Verse 14: The people seem to have turned to God and believe in Him. They ask for God to not hold it against them for throwing an innocent man into the sea. How quickly this people put their trust in a God they do not know, and they ask for forgiveness. How much trust do we have in God? How often do we ask for His forgiveness? Do we repent of our ways? Do we take time to pray to God and ask for Him to forgive us any wrongs we may have committed against others? We often are very quick to ask for favors from God, but how often do we ask for forgiveness? And, if we do ask for forgiveness, do the stormy waters around us calm down? Perhaps the next time we are in the middle of chaos, we can take a moment to ask God to forgive us any wrongs we may have committed. It only takes a moment and may provide a way for us to find peace in the midst of a storm.
Verse 15-16: The people on the ship became afraid of God when the storm ceased. They made sacrifices to God and made vows. It is amazing how a miracle in our lives can lead us to God. I have no doubt, these people would tell of this amazing story to their family and friends. Perhaps, this would lead more people to God.
This passage also mirrors Psalm 107:
23Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
24They have seen the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.
25For He spoke and raised a stormy wind,
Which lifted the waves of the sea.
26They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.
27They reeled and staggered like a drunken person,
And were at their wits’ end.
28Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
30Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired harbor.
31They shall give thanks to the LORD for His mercy,
And for His wonders to the sons of mankind!
32They shall also exalt Him in the congregation of the people,
And praise Him at the seat of the elders. (Psalm 107:23-32)
Jesus and His disciples encounter a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is asleep on a cushion. The disciples are scared the boat is going to sink. Please remember, many of Jesus’ disciples were experienced fishermen. They were used to waves and rough waters. This was no ordinary storm if they were afraid. They wake up Jesus and are left dumb-founded when Jesus rebukes the waves and the storm ceases.
35On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” 36After dismissing the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37And a fierce gale of wind *developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. 38And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 40And He said to them, “Why are you [m]afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:35-41)
In Mark 4:41, verses 28-30 of Psalm 107 must have ran through the disciples’ heads when Jesus spoke and the storm was stilled and the waves calmed down.
28Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
30Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired harbor. (Psalm 107:28-30)
Sudden storms on Lake Galilee are common. High hills surround the lake; the cool winds from the heights can easily clash with the warm air on the lake, displacing it and stirring the wind and waves into a violent tempest.
The crests of the waves began to wash over the sides of the open, low-sided fishing boat. “They began to be swamped and to be in danger” (Luke 8:23), but as the boat pitched and rolled on the waves and filled with water, the Teacher slept soundly on a cushion in the stern.
The well-known gospel story makes several allusions to the story of Jonah. In both stories the principal character sleeps peacefully while a deadly storm tosses the boat around. In both stories the terrified sailors awaken the sleeper and rebuke him. In both stories the principal character has the solution to the danger. Both storms are miraculously calmed. The miraculous calming of the sea terrifies both sets of sailors. Even Mark’s word choices echo the story of Jonah.
The panicked disciples fought to keep the boat aright and afloat. They shook the Master awake, saying, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). As the boat plunged into the trough of a great wave, they cried out, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” (Luke 8:24).
The Master rebuked the wind and the sea as if He was rebuking an evil spirit: “Hush, be still!” The same language accompanies the Master’s exorcisms. Rebuking a weather phenomenon makes no more sense than rebuking a fever. Jesus addressed the hidden spiritual reality behind the revealed physical world. A fever is not just a fever. A storm is not just a storm. In Jewish cosmology, the spiritual world animates the physical world. The story suggests that spiritual forces were at work, resisting the Master’s attempt to cross out of Jewish territory and enter their territory.
At the Master’s rebuke, the waters fled; at the sound of His voice, they hurried back; thus He rebuked the sea; He rebuked the sea and made it quiet (Psalm 104:7, 106:9; Nahum 1:4). As the waves flattened out into quiet ripples, the Master turned to the disciples and asked, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).
The disciples did have faith, but their Teacher from Galilee significantly stretched it. In the Jonah story, the calming of the sea strikes fear into the hearts of the sailors: “The men feared the LORD greatly” (Jonah 1:16). In the gospel story, the disciples have a similar reaction to the calming of the sea. “They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’” (Mark 4:41).
We see in the story of Jonah, a similar concept is at play. Jonah is “leaving the presence of the LORD”. God lets Jonah know, he will not be escaping. The storm is an impossible hurdle to clear. The only way the boat will continue on the Tarshish is by throwing Jonah overboard. Jonah needs to go to Nineveh. God is going to make Jonah go to Nineveh whether he wants to or not.
Verse 17 We are told a great fish swallows up Jonah. Some translations state it is a whale which swallows Jonah. This is not correct. The Hebrew words are gadol and dag. Gadol means mighty or great. Dag means fish. It was a might, big fish which swallows Jonah.
There are four species of whales which inhabit the Mediterranean Sea. So, it is possible it was a whale which swallowed up Jonah, but it is more likely to be a large fish.
No comments:
Post a Comment