“Now it came to pass on certain day, that He (Jesus) went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
“But as they sailed, He fell asleep and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy [danger]. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water; and they ceased, and there was a calm.”
The men had seen the power of Jesus to cure the sick and raise the dead, yet they greatly wondered that He could quiet a storm. They said to one another, “What manner of man is this! for He commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey Him.” (See also Mark 4:35-4135And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:35‑41)).
The disciples did not then realize that Jesus was the Son of God, One with God the Father when the seas and land were made, “All things were made by Him” (John 1:33All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3)).
By their danger He taught them more of who He was, and showed them they had little trust. When He had said, “Let us go to the other side,” would they not surely reach there? Was He not with them?
His word was sure; they would not sink under the stormy waves.
What We Can Learn About Our God Today
We cannot see Him as the disciples did, yet He is still with His own in spirit and is teaching them by the troubles to trust Him more.
No storm of trouble is too big for Him to give peace. We shall surely reach “the other side,” which for us is heaven, for He also said, “They shall never perish” (John 10:2828And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)).
The Man Among the Tombs
That day when Jesus and the disciples landed on the shore, they saw a man living among the tombs, and he was very fierce, because of wicked spirits living within him. He had been bound with chains, but broke them.
In spite of his dreadful condition, the Lord Jesus had power to free him, and commanded the evil spirits to leave him. They did so, but went into a herd of pigs feeding nearby, and the whole herd ran violently down the steep hill into the lake and drowned.
What happened to the man who had been so tormented? He sat down quietly at Jesus’ feet, thankful for what Jesus had done for him, and wanting to be with Him. But the saddest part of this story is that, when the men who kept the pigs ran to tell the owners what had happened, they, with many other people of the town, came to Jesus and begged Him to leave their lands. They were afraid more of their animals would be lost, and that meant more to them than that Jesus should save people from such awful misery as that man had been in. So Jesus went away.
Further Meditation
1. What did the disciples not understand about the Lord Jesus when they were with Him on the lake?
2. We often measure the size of our troubles by our ability to counteract them in our own strength. How might we learn to be calm in the middle of very difficult circumstances? What does the Lord do to remind us of His power and ability to save?
3. A real encouragement in meeting the storms of life can be found in The Lord Hath His Way by R. Elliott.