Mark 4:35-41
05/02/18 11:39
FIND THE TIMELESS TRUTH - Timeless Truth
JESUS CALMS THE SEA
(Mark 4:35-41 NKJV) On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “ Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “ Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “ Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him”
If the truth we believe we found is not timeless then it is not Biblical truth. If the doctrine we try to establish works mainly in America but does not work in China that is not a Biblical doctrine. We must make sure we find the timeless truth that flows to any generation in any country.
What we often do is take this story and say, “No matter how bad it gets Jesus will calm the storm. If you're going through this thing in your life Jesus will calm the storm.” The problem is, you can’t guarantee this storm is going to be calmed anytime soon. And, you can’t tell Christian brothers and sisters in persecuted countries that this storm is going to end very soon; or at all for that matter.
So, what’s the point of the story? When you look at it, as it was written, and do the observation and understanding of proper Bible study, then you get into what was the problem in that story. The problem was not that there was a big storm. Many of these men were fisherman; they have been on the water before. It’s not like they have not seen a big storm before either. So, what’s the problem? Jesus is asleep in the middle of the storm. It looks like He doesn’t care so they wake Him up and say, “Don’t you care?”
Think about how that relates. Think about how difficult it is to be in difficult times and be overwhelmed; and the confusion of if Christ even cares about what we are going through. So, Jesus stands up and calms the wind and the waves and the men were astonished that He could calm wind and waves. Only God can control the elements of the earth. So, they realize that Yahshua can do what only God can do. It’s at that point that they come to the realization that the man in the boat is God in the flesh. Think about that, in their fear and despair, when they were in the middle of the storm it was not that He did not care. The point is, in the midst of that despair they had the God of the Universe with them.
Now, you can take that truth to the suffering brothers and sisters around the world. You can’t tell them the storm is going to end anytime soon but you can tell them that in the middle of your suffering the God of the Universe is right there with you - and He cares deeply about you.
That is an incredible truth that we don’t get to if we don’t walk through the first three steps of the Bible study process.
JESUS CALMS THE SEA
(Mark 4:35-41 NKJV) On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “ Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “ Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “ Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him”
If the truth we believe we found is not timeless then it is not Biblical truth. If the doctrine we try to establish works mainly in America but does not work in China that is not a Biblical doctrine. We must make sure we find the timeless truth that flows to any generation in any country.
What we often do is take this story and say, “No matter how bad it gets Jesus will calm the storm. If you're going through this thing in your life Jesus will calm the storm.” The problem is, you can’t guarantee this storm is going to be calmed anytime soon. And, you can’t tell Christian brothers and sisters in persecuted countries that this storm is going to end very soon; or at all for that matter.
So, what’s the point of the story? When you look at it, as it was written, and do the observation and understanding of proper Bible study, then you get into what was the problem in that story. The problem was not that there was a big storm. Many of these men were fisherman; they have been on the water before. It’s not like they have not seen a big storm before either. So, what’s the problem? Jesus is asleep in the middle of the storm. It looks like He doesn’t care so they wake Him up and say, “Don’t you care?”
Think about how that relates. Think about how difficult it is to be in difficult times and be overwhelmed; and the confusion of if Christ even cares about what we are going through. So, Jesus stands up and calms the wind and the waves and the men were astonished that He could calm wind and waves. Only God can control the elements of the earth. So, they realize that Yahshua can do what only God can do. It’s at that point that they come to the realization that the man in the boat is God in the flesh. Think about that, in their fear and despair, when they were in the middle of the storm it was not that He did not care. The point is, in the midst of that despair they had the God of the Universe with them.
Now, you can take that truth to the suffering brothers and sisters around the world. You can’t tell them the storm is going to end anytime soon but you can tell them that in the middle of your suffering the God of the Universe is right there with you - and He cares deeply about you.
That is an incredible truth that we don’t get to if we don’t walk through the first three steps of the Bible study process.
