Mark 4:35-41 ³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”  ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.  ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  ³⁸ 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?”  ³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  ⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  ⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

1. I. The Account
   1. Context
      1. i.      Jesus pulls away from crowds; goes on boat with disciples
      2. ii.      V. 36: They took him; fisherman in group presumably confident mariners and took charge of situation
      3. iii.      Jesus presumably exhausted from ministering to crowds
   2. The Storm
      1. i.      Storm fronts swept quickly over the mountains and onto the Sea of Galilee
      2. ii.      Though confident sailors, the severity of the storm shakes their confidence and induces panic
      3. iii.      They cry out to Jesus; tone of rebuke, thinking Jesus doesn’t care

1. II. The Proclamation (what the texts states about Jesus)
   1. Reveals his human side- his extreme exhaustion from ministering
   2. Jesus displays authority over nature (this is the first of the nature miracles)
      1. i.      He calms the storm by speaking—allusion to Genesis 1 where God speaks creation into being
      2. ii.      Jesus Christ is Lord of Creation—Colossians 1:15-20

1. III. The Responses
   1. Jesus: gentle rebuke of the disciples; they have heard him speak, they have seen his previous miracles, do they not get it?  *Despite their lack of faith, he still calms the storm and saves them*
   2. Disciples: their fear shifts from the storm to the one with them; his power is displayed on a new level (compare reaction with Exodus 14:31
      1. i.      We see the best and worst of the disciples- they faithfully follow Jesus in the boat, but then are overcome in the storm

1. IV. Application
   1. Christian life is a journey, it requires a step in faith
   2. God is faithful even when we feel like we’re losing our faith
   3. We will face storms in life; often the things in our life that give us confidence will fail us; we may be shaken to the core of our being; let us cry out to God