A Word in Season: Why so Fearful? (Mark 4:40)

Media Gratiae

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

The disciples thought that they were about to die. Seasoned fishermen, as many of them were, and with a familiarity with the

00:08

Sea of Galilee as others of them would have had, they were persuaded that their time had come.

00:13

They were crossing over the sea and a great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling up.

00:21

The Lord Christ was with them. He was asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat and they awoke him and they said to him,

00:28

Teacher, don't you care that we are perishing? So Christ rose up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still.

00:38

And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And then recorded in Mark chapter four and verse 40, the

00:46

Lord Jesus said to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?

00:53

Now, perhaps you can imagine the disciples looking at him in wonderment at that point.

00:59

Why are you so fearful? They could have pointed just a few moments ago to the raging of the winds and the waves.

01:08

They could have explained to him that these things were all about to overwhelm them and swamp them.

01:16

That's why they were afraid. Look at what's around us. Look at what's been happening to us. Look at what's taking place against us.

01:24

We're about to die. Perhaps the question seemed a little more striking given that there was now this complete absence of anything to threaten them.

01:37

And we may be very much in the same circumstances. We are caught in a great storm.

01:43

The waves beat into our boat so that it feels as if we're about to die as we see the vessel being swamped by the winds and the waves.

01:52

We forget perhaps that Christ is with us or we doubt his compassion toward us and his power in connection with his glory and his deity and his heart of love.

02:06

Doesn't Christ care that we're perishing? Is Jesus ignorant of what's going on and careless with regard to his people?

02:16

Can't he see that we're dying? Can't he see that we're in danger of being swamped?

02:23

We may feel like that individually as Christians. We look around us and we say, everything's up with us.

02:30

It seems as if there are just too many troubles and trials. I am about to be swamped and I cannot endure.

02:37

We may feel it as a congregation, perhaps because of our smallness, perhaps because of the opposition around us, perhaps because of our weakness.

02:47

It may be that we feel it on a slightly bigger scale, churches that know and have communion with one another, feeling themselves to be constantly on the back foot and about to go under because there seems to be so little strength and so little vitality and so much in the way of danger.

03:05

The culture is against us. The people around us despise us and have no regard for us.

03:11

There's antagonism, perhaps some movers and shakers. There's disdain even from others who call themselves

03:18

Christians. And we may think that it is all up with us. And if Christ were to ask us, why are you so fearful?

03:26

We would just sweep our arm around and say, can't you see? This is why we're afraid.

03:34

But what if Christ stilled the storm? What if Christ spoke and all those things were at least momentarily subdued or taken away and there was a great calm?

03:46

What would we be afraid of then? Then we'd be saying, well, just a moment ago, just a few seconds ago, not long before you would.

03:56

Yes, but see that Christ is with you and know that Christ cares for you and understand that Christ has strength in his great hand.

04:10

He is not overcome by anything. He is the one who has made the winds and the waves.

04:17

And he is the one who controls and governs all of the things that are around us.

04:22

It is absolutely under his dominion. And when he speaks, the storm is stilled.

04:31

So how is it that we have no faith? Have we forgotten the person of our savior?

04:38

Have we forgotten his willingness to save and to bless, his ability to save and to keep?

04:45

We do not need to be afraid. That is hard, but it is true. With Christ with us, we are able to smile at the storm through faith in him who loves us and keeps us to the very end.