Encounter Jesus – Mark Week 5

Jesus the Master of Nature

Mark 4: 35-41

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Mark Week 5 – Master of Nature Handout

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Lesson Notes

We are still in the first half of Mark – “Who Is This Man?” In Chapter 3, the Pharisees decided to kill Jesus, and blasphemed the Holy Spirit:

  • Their answer – “Somebody possessed by Satan”
  • Jesus started telling Kingdom parables to shut out the Pharisees
  • We see a decisive answer to “Who is this Man?” – Someone so powerful His closest friends and followers are terrified!
  • The first of a series of miracle stories as Jesus defeats natural disaster, demons, disease, and death.

Read Mark 4: 35-41

  • Verses 35-37 – Crossing the Sea of Galilee after an exhausting day
    • Jesus had been teaching in chapter 4 from a boat, because of the crowd size
    • He decides to cross the Sea of Galilee while he was in the boat
    • A terrible storm started up – common there because it’s in a natural basin surrounded by mountains. Sea of Galilee is 696 feet below sea level.
    • Waves were crashing into the side of the boat, breaking over it and filling it
  • Verse 38
    • In an echo of Jonah, Jesus was in the back of the boat asleep while the terrible storm threatened to sink the boat
    • He wasn’t bothered by a crisis, because it wasn’t unforeseen to God.
    • Panicked disciples wake him up, with a nasty, accusatory question – “Don’t you care that we’re dying here?”
      • How many times have we accused God of not caring about our crises?
      • As we’ll see, it isn’t that He doesn’t care, it’s that it isn’t a crisis for Him because He’s in control.
      • This crisis is being used for His glory.
  • Verse 39
    • Jesus rebukes the wind and stills the sea. 2 distinct elements to pagan thinking, 2 different gods. Jesus controls both forces.
    • Psalm 65: 5-8
    • The wind obeyed – it didn’t just quiet down some, “There was a great calm”
    • Psalm 107: 23-32 – God stills the storm and hushes the waves. Exactly what Jesus did!
  • Verse 40
    • “Why so afraid – have you STILL no faith?” Discipleship failure theme.
    • So often that’s us – we have the Word, we have faith in Christ, but we still fear all kinds of things.
    • We have a really big Savior, and He wants us to have a really big faith. He can deal with really big problems if we let him.
    • Doesn’t mean He’ll fix them, but He’ll be in control and be in the boat with us.
    • Jesus has control of all things in our life and we need to embrace it and delight in it. One of the great privileges of following Christ – all things that happen to us, whether good or bad, are in His control and He is always present.
  • Verse 41 – “And they feared a great fear” – They are absolutely terrified!
    • Whatever fear they had when they were dying was nothing compared to what they have now.
    • They ask who He is. But I think they know in their hearts.
    • Psalm 89: 8-9 – God rules the raging sea.
    • They recognize it’s the power of God. That’s why they are terrified. That’s the most common response to being in the presence of God in the bible.
    • Exodus 21: 18-21 – The terror of Israel when God was giving the 10 Commandments.
    • Who is this  man? We know – the Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1)
    • They are beginning to suspect – He is God Himself