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Writer's pictureTara Barndt

Peace! Be Still!

On our recent cruise, my husband and I spent most of our days at sea sitting on our balcony watching and listening to the ocean. It’s one of my favorite things to do. One of the days, the sea was almost like glass it was so calm, barely a ripple. Another day, there were huge waves. My husband and I discussed the vastness of the ocean and how powerful the waves can be – powerful enough to toss our cruise ship around. And yet, God created the ocean. He is sovereign over the waves and the wind. He alone is the omnipotent one that causes the sea to go from glassy water to crashing waves.


A few days after we returned home, I read a familiar account in Mark 4:35-41.


35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he 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?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” [1]


Jesus taught the crowds all day from a boat. It was now evening, and He instructed His disciples that they would go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Mark even tells us that Jesus went just as He was (vs 36), meaning He didn’t first hop off the boat for a quick shower and a run through McDonald’s. Jesus’ humanity was highlighted as we read in verse 38 that He was asleep in the boat, in the storm. You can probably imagine how exhausted He was after ministering to the crowds all day. The storm didn’t awake Him. His disciples had to.


Now let’s take a look at the storm. There are lots of interesting facts about the Sea of Galilee, but the one that is key to this account is its location. There are several mountain ranges around it forming a valley where the winds come through and cause violent storms across the sea. In fact, the Greek for “great windstorm” can also translate as a violent attack of wind. I read that this account in Mark likely took place in winter when the winds were the worst. We further know how bad this storm was by Mark’s depiction of the “waves breaking into the boat, so that the boat was filling” (vs 37). Additionally, when the disciples (some of whom were experienced fisherman on this very sea), asked Jesus if He cared that they were perishing or being destroyed. It seems the disciples viewed this storm as the end.


Awake, Jesus speaks to the storm: “’Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (vs 39). Many of us are tempted to stop right there and take our application: Jesus can calm my storms. Or, to put it another way, Jesus can remove my difficult circumstances. Of course, God is sovereign and omnipotent. He can remove our circumstances. In Daniel 2:21 we read: “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;” God can do whatever He wills. However, Mark’s point is not that Jesus will calm your storms. Mark has something far greater in mind.


In fact, if we look at another account that takes place on the Sea of Galilee during another storm, we observe that Jesus did not calm the storm. In Matthew’s account, Jesus sent His disciples on ahead of Him to the other side. As in our Mark account, it was night, and the waves beat against the boat (Matthew 14:24). Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the stormy waves. He said to them: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” (vs 27). Peter then got out of the boat and walked towards Jesus. Jesus had not calmed the wind and the waves. Peter all of a sudden realized this fact and began to sink. Still, Jesus did not calm the wind and the sea. Instead, He reached out to Peter and saved Him. They both got into the boat, and then the wind ceased (vs 32). The disciples response? “And those in the boat worshiped Him saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God’” (vs 33).


Let’s go return to our account in Mark because Mark isn’t done. “He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’”[2] (vs 40-41) Mark and Matthew are making the same point. Jesus is Almighty God. Did you notice that now the disciples are filled with a great fear? More than their fear of the storm, they are filled with fear because they know that God Himself is in the boat with them.


When Jesus says, “Peace! Be still,” we focus on the idea of peace, stillness, and calmness in our circumstances, but what we should really be taking in is Jesus’ authority, power, and sovereignty. Jesus is the Creator who spoke all things into existence. All things were made by Him and for Him, and He holds all things together (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17). The Creator of the wind and sea has all the authority and power to command them.


This Jesus was in the boat with the disciples, and He is also with us. In Matthew, even if Jesus had calmed the wind and the sea for Peter, Peter still would have been sinking. He couldn’t walk on the water, calm or stormy, apart from Jesus. When he was sinking, what Peter desperately needed was Jesus reaching out to him. Jesus with Him. In Mark, Jesus told the disciples that they were going to the other side of the sea. He was all they needed to get there. Again, calm or stormy wasn’t a factor. The person of Jesus, fully God and fully man, is the only matter of importance. Jesus Himself is what we desperately need not a change in our circumstance, not a calming of our storm.


Reflection


1. In your storms, are you merely seeking the storm to cease and a calm to replace it or are you resting in Jesus, the Creator of all things, the one who has all authority and power? Our Good Shepherd cares and provides for us. He leads and guides us. He protects and defends us. His goodness and mercy chase after us. If He prepares a table for us in the presence of enemies, will He not care for us in the storms? Will you be content whether or not God calms your storm?


2. Delighting in Jesus in the seasons of calm can help prepare us for resting in Him during the storms. What are you doing now to grow your awe of Jesus? Are you spending regular time growing in your knowledge of Him through His Word and prayer? Do you daily worship Him?


3. Like the disciples in Matthew 14:33, spend time worshiping Jesus.



O Lord God of hosts,

who is mighty as you are, O Lord,

with your faithfulness all around you?

You rule the raging of the sea;

when its waves rise, you still them. [3]

Psalm 89:8-9

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 4:35–41. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 4:40–41. [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 89:8–9.

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