, wear a mask everywhere you go? Would he be angry at people not wearing masks or accusing them of endangering the elderly and the weak? What does he say to the disciples as they are freaking out?
"Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Man. That feels rough. I'm imagining their reactions. Well, the waves were...and the boat was...and well you were just sleeping...
But was it rough? God is love so let's dissect it.
Jesus' ultimate goal was that his disciples would be like him, to be brave.
He was training them to take over the church after he was gone.
He needed them to trust him, to trust God.
So while his words may feel accusatory maybe they were really
more instructional. Maybe what he was saying was "Hey, guys, relax. You don't need to be afraid of a little storm. Where is your faith?" You saw I was sleeping. Don't you think I would be concerned if there was something to be concerned about?"
How many times have we been in circumstances in our lives and thought, "Does God even care about all this crazy stuff going on?" "Does God even know how much I'm suffering here?" The answer is yes. Yes, he does. And he cares so much that he came down here to experience it all so that he could become our best friend through every bit of it. He carried our suffering on the cross. Every hurt you've experienced, every tear, every heartache. Jesus has carried you through it all. And as the storms come and threaten to rock your life, there he is, right there on the boat with you. And maybe the reason Jesus didn't get up right away is he wanted to see what the disciples would do, how they would react. And maybe he is right there with you but he wants to see how you are going to react. Maybe he wants YOU to be the one to speak to the storm. To rebuke the winds and waves that threaten your peace. Maybe he wants you to be brave. Why? Maybe he wants you to know that you are. That you CAN handle this.
Because you know what? You and I can handle a lot more than we give ourselves credit for. Storms are bound to come. The question is, will we let fear rule our hearts or will we dig deeper into our faith and speak to those storms, "Quiet! Be still!"
Let's spend 2021 choosing faith over fear.
Because I don't know about you but I'm ready for some peace and quiet. :)
Samm
