Many of us are familiar with the story Mark tells about Jesus and his disciples on a boat in the middle of a storm. He says that after a full day of teaching, Jesus and his disciples were sailing across the sea when a windstorm arose, causing water to fill the boat. The disciples were terrified, and Jesus was, well, sleeping.
This must have been some kind of storm, because these were experienced fishermen, and they’d been in lots of storms. And yet, they were scared to death.
I’m no fisherman, but I get it. The Sea of Galilee is 700 feet below sea level, and the mountain range that encircles it rises up to 9,200 feet above sea level, which means it creates a bowl where this mixture of cold air from the mountains and warm air from the sea comes together and creates sudden, violent storms. Even today, if you go to the little restaurants along the western side of the sea, they’re always up on stilts with these little signs that tell you if a storm comes, get your car out—because in the course of an hour, the parking lot can flood by up to 10 feet.
These kinds of storms were common, but this one was so bad it made even these fishermen quake in fear. But then there’s Jesus, in the middle of this crazy storm, sleeping. They woke him, asking, “Don’t you care that we’re dying?!” Mark says that Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind, saying, “Peace! Be still!” (Mark 4:39 ESV).
I love that word “rebuke.” Jesus rebukes the weather like it’s nothing more than a rowdy child. “Quiet. Be still.” By the way, “be still” in Greek is what they call a “verb of continuing action,” which means what he literally said was, “Be quiet—and stay quiet.” He put the storm in time-out! He was like, “You SIT DOWN, and STAY DOWN, and I’ll tell you when you can come out and play again.” The storm slunk off over into the corner, the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Talk about power!
My favorite part of the story is when Jesus turns to his disciples and asks, “Why are you so afraid? Have you no faith?” I imagine them thinking, like I would, Um, why were we so afraid, Jesus? I dunno, maybe it’s the fact that we thought we were all about to die. We always shake our heads at the disciples, saying, “How could they be so doubtful?” But I’m not sure I’d have done anything different.
In fact, I actually give the disciples credit for waiting as long as they did. I mean, the boat was filling up with water! When would you have woken Jesus up? Some of y’all would have woken him up at the sign of the first storm cloud on the horizon. Or if we’re being honest, some of you would have never gotten in the boat in the first place had there been any chance of rain in the forecast!
The disciples stood strong in their faith until the boat was literally filling up with water. They kept thinking that any minute, Jesus would get up and help them, until one of them was like, “I seriously think he’s gonna sleep through this whole thing, while we drown.” To me, that seems like a reasonable time to wake him up. And yet, when Jesus wakes up, it says he rebuked them for their lack of faith. Why?
Here’s why: In verse 35, Jesus had already told them that he planned to go to the other side of the sea; they should rest assured that once Jesus said something was gonna happen, it was gonna happen.
Here’s another interesting detail about this story: Jesus brought a cushion into the boat. What does that tell you except that he planned to sleep? If you doze off during my sermon, that’s one thing. But if you bring a neck pillow into church, I know you’ve already decided you’re going to nap through my last three points. Jesus brought a cushion on this trip because he was planning to sleep.
But why was Jesus planning to sleep if he knew a storm was coming? I mean surely, if he controlled the weather, he knew the weather. He planned to sleep through a storm. Why?
You know the answer. This was a test of faith, and he wanted his disciples, and us, to see that: He’s just as in charge when it seems like he’s sleeping as he is when we know he’s awake.
Psalm 121 says that “he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (vv. 3–4). He says this three times in Psalm 121 because he knows that sometimes, it feels like he’s sleeping. At some point you’ve been like, “Hey God, you awake up there? How did this danger get in here? Were you not watching? Where were you when she said that or he did this or they planned that? Were you asleep, God?” No, the psalmist says, he wasn’t asleep. He never sleeps, and—this bears repeating—he’s just as in charge when it seems like he’s asleep as he is when you see him in action.
For those of you who feel like God is asleep in your life, who feel like some part of your life feels like it is filling up with water, listen: When Jesus promises good to you, that doesn’t mean there won’t be seasons in which your boat takes on some water—the paycheck doesn’t come in, an unexpected bill surfaces, the kid wanders, the marriage gets worse. That doesn’t mean he’s forgotten you. He’s just as in charge when it seems like he’s sleeping as he is when we know he’s awake. He wants to see if you’ll trust him, if you’re willing to get in that boat and stay in it, even when the waters roar beneath you—because you trust that he will not let your foot be moved.
