In Mark 4:35-41 we witness the story of Jesus calming the seas. It begins simply enough. Jesus says, "let us go across to the other side." By verse 37 we see that the winds have come and that the sea is raging. We learn that the boat is filling with water. By verse 38 the disciples are running about in a panic and they wake Jesus up with what seems to be nothing short of an accusation, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" And that right there is at the heart of what is on my mind.
These are His people, His chosen ones. They are with Him and they have said yes. We know they have left things behind, they have traveled with Him and have seen what He can do. And when the storm comes they are expectant, they are quite sure that He will arise and wave His hands and do something cool. After all, He has been doing one very cool thing after another. They are not in doubt in this moment, but they are wondering if He is going to bother to save them all.
We know how the story ends. Jesus wakes up tells the winds to calm their crazy selves down and then He turns to the disciples and teaches them. It is the teaching they always struggle with. He tells them, "Why are you still afraid? Have you still no faith?" They walk away and say to each other, "who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" Indeed who is this man?
So much to see here. They have been walking intimately with Him and they are blown away that the elements obey Jesus. This is what they seem to take away from this moment. They have seen Him cast out demons and heal some sick people. They have seen Him forgive sins, (which is just a whole different point to ponder.) They have seen more in these first few chapters of Mark than most of us will see in our lifetime and yet they are still perplexed, they still go to bed at night and wonder who the heck they are following. You see, they are convinced it is the Messiah (sort of) but really they just don't know. And yet they continue to follow. They are Christ followers, for real. And the Messiah is constantly teaching them and they can't quite process His crazy stories and these signs and wonders.
But that night, on that boat Jesus reveals to them something that they let pass by, but it is something that we must not miss. He is not scolding them for having no faith after the sea is calm. He is telling them something way bigger. He is telling them That He is the Messiah, that His word is eternal, true. Where? Return to verse 35. Jesus says, "Let us go across to the other side." You see when Jesus says that we are going to the other side, He means it. The other side is a done deal. There is no maybe. If Jesus says that something is going to happen we can rest assured that it will happen. He is unshakeable and unmoveable. He is faithful to the end. On that night Jesus said to His followers, "we are going to the other side." And He meant it. This is where we need to settle it in our hearts that He will see us through all things, that there is nothing that He cannot do. When the disciples awakened Jesus in a panic He calmed the storm, but really He wanted them to know that storm or no storm we are going to reach the other side. He chastises them because He wants them to know that the storm doesn't need calming. The other side is coming. It is coming because He said so. Our faith has to be placed firmly in the Jesus said it, so it will be, place in our heart. In His kindness, He will sometimes calm the storm, but He wants us to find that place where we know the other side will be reached, even while He does nothing to calm the storm. This is where our faith meets our Messiah.
